Toxic Conceptions: The Assessment and Regulation of Male-Mediated Transgenerational Effects of Chemical Exposures

Scientific research increasingly confirms the potential for health effects to be transmitted from men to their offspring as a result of men’s exposures, prior to conception, to endocrine-disrupting chemicals. This article examines how “male-mediated transgenerational effects” are addressed by the discretionary, risk-based approach to chemical assessment enabled under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. Informed by Cynthia Daniels’ theory of reproductive masculinity, the authors critically examine recent assessments of two classes of everyday toxics ubiquitous in Canadian households—phthalates and brominated flame retardants.** In failing to give weight to emerging evidence of male-mediated transgenerational effects, these assessments arguably reproduce gendered assumptions, situating men as secondary to reproduction and reinforcing the idea that responsibility for toxic exposures is a maternal matter. The authors argue that Canadian governance of endocrine-disrupting chemicals would be improved by greater attention to how men’s exposures to toxic chemicals may contribute to male-mediated transgenerational effects. Further, the article identifies deficiencies in the legislative scheme that contribute to ongoing failures to meaningfully assess or regulate endocrine-disrupting chemicals.