2024-06-12 09:03:29
What are the health and environmental impacts of endocrine disruptors?
Endocrine disruptors have effects on wildlife: gender changes, developmental disorders, etc. in some fish populations. They also damage ecosystems, leading to the erosion of biodiversity.
They also contribute to the development of human pathology. Many studies describe, e.g. Fertility and reproductive disorders (decreased sperm quality, increased frequency of abnormalities in the development of reproductive organs or reproductive functions, decreased age at puberty), and cancer Hormonal dependence, such as breast or prostate cancer. They influence the quality of our aging.
Neurological disorders (such as autism and low IQ), metabolic diseases (such as diabetes or obesity), or immune system disorders may be associated with exposure to endocrine disruptors.
What are the sources of exposure?
There are many types of endocrine disruptors, and there are many sources of pollution to which humans and animals are exposed.
These substances may occur naturally in the environment. but By using commonly used products, our exposure increased tenfold Examples include plastic products, detergents, cosmetics or processed foods.
As a result, various compounds suspected of being endocrine disruptors can be found in trace amounts in the environment, water, air, and food. Therefore, organisms can be exposed through various routes: ingestion, inhalation, skin contact, and simultaneous exposure to trace amounts of several compounds.
How do endocrine disruptors work?
The mechanisms of action of endocrine disruptors make it difficult to determine harmful effects over time or even over generations. Identifying them is even more challenging because these effects can occur at low doses.
Faced with this complexity, understanding of the effects of endocrine disruptors at the concentration levels observed in the environment encounters the limitations of classical toxicology and usual risk assessment approaches. Therefore, the problem is to develop new compounds adapted to the properties of these compounds.
low dose exposure
Typically, below a certain level of exposure, the body’s defense mechanisms prevent health effects from occurring. Then we talk about threshold effects. However, we observed that threshold effects sometimes do not exist for some substances, at least at the population scale. Therefore, effects may occur even at low doses. The presence of endocrine disruptors is suspected in this case.
nonmonotonic dose-response relationship
Traditionally, toxicological studies have described the harmful effects of chemicals as proportional to the test dose. Typically, low doses produce no effect, median doses produce less toxic effects, and high doses tested cause more pronounced or deleterious effects. However, toxicologists have noticed that certain chemicals can follow an inverted curve, i.e. Greater effect at lower doses (or even the opposite) Contrary to what is observed at high doses, we call this a nonmonotonic dose response.
“Exhibition Showcase”
Susceptibility to endocrine disruptors may vary across the life cycle. especially during exhibitions pregnancy and/or early childhood, exposed individuals have increased sensitivity to some of these substances. There puberty This is also a sensitive time, and hormonal imbalances can irreversibly alter certain functions of the body.
What are the regulations regarding endocrine disruptors?
CLP regulations
this CLP supervision Is a regulation that is transversal to other regulations and regulates the hazards of chemical substances and imposes specific labels. Authorization Act No. 2023/707 of December 19, 2022 allows the addition of new hazard categories “Endocrine disruption to human health” and “Endocrine disruption to the environment”. Therefore, substances and mixtures that meet the definition of endocrine disruptors must be Classified and labeled with signal words, hazard statements and precautionary statements Under the new rules of the CLP regulations. This allows for horizontal and identical definitions regardless of how these chemicals are used. Furthermore, this hazard classification distinguishes between suspected and putative/proven endocrine disruptors, making it possible to consider different levels of evidence. Finally, the implementation of this new hazard category ensures that workers and consumers are able to identify and clearly understand the hazards of substances.
Arrival regulations
Regulation of chemical substances (excluding specific uses) is governed by REACH regulations (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals) applies to all EU member states without conversion. It stipulates that substances that have endocrine system-disrupting properties and “present a level of concern comparable to CMR substances (carcinogenic-mutagenic-reproductive toxicity)” can be determined as substances of very high concern and thus be included in the list.
Plant protection products and fungicides Governed by specific regulations for this use, these are the only regulations that explicitly exclude substances with endocrine disrupting effects.
Furthermore, France is the first country to receive this honor. National strategy on endocrine disruptors The aim is to reduce population and environmental exposure to endocrine disruptors.
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