Fw: No 'Safe' Levels for Chemical Hormones? ~ HealthScout

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From: " ilena rose " <ilena@...>

Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2001 6:24 PM

Subject: No 'Safe' Levels for Chemical Hormones? ~ HealthScout

> http://www.healthscout.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Af?ap=55 & id=110655

> No 'Safe' Levels for Chemical Hormones?

>

> Endocrine disruptors may be dangerous even at minute levels, government

now

> says

>

>

>

> By Neil Sherman

> HealthScout Reporter

>

>

>

>

> WEDNESDAY, May 16 (HealthScout) -- Chemicals that mimic male and female

> hormones may not be safe even at levels the government now labels safe, a

> government panel suggests.

>

> The chemicals are called endocrine disruptors, and studies show that some

> of these hormone-like substances may be harming the reproductive systems

or

> the unborn in animals at levels well below the " no effect " ones defined by

> previous testing.

>

> The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asked the National Toxicology

> Program to review chemicals that seem to provoke an endocrine reaction,

> says Melnick, who led the review panel and is a senior toxicologist

> for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in

> Research Triangle Park, N.C. " These chemicals, present in the environment,

> might act as a natural hormone, like estrogen or testosterone, or they

> might block the effect of that hormone. "

>

> " The issue that came up is: Are there effects at low doses from these

> chemicals that would not be picked up by the standard testing paradigm? "

> Melnick poses. " What's come up in the literature in recent years seems to

> show that at lower doses, below which the scientists have determined was a

> 'no effect' level, there still might be effects going on. "

>

> Controversy surrounds environmental estrogens and testosterones, Melnick

> adds. They are found naturally in some plants, and they are also created

by

> manufacturers and used in plastics, insecticides and make-up. The

synthetic

> chemicals can have a profound effect on the hormonal systems of animals or

> their young, previous research shows. Changes in the size and weight of

> reproductive organs, like the uterus or the prostate, have been linked to

> the chemicals. These chemicals can last for years in the environment and

> may collect in the fat tissue of animals and humans.

>

> To get a handle on the issue, the National Toxicology Panel asked a group

> of outside experts to review published and ongoing research on endocrine

> disrupters, Melnick explains. " What they found was there was evidence of

> low-dose effects. " The report concludes that experts need to figure out at

> what levels these chemicals can be considered safe.

>

> The panel's report doesn't go far enough, says the executive director of

> the Children's Environmental Health Network in Washington, D.C.

>

> " These are not problems that we want to wait for a smoking gun to appear

> before we regulate these chemicals, " says Swartz. " If we are

talking

> about very low levels of environmental estrogens causing fertility

problems

> in animals, that strikes me as a problem. And even before all the evidence

> is in, that should force us to take some precautionary measures now. "

>

> " I don't think we know how serious this problem is, " Swartz adds. " You are

> seeing these effects at relatively low levels from chemicals that persist

> for a long time in the environment, and we are talking about plastics and

> insecticides, which contain these endocrine disruptors. Even if we stopped

> right now, we might still see harmful effects for decades. "

>

> What To Do

>

> The solution, Swartz says, is to get the synthetic chemicals off the

market

> and help industry invest in research and development to make the

> transition. " If you are not getting any health benefit [from these

> chemicals], and there is some evidence of health risk, then let's get this

> stuff off the market, " he says.

>

> If you're interested in seeing the report on Endocrine Disruptors, you can

> find it at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Public

> comment on the report will be provided to the EPA, which provides more

> information on endocrine disruptors.

>

> You may also want to read these other HealthScout stories on endocrine

> disruptors.

>

>

>

>

>

> SOURCES: Interviews with Melnick, Ph.D., senior toxicologist,

> National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), Research

> Triangle Park, North Carolina; Swartz, executive director,

> Children's Environmental Health Network, Washington, D.C.; May 15, 2001

> NIEHS Press Release

>

>