Definition of endocrine disruptor
An Endocrine Disrupter is an exogenous substance or a mixture, that alters function(s) of the endocrine system, causing adverse health effects in an intact organism, or its progeny, or (sub)populations. (European Workshop on the Impact of Endocrine Disrupters on Human Health and Wildlife, Weybridge 2-4/12/1996). (European Workshop on the Impact of Endocrine Disruptors on Human Health and Wildlife, Weybridge 2-4/12/1996).
"Scientific principles for the identification of chemicals harmful to the endocrine system - a declaration of consensus - Result of an international expert meeting organized by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR)" (Berlin, 11-12 April 2016)
At the expert meeting organized by the Federal Institute for German Risk Assessment (BfR), held in Berlin on 11 and 12 April 2016, an agreement was reached on the identification of endocrine disruptors. The wokshop report contains, among other things, the consensus document agreed by all participants. The participants speechs held during the meeting, as well as a preliminary conclusion of the conference, are available on the BfR website.
23 international fame scientists attended the meeting. In addition, four observers from the European Commission, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) were present. Among other things, the consensus document lists the criteria for identifying substances capable to altered in the endocrine system. Scientific principles are an important prerequisite for the creation of an uniform European criteria as a basis for future human health assessments of substances and products with endocrine disruptive properties. The results of the meeting can therefore support the European Commission in the development of monitoring criteria and for the interpretation of endocrine disruptors in pesticides, other chemicals and products. (Allegato: Solecki2017_Article_ScientificPrinciplesForTheIden).
The assessment of endocrine disruptors is still an evolving work-in-progress.
- mechanisms, targets and health effects still incompletely characterized such as the metabolic pathways associated with retinoic acid, epigenetics, neurobehavioral development, the skeletal system
- exposure scenarios worthy of further attention: supplements and nutraceuticals, building materials, clothing, cosmetics
- the reality of industrializing countries, where there can be significant exposure without strong systems for the regulation and control of chemicals
- the development of inter-disciplinary collaboration to integrate epidemiological and biomonitoring studies into the toxicological risk assessment
Challenges in Endocrine Disruptor Toxicology and Risk Assessment. In: Issues in Toxicology. Alberto Mantovani & Aleksandra Fucic (ed). Royal Society of Chemistry: London, 2020 (About this book)
