Endocrine disrupting chemicals: a new and emerging public health problem?

Abstract

It is widely acknowledged that our environment is becoming increasingly contaminated with man-made chemicals. Mammals, as well as lower organisms, are vulnerable to exposure to these agents through a variety of different sources and routes and there are concerns that they may be having a detrimental effect on ecological and population health. It is just over 40 years since wildlife studies first suggested that environmental chemicals could be interacting with hormone systems,¹ a hypothesis which has since been consolidated and debated both in the popular press and in the scientific literature. Concerns about environmentally mediated endocrine toxicity have also captured the attention of many national and international health organisations,² as well as lobbying groups such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund (UK). In recognition of the possibility of an emerging public health threat, the European Commission³ has identified endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) (table 1) as an important public health issue and is currently supporting a number of research initiatives.