Lists of ‘Endocrine-Disrupting’ Chemicals Mislead Public by Richard A. Starr

The French press reported at the end of July 2017 that the French government had produced an “official list of endocrine disruptors.” With the addition of this list, at least 25 individual lists from the around the world now purport to “officially” identify what may be known as “endocrine-disrupting chemicals” …

Estimates of Human Cost Burden from Exposure to Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Grossly Exaggerated

By Gregory G. Bond, Ph.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.E., and Daniel R. Dietrich, Ph.D., F.A.T.S., E.R.T. Government authorities in the EU and U.S. continue to wrangle with how best to identify and regulate potential endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). In an effort to influence those efforts, the Endocrine Society, an association representing endocrinologists and …

EU EDC Criteria May Further Limit African Farmers’ Toolbox by Stella Simiyu

Africa, the second most populous continent, is home to 1.2 billion people, accounting for about 15 percent of the world population. About half of Africans are considered poor.[1] Their dependency on agriculture accounts for about 25 percent of gross domestic product and 60 percent of livelihoods.[2] This means that for …

Publications Result from SETAC Workshop on Endocrine Active Substances by Lisa Ortego

There has been a great deal of polarization between scientists, both in the research and regulatory arenas, regarding risk assessment of endocrine active substances. Some scientists and regulators support that risk assessment approaches are applicable to these substances and others propose there is too much uncertainty regarding them so they …

Current Test Methods Detect Endocrine-Disrupting Chemical Potential by Douglas Wolf

Since the mid 1990s, a significant amount of research and international regulatory efforts have been applied to develop test methods to identify endocrine-disrupting chemicals. But questions continue to be raised by some groups about the adequacy of these methods that have been validated by international consortia. While scientific understanding and …

Endocrine Disruptor Testing in U.S. and EU: Achieving Regulatory Goals by Tessa Scown

As global concerns over the possible human health and environmental effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) has grown, so have concerted efforts by the European Union, United States, other regulatory authorities and global organizations (e.g., OECD) to develop adequate tests and assessment frameworks to evaluate substances for endocrine disruption (ED) potential. …

Overlooking Scientific Roots of Endocrine Disruption by Rainer von Mielecki

1 February 2017 “The policy has been hijacked by industry,” said Axel Singhofen, environment and health adviser for the Green Party European Free Alliance, in Newsweek. “They seem to have forgotten the scientific roots of the problem and are much more concerned with appeasing business interests, whatever the costs to …

Food Production Superpower Rejects Regulatory Disruption by Mauricio Rodriguez

12 January 2017 Latin America is home to 635 million people,[1] accounting for nearly 9 percent of the global population.[2] This vast region also possesses 40 percent of the planet’s biodiversity,[3] which – combined with sustained growth in agricultural production – makes it the world’s main food pantry. In recent …

Science ‘Undisrupted’ with U.S. Regulation of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals by Jay Vroom

1 December 2016 The ongoing dialogue about how to establish if endocrine-disrupting chemicals may have an effect on human health and the environment is like much of the conversation we have about science in general today: hazard versus risk. The crop protection industry has a duty to objectively assess the …

Endocrine Disruptor Regulation: Risk-Based Approaches Critical Around the World by Andy Adams

2 November 2016 Once upon a time, “it all began in the environment.”  Changes in the sex ratio/masculinization of fish, amphibians and reptiles became associated with chemicals in the environment. Generally, these were industrial chemical leaks, such as the contamination of Lake Apopka, Florida, in 1980 with DDT-DDE and other …