Certain chemicals, especially those used in agriculture (insecticides, fungicides), are radiomimetic in that they mimic the genetic effects of nuclear radiation.
Annual use of toxic genetic chemicals in the USA in the 1970s averaged 453,000 tons, which has been estimated to cause genetic damage equivalent to 72,000 bombs of the Hiroshima type. Such damage is indicated by the number of mentally retarded at 15% of live births, by reduction in the sperm count of adult Americans by 30% from 30 years ago (attributable to chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides), and by 25% of American male college students being sterile.