The earliest report linking environmental (occupational) exposure to adverse human male reproductive effects dates back to1775
when an English physician, Percival Pott, reported a high incidence of scrotal cancer in chimney sweeps. This observation led to safety
regulations in the form of bathing requirements for these workers. The fact that male-mediated reproductive harm in humans may be a
result of toxicant exposures did not become fi rmly established until relatively recently, when Lancranjan studied lead-exposed workers
in Romania in 1975, and later in 1977, when Whorton examined the effects of dibromochloropropane (DBCP) on male workers in
California. Since these discoveries, several additional human reproductive toxicants have been identifi ed through the convergence
of laboratory and observational fi ndings. Many research gaps remain, as the pool of potential human exposures with undetermined
effects on male reproduction is vast. This review provides an overview of methods used to study the effects of exposures on male
reproduction and their reproductive health, with a primary emphasis on the implementation and interpretation of human studies.
Emphasis will be on occupational exposures, although much of the information is also useful in assessing environmental studies,
occupational exposures are usually much higher and better defi ned.

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