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Endocrine
disruptors
Many pesticides and industrial
chemicals are capable of interfering with the proper functioning
of estrogen, androgen and thyroid hormones in humans and animals.
These substances are called endocrine disruptors. Exposures can cause sterility
or decreased fertility, impaired development, birth defects of the
reproductive tract, and metabolic disorders. The absence of a chemical
on this list does not necessarily mean it is not an endocrine disruptor. It
may mean that it has not yet been evaluated or data are not available.
 Background
Information
PAN
Summary Endocrine Disruptor Rating
Illinois
EPA List
Danish
EPA List of Endocrine Disrupting Auxiliaries
European
Union Prioritization List
Colborn
List
Keith
List
Benbrook
List
Background
Information In
the last 10-15 years, many widely used chemicals have been linked
to the disruption of hormone function in humans and/or wildlife.
These chemicals have been shown to alter levels of male and female
hormones, as well as certain thyroid hormones. Changes in these
hormone levels affect developing organisms more than adults and
can result in abnormalities in reproduction, growth, and development,
as well as cancer and immune system disorders, even at very low
levels of exposure. For more details on endocrine-disrupting effects
of chemicals on humans and the environment, see references 2-6.
While it is clear that some pesticides are capable of having endocrine-disrupting
effects, no "official" list of these chemicals has yet
been compiled in the United States. Testing to identify endocrine-disrupting
pesticides was mandated by the federal Food Quality Protection Act
of 1996; however, delays and lack of funding have set back the schedule
for implementation. Updates on the status of the U.S. EPA Endocrine
Disruptor program can be found at the U.S. EPA web site (1).
The
European Union has done
extensive work towards official designation of endocrine-disrupting
substances, collecting literature studies on many chemicals. They
now have a list of 564 chemicals under evaluation for endocrine
disruption effects. This data is not yet publicly available but
will be incorporated in the near future.
References:
- U.S. EPA
Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program Web Site. Viewed on October 31, 2002.
- Endocrine
Disruption: An Overview and Resource List, Natural Resources
Defense Council. Viewed on October 31, 2002.
- Introduction
to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals, Dr. A. Michael Warhurst.
Viewed on October 31, 2002.
- Endocrine
Disrupting Substances in the Environment, Environment
Canada. Viewed on October 31, 2002.
- Environmental
Estrogens and Other Hormones, Tulane and Xavier Universities.
Viewed on October 31, 2002.
- Endocrine
Disruptors: Links to Other Sites, Physicians
for Social Responsibility. Viewed on October 31, 2002.
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Pesticide
Action Network (PAN) Summary Endocrine Disruptor Rating
The PAN suspected
endocrine disruptor (ED) designation is based on several different
sources of information (see below). Because ratings from different
sources sometimes conflict with each other and because there is
not yet an "official" list of EDs, PAN created a summary
ED designation that designates any chemical that is listed as potentially
endocrine disrupting by any of the sources is ranked as a
Suspected endocrine disruptor.
About the data: Accuracy,
currency, comprehensiveness and source
PAN staff last
updated this list in December 2002, adding the Danish EPA list and
EU prioritization list at that time. Most of the lists are static
lists in published works and do not change, with the exception of
the Our Stolen Future web site which is updated several times
per year.
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Illinois
EPA List In
1997, the Illinois state EPA published a list of endocrine disrupting
compounds. The list contains three categories of endocrine disrupting
chemicals corresponding to the overall evidence available that the
chemical is capable of disrupting the endocrine system:
- Known:
Chemicals for which strong evidence exists that endocrine-disrupting
effects occur in intact animals.
- Probable:
Chemicals for which the preponderance of the evidence (in
both intact animals and in bioassays) suggests that the chemical
can cause disruption of the endocrine system.
- Suspected:
Chemicals lacking good evidence in intact animals or for which
only assay evidence of endocrine disruption exists.
About
the Data: Accuracy,
currency, comprehensiveness and source
These data were taken
from the Report on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals, Illinois
EPA (February, 1997). To
our knowledge, this list has not been updated. At the time the list
was published, U.S. EPA Headquarters was just beginning to evaluate
endocrine disruptors under the mandate of the Food Quality Protection
Act.
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Danish
EPA List of Endocrine Disrupting Auxiliaries
In 2000, the
Danish EPA published a list of compounds used as "inerts"
or adjuvants in pesticide products which - based on available
information - the Danish EPA considers to have estrogenic effects
or to be capable of decomposing into estrogenic compounds.
In the autumn of 1995 the Danish EPA published the report “Environmental
Project no. 292: Male Reproductive Health and Environmental Chemicals
with Estrogenic Effects”. Following up the report the Danish
Government announced the goal of phasing out by the year 2000 all
pesticides containing estrogenic auxiliary matters. The chemicals
are added to the products for various reasons - e.g. to enhance
the effect of the active ingredients in the pesticide.
About
the Data: Accuracy,
currency, comprehensiveness and source
These data were taken
from the document entitled Auxiliary
Matters with Estrogenic Effects, Danish EPA, April, 2000. PAN
last checked the currency of this data set on June 13, 2005.
