Science and resources - April/May 2010

Many new studies examining the health effects of endocrine disruptors have been published recently, building the research body that demonstrates the harm of these ubiquitous chemicals.

 Mice who were exposed to low levels of bisphenol A, an estrogen-like substance, during early development experience altered brain function (Read more).

 Human babies have been found to absorb the most bisphenol A, especially via polycarbonate bottles (read more).

 Phthalates and other endocrine disruptors found in common consumer products are associated with early puberty in girls (read more).

 Exposures to estrogenic and androgenic endocrine disruptors appear to have synergistic mixture effects when combined with exposures to dioxins and dioxin-like chemicals (read more), and given that the European Food Safety Authority has found dioxins and dioxin-like chemicals in food and feed products, including at levels above EU maximum limits, these mixture effects are a quite real possibility (read more).

 Research shows for the first time that plastic nanoparticles can cross the human placenta, possibly exposing the developing fetus to the tiny materials that are increasingly used in medicines, vaccines and personal care products. The growing brain and other organs may be exposed to the particles that have unknown health effects. More...

EWG Healthy Home Checklist Check your house for common toxic chemicals and choose safer alternatives with this simple online tool.

Workshop: “The Exposome: A Powerful Approach for Evaluating Environmental Exposures and Their Influences on Human Disease” US National Academy of Sciences, Feb 25-26 2010. For Agenda, Reading List, Presentations and Audio Recordings, see here.