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Tracking Chemicals

ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS ARE SYNTHETIC CHEMICALS THAT MIMIC NATURAL HORMONES.  THEY’RE VERY COMMON, BUT HARD TO STUDY, AS YOU’LL HEAR ON THIS ENVIRONMINUTE.

SCIENTISTS ARE WORKING HARD TO TRACK THE CHEMICALS WE’RE EXPOSED TO AND IDENTIFY THEIR EFFECTS ON OUR BODIES.  IT’S A DIFFICULT TASK BECAUSE NOT ONLY ARE WE EXPOSED TO MULTIPLE CHEMICALS AT THE SAME TIME – ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS CAN MAKE AN IMPACT AT VERY LOW DOSES, AND THAT IMPACT MIGHT NOT BE FELT UNTIL YEARS AFTER AN EXPOSURE.

DESPITE THE CHALLENGES, STUDIES ARE SHEDDING NEW LIGHT ON ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS.  BUT TED SCHETTLER, SCIENCE DIRECTOR OF THE SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NETWORK, SAYS UNCERTAINTY PERSISTS, MAKING IT A COMPLEX PUBLIC POLICY ISSUE.

SCHETTLER: AS A SOCIETY, WE’RE GOING TO NEED TO ANSWER THE QUESTION ABOUT WHEN DO WE KNOW ENOUGH TO ACT BECAUSE IF WE WAIT FOR SCIENTIFIC CERTAINTY, WE WILL CLEARLY HAVE WAITED TOO LONG IN MANY INSTANCES.

THE ENVIRONMINUTE IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE HEINZ FAMILY PHILANTHROPIES AND THE HEINZ ENDOWMENTS.  LEARN MORE BY VISITING ENVIRONMINUTE-DOT-COM. 

To learn more about endocrine disruptors, visit the NRDC site.

For more information about what endocrine disruptors are and how you can avoid them, look at http://www.niehs.nih.gov/oc/factsheets/pdf/endocrine.pdf