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European
Union (EU) Prioritization List In
December 1999, the European Commission adopted a strategy for addressing
the problem of endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Part of this strategy
was to establish a priority list of substances for further evaluation
of their role in endocrine disruption. The list is to be used to
identify substances for priority testing, once test methods become
available, and to identify gaps in knowledge of the toxicity and
exposure pathways.
Prioritization
was based on evidence of endocrine disruption in humans or animals
and on the exposure potential for the chemical based on persistence
in the environment and the amount of the substance produced. The
starting point of the study was a working list, compiled from the
lists of suspected endocrine disrupting chemicals drawn up by various
organizations as well as from an up-to-date literature search. The
list contains three categories of endocrine disrupting chemicals:
- Group
I :
At least one study providing evidence of endocrine disruption
in an intact organism. Not a formal weight of evidence approach.
- Group
II : Potential for endocrine disruption. In vitro data indicating
potential for endocrine disruption in intact organisms. Also includes
effects in-vivo that may, or may not, be ED-mediated. May include
structural analyses and metabolic considerations
- Group
III : Substances which meet the criteria of High Production
Volume and/or persistence in the environment for which: a) no
or insufficient data are available, or b) sufficient data are
available for evaluation, but the compounds are not presently
considered to be endocrine disrupters.
The lists of chemicals were distributed among groups of experts
for classification using the following guidelines and criteria:
- If reliable in-vivo evidence for endocrine disruption was available,
the substance was placed in Group I;
- If less reliable in-vivo evidence for endocrine disruption was
available (for example in case of contradictory test results),
the substance was placed in Group II;
- If only in-vitro evidence for endocrine disruption was available
with positive test results, the substance was placed in Group
II;
- Substances with no data but closely related to substances categorized
as category 1 were placed in Group II;
- Substances with no data but closely related to substances categorized
as category 2 were placed in Group II;
- Substances with no evidence for endocrine disruption or no data
and not related to Group I or II substances were placed in Group
III.
About
the Data: Accuracy,
currency, comprehensiveness and source
These data were taken
from the report Towards the Establishment of a Priority List
of Substances for Further Evaluation of Their Role in Endocrine
Disruption, Appendix 1, BKH Consulting Engineers and
TNO Nutrition and Food Research (June 21, 2000).
References:
- Towards
the Establishment of a Priority List of Substances for Further
Evaluation of Their Role in Endocrine Disruption, Appendix 1,
BKH Consulting Engineers and TNO Nutrition and Food Research (June
21, 2000). Additional information also on this page. Viewed on August 23, 2009.
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Colborn
list A
list of suspected endocrine disrupting chemicals was published in
the scientific literature in 1993 by Theo Colborn (1), followed
by the popular book for the layperson Our Stolen Future (2).
The book highlighted the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals
on humans and the environment and was instrumental in raising public
awareness of the need to find out more.
In this reference,
chemicals are not ranked according to their endocrine-disrupting
effects, thus the rating simply describes whether the chemical is
contained in the reference or not.
About
the Data: Accuracy,
currency, comprehensiveness and source
The chemicals listed in the
PAN database are taken from reference 1. Colborn's current list can
be found at the web site in reference 3. The
PAN Pesticide Database was last updated from this site in July 2004.
References:
- T. Colborn,
F.S. Vom Saal and A.M. Soto, "Developmental effects of endocrine-disrupting
chemicals in wildlife and humans," Environmental Health
Perspectives, 1993, v. 101, pp. 378-384.
- T. Colborn,
D. Dumanoski, and J.P. Myers, Our Stolen Future, Penguin
Books (New York, 1996).
- Widespread
pollutants with reproductive and endocrine-disrupting effects,
Our Stolen Future web
site. Viewed on June 13, 2005.
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Keith
List Lawrence
Keith is the author of a book on envionmental endocrine disruptors.
Published in 1997, this book summarizes the endocrine disrupting
effects of approximately 50 pesticides and industrial chemicals.
In this reference, chemicals are not ranked according to their endocrine-disrupting
effects, thus the rating simply describes whether the chemical is
contained in the reference or not.
About
the Data: Accuracy,
currency, comprehensiveness and source
These data were taken
from Lawrence H. Keith's, Environmental Endocrine Disruptors:
A Handbook of Property Data, Wiley Interscience (New York, 1997).
This is a published book, so no updates are possible until a second
edition is published.
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Benbrook
list Charles
Benbrook is the author of a report on endocrine disruptors written
for the National Campaign for Pesticide Policy Reform. This report
lists a number of compounds as suspected endocrine disruptors. In
this reference, chemicals are not ranked according to their endocrine-disrupting
effects, thus the rating simply describes whether the chemical is
contained in the reference or not.
About
the Data: Accuracy,
currency, comprehensiveness and source
These
data were taken from Charles M. Benbrook's, Growing Doubt: A
Primer on Pesticides Identified as Endocrine Disruptors and/or Reproductive
Toxicants, National Campaign for Pesticide Policy Reform (Washington,
DC, September 1996). This is a published report and will only be
updated if a second edition is published.
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Last
updated
August 23, 2009
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