The ABC of EDCs - Global concern spurs researchers into action

Abstract

EDCs cosmetics, sun block), and industrial substances (plasticisers, fabric softeners, fire retardants, cooling agents). They find their way into the environment and water resources. We are exposed to these chemicals through the water we drink and the food we eat, the air we inhale, and through contact with our skin. Because the list of chemicals with possible endocrine disrupting effects is structurally so diverse, it is not possible to define a ‘typical’ EDC. Of specific concern, however, is the subgroup of EDCs known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). These compounds do break down extremely slowly, and can remain in the environment for many years. They accumulate in fatty tissue, becoming more concentrated higher up in the food chain over time. For example, fish-eating birds might have higher concentrations of EDCs than the fish on which they feed, such as a study on bald eagles in Alaska showed. Infants can be exposed to their chemicals through the womb and through their mothers’ breast milk.

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