A new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine proposes a strategy that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should use to evaluate the evidence of adverse human health effects from low doses of exposure to chemicals that can disrupt the endocrine system.
The report’s proposed strategy has three broad steps that can help evaluate evidence of impacts from low-dose chemical exposure:
- Surveillance
Surveillance can detect signals of possible health effects by actively monitoring new data, scientific literature, nontraditional information sources, and stakeholder input to ensure health effects are being identified and analyzed on a regular basis. - Investigation and Analysis
To further investigate the signals, the agency should analyze existing data, generate new data to fill gaps, conduct a systematic review of evidence, or integrate evidence from human and animal studies. One or more of these options might be needed to answer questions about potential signals. - Action
Possible actions the agency could take include updating chemical assessments, regularly monitoring for new data, requiring new data or models to reduce uncertainties, or updating toxicity-testing designs and practices. Additional considerations, such as the public health significance and available resources, would also factor into the decision making.
Sources
- New Report Lays Out Strategy to Evaluate Evidence of Adverse Human Health Effects From Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals at Low Doses, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, July 18, 2017.
- Application of Systematic Review Methods in an Overall Strategy for Evaluating Low-Dose Toxicity from Endocrine Active Chemicals, National Academy of Sciences, doi.org/10.17226/24758, 2017.
Endocrine Disruptors
- Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: 2nd Endocrine Society Scientific Statement, 2015.
- Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: 1st Endocrine Society Scientific Statement, 2009.
- Watch our DES and EDCs research gallery on Flickr.
- Watch our EDCs video playlist on YouTube.