Background,aim,and scope Electronic wastes (e-wastes) are being the fastest growing type of solid waste.Most of them were transported to the developing nations and about 50% to 80% of them were exported to Asia and Africa.It has become a major global environmental problem to manage and recycle the e-wastes.E-wastes were widely processed by manually disassembling or burning in Jinghai,a county of China,which has become the largest e-wastes disposal centre in northem China in recent years.The eytogenetic damage effects have been found among the residents in our previous studies.As reported,polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were widely used as coolants and lubricants in electrical transformers and capacitors.PCBs-containing wastes could release PCBs or dioxin-like PCBs if they were not processed properly.Remarkably,PCBs and PBDEs may have toxic effect to damage both male and female reproductive systems.This study analyzed the potential damaging effects of pollutants generated by the electronic waste disposal process on human reproductive function,especially to the spermatozoa of adult men.SMaterials and methods Sixty-six couples were randomly selected as exposed group from permanent residents in the local area,where there was massive disposal of electronic waste.They all involved in the processing of e-wastes before pregnancy.Fifty couples were recruited from the neighboring areas that were not exposed to electronic waste as control group.Routine semen analysis,spermatozoa motility and morphorogy were performed to detect the cytotoxic effect.DNA damage was detected using comet assay,the DNA porcentage in the comet tail (TDNA%),tail moment (TM) and Olive tail moment (OTM) were recorded to describe DNA damage to spermatozoa.Results The volume of semen in exposure group was less than that of control (P =0.039),but the sperm concentration didnt show statistical significance between the two groups (P =0.693).Remarkably,the sverm motility and abnormity rate showed significant statistical difference,which demonstrated that the quality of spermatozoa in exposure group was worse than that of control group.The percentage of DNA in the comet tail,tail moment and Olive tail moment detected by comet assay didn t show significant difference between the two groups.The gender ratio (boys ∶ girls) of exposure group is less than that of population in the local area but no statistic difference was found (P =0.200).Discussion The production of spermatozoa is a complex process and many factors may impact the process of spermatogenesis such as toxic chemicals,drugs and physical agents.In the present study,the sperm concentration didnt show statistical difference between the two groups but the volume of semen in exposure group was less than that of control.This indicates that the total count of spermatozoa in exposure group may be less than that of control.We can see that the pollution produced during the prockss of e-waste recycling may impair the spermatogenesis in some steps.Moreover,abnormality of the motility and morphology of spermatozoa has demonstrated toat exposure to pollutant of e-wastes do have obviously cytotoxic effects to the germ cells.Conclusions The toxic substances that released during the process of e-waste recycling by inappropriate ways can have harmful effects to the quality of spermatozoa and reduced consequence on sperm counts.Moreover,the increasing of abnormal spermatozoa may have negative effects on the growth and development of offspring ff fertilization occurs.Recommendations and perspectives Further study about the recycling of e-wastes should be performed and further followup investigation on the mrowth and development of the offspring and the gender ratio of newborn in the exposure area should be performed urgently according to thk discovery of this ytudy.Reasonable policies should be established to improve the management of e-wastes,especially in China and other developing counttries.