The EDC Scare Fiction or Fact?

Are EDCs a major global health hazard? Jessica McCallin discusses the evidence

Men becoming women, women becoming men, the birthrate for baby boys plummeting..... it sounds like the kind of sensational scare-mongering which usually turns out to be science fiction rather than science fact. But research is increasingly finding that something strange is happening to the human body. Our hormonal systems do not seem to be functioning the way they used to. The finger of blame is being increasingly pointed at a raft of chemicals. Of the estimated 30,000 man-made chemicals currently produced, six endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), also known as hormone disrupting chemicals, or hormone and oestrogenic mimicking chemicals, are causing particular concern. Scientists and environmental think tanks have linked them to birth defects, cancer, damage to vital organs, allergies and asthma. The hormonal system controls many crucial aspects of the working of the body, such as the development of sexual characteristics and of the brain. Many of the chemicals which are thought to affect it were not developed 100 years ago. The recent increase in a whole range of hormone associated illnesses and conditions has been linked to their presence all around us today. EDCs are problematic, not just because they cause problems in one-off doses, but because they are persistent. They do not break down, but accumulate in the body's fatty tissue. A spokesperson for Friends of the Earth's Safer Chemicals Campaign says, "The current regulatory system for EDCs is a failure and protects neither our health nor the health of the environment. The chemical industry claims that it is extremely heavily regulated. In fact, only 14% of the highest production volume chemicals in Europe have got a basic set of safety data publicly available. The current regulatory system does not require safety data to be produced on chemicals which have been on the market since before 1981, which is the majority of chemicals."The chemicals industry has not bothered to gather this data over the decades these chemicals have been on the market. In addition, we continue to be exposed to chemicals that accumulate in our bodies and environment, and to hormone disrupting chemicals."The European Union (EU) is currently reviewing chemicals regulation, with significant pressure from Scandinavian countries to clean up the system. However, the chemical industry, a £250bn industry in the EU, is fighting for the status quo. In the US, the Environmental Protection Agency is screening thousands of chemicals for endocrine disrupting effects, but to date there is no sign of any new controls on existing chemicals, even on the alkyphenols which are being phased out in Europe. International regulations restricting the use of persistent organic pollutants cover some, but not all, EDCs. According to campaigners, they don't go far enough. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has a programme for EDCs, but it focuses mainly on the development of testing procedures, not on phasing out their use. In short, not very much is being done to actually stop the use of the main culprits. While individual EDCs are problematic enough, evidence is growing that as cocktails of chemicals, they are even more dangerous. Worryingly, attempts to develop regulatory oversight of chemicals are ignoring chemical mixtures, focusing on individual chemicals in isolation. Scientists are also beginning to understand that timing is crucial and that EDCs are particularly harmful to babies in the womb and to young children. Considering the high concentration of EDCs found in breast milk, this is a disturbing finding. To date, very little is known for certain about the effects of EDCs on humans. Much of the evidence comes from research on laboratory animals and from hypothesising. But this should not provide comfort to the manufacturers. The effect of EDCs will eventually be established. The chemicals industry may think it is safe at the moment, but how long will this state of affairs last? The latest US court award against tobacco companies was a record $28bn. The effects of EDCs, however, are far more fundamental and further reaching than lung cancer and heart disease. THE MAIN CULPRITS