Reproductive effects/toxicity endocrine disrupting chemicals

The effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals were first discovered in wildlife in the 1970s. It was found that extremely low concentration levels of these can have powerful deleterious effects on the reproduction of wildlife. Human effects were not studied until much later because most EDCs are neither mutagenic nor acutely toxic at the ambient concentrations found to have endocrine disruption effects on wildlife. It was also believed that effects on birds and turtles were not necessarily indicators of human toxicity. This, however, turned out to be exactly the case. Though toxic... 

Another section of the EPA, the Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances (OPPT), has recently updated and harmonized its testing guidelines for evaluating the developmental and reproductive effects of pesticides and industrial chemicals to include an assessment of endocrine disrupting properties. These guidelines will be used in future testing of pesticides under both the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). 

Episodic pollution events can adequately be addressed by acute toxicity bioassays, however these are not sufficient to investigate the water quality for delayed toxicity effects of chemicals present. Chronic effects of pesticides can include carcinogenicity, teratogenicity, mutagenicity, neurotoxicity, and reproductive effects (endocrine disruption). 

Many chemicals are suspected of being endocrine disrupters. Such substances mimic the action of natural hormones, tricking the body into thinking that they are hormonal. In so doing, they may cause excessive action of the natural hormones or may act in an improper manner, thus having some sort of toxic effect. The greatest concern with endocrine disrupters is with reproductive effects and sexual development. But there is also concern that they may increase risk of some kinds of cancer, vascular disease, and diabetes. 

Both decaBDE and BPADP stopped at Benchmark 1 because of their breakdown products. DecaBDE s breakdown products include pentaBDE as a PBT (Benchmark 1 (a)) and octaBDE as very persistent and toxic. BPADP degrades into bisphenol A (and contains the chemical as a contaminant in formulations), which is of high concern for endocrine disruption (and potentially high for its reproductive and developmental effects). 

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