American Family Physician editorial: What you should know about endocrine-disrupting chemicals

A recent editorial entitled “Potential Toxicity of Synthetic Chemicals: What You Should Know About Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals” by Dr. Megan Schwarzman from the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH) published in the American Family Physician highlighted the potential toxicity of endocrine disrupting chemicals (ECDs). These chemicals lurk in many consumer products for every-day use. They are known to duplicate, block or alter the normal actions of human hormones, which results in a host of negative health effects including neurodevelopment disorders, reproductive difficulties, immune dysfunction, and cancer.

Pinpointing the exact link between these health effects and synthetic chemicals is difficult because the effects can:

• become evident after low-dose exposure over a period of time
• happen during critical periods of human development
• be additive, that is, combine with other dangerous chemicals to produce health effects
• be heritable and become evident only in future generations

Assessing the relationship between endocrine disrupting chemicals and medical conditions has been clouded by industry’s vested interests in the chemical market. In light of the emerging evidence that suggests chemicals can impact human health, society needs to reduce our risk by eliminating these health hazards.

For more information on endocrine disrupting chemicals, see the Our Stolen Future website.

To learn more about endocrine disrupting chemicals and their possible role in developing breast cancer, please, read following reports:

• “Breast cancer and exposure to hormonally active chemicals: An appraisal of the scientific evidence”.
• “Factors influencing the risk of breast cancer - established and emerging”.

You can read:

• A new consumers guide to bisphenol A entitled“Bisphenol A in plastics: is it making us sick?” jointly published by HEAL and Friends of the Earth Europe.
• Friends of the Earth Europe’s new report on bisphenol A entitled "Blissfully unaware of Bisphenol A: Reasons why regulators should live up to their responsibilities’.