An assessment of fertility in male workers exposed to molinate

Molinate is a thiocarbamate herbicide used for weed control in rice fields. Since the late 1970s, findings from reproductive toxicology studies of rat s have led to concern that molinate might affect human male fertility, Seme n samples were collected from 272 formulation and production workers at thr ee US plants. The samples were collected at the end of four alternate monit oring periods of either high or low exposure to molinate. In addition, 222 married workers provided reproductive history information, Workers' mean ex posures to molinate; during the monitoring periods ranged from 12.7 mu g/m( 3) to 210.9 mu g/m(3) There was no evidence that sperm, and serum hormone l evels were related to exposure to molinate before the study or exposure dur ing the four monitoring periods. There was also no evidence of a molinate e xposure related effect on the ratio of observed to expected births.