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Is enough being done by government agencies in the prevention of EDC exposure?
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Efforts have been isolated, insufficient
The public would benefit from more coordination among government agencies in the regulation of EDCs. With jurisdiction of EDCs scattered among bodies as disparate as the FDA, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Consumer Product Safety Commission, the public receives conflicting information and inconsistent protection from potentially harmful substances. The Endocrine Society strongly advocates for centralization of efforts to alleviate these discrepancies.
While we are encouraged by the intent and work conducted by the EPA to develop accurate screens and tests for identifying EDCs in the environment, we are concerned that the program may already be out of date. Basic and clinical research over the past decade has provided significant new information about the mechanisms of EDC actions and their potential impact on human health. For example, recent research has shown that EDC actions are not always mediated through the hormone receptors to be tested in the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP), rather working through a myriad of other biological mechanisms to alter the endocrine system and induce latent, long-term and even multi-generational effects. These effects are often seen at very low, environmentally relevant levels of exposure. Unless adapted to incorporate these new scientific findings, the EDSP may fail to identify some potentially harmful EDCs. Furthermore, the EDSP is currently rather narrowly focused on pesticides, not extending to the entire universe of more than 80,000 chemicals on the market and in manufacture today.
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It will be critical that studies intended to identify EDCs are designed and interpreted appropriately to ensure that the entire weight of the evidence is accurately considered in policy decisions. The society urges the establishment of a national group of experts, including endocrinologists, toxicologists, epidemiologists and public health experts, to guide the decision-making process.
While the government has taken steps to improve EDC regulation, these efforts have been isolated, disjointed and insufficient. There are efforts under way to modernize the TSCA, which provides the EPA much of its authority in regulating chemical substances. The Endocrine Society encourages federal lawmakers and regulatory bodies to collectively improve their efforts through centralization, modernization and utilization of the appropriate experts.
Robert Vigersky, MD, is President of The Endocrine Society, Chevy, Chase, MD.
Government is moving forward to identify EDCs
After years of delay, the EPA has moved forward recently to begin screening chemical pesticides for hormone effects in order to identify potential hormone disruptors. Here are the actions that show renewed progress at the EPA to address endocrine disruption:
In spring 2009, the EPA issued a list of the first pesticides to be screened for possible endocrine-disruptors. Then in October, the EPA made available the complete battery of scientific assays and test guidelines for conducting these tier-1 assays, as well as the procedures for issuing test orders to manufacturers for 67 pesticide chemicals. In the last week of October, the EPA started rolling out the first test orders for 67 pesticide chemicals. Test orders will be issued approximately every week over the next four months until the necessary screening is ordered on the pesticide chemicals. Screening will be expanded to cover all pesticide chemicals.
The data generated from the screens will provide robust and systematic scientific information to help the EPA identify whether additional testing is necessary, or whether other steps are necessary to address potential EDCs. Now that screening is under way for the first group of chemicals, the EPA is preparing to review the responses, evaluate the data and determine the potential of endocrine interaction and whether additional testing is necessary to guide further regulation.
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The EPA Office of Research and Development has implemented an integrated multidisciplinary research program on endocrine-disruptors. The research program is providing the agency with the methods it needs to implement the Endocrine Disruptors Screening Program (highlighted above); scientific underpinnings to be able to interpret data from this program and incorporate them into risk assessments and agency decisions; an improved understanding of the impacts of endocrine-disruptors on humans and wildlife; and development of strategies to mitigate risks.
The EDSP is the most comprehensive mandated testing program for hormone effects in the United States. The program is the result of a multi-year effort that includes validation of the science through a transparent scientific review process.
Steve Owens is Assistant Administrator to the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.