Endocrine Disruption — The Industry Perspective

Summary

In 1996, CEFIC (Chemical Industry Council of Europe) established the Endocrine Modulator Study Group (EMSG) to investigate and better understand the endocrine disruption issue, i.e., ‘the hypothesis that man-made chemicals are causing adverse effects in both humans and wildlife by altering the hormone system’. EMSG believes that the debate should be based on high quality scientific investigations which are rigorously peer reviewed. This is the reason why an 8 million US$ budget has been made available to fund 18 independent research projects with the objective of providing answers to the following questions:

• are small amounts of chemicals in the environment interfering with the endocrine systems of humans and wildlife leading to harmful effects?

• do low-dose exposures, occurring in utero, result in adverse effects in later life?

• if there is a causal link to industrial chemicals, how can the risk be managed satisfactorily?

This presentation describes the research strategy developed by the European Chemical Industry and emphasises on the need for a real scientific debate on an international level to establish the facts and common evaluation methods. This scientific programme covers three main areas of research:

• human male reproductive health,

• environmental and wildlife health,

• testing strategies and risk assessment.

By supporting this programme, the intention of the European Chemical Industry is to contribute to the consolidation of the existing knowledge and the establishment of a solid scientific framework to assist decision-makers. The results will be published in peerreviewed journals and the information will be shared through an open and transparent process. First results are expected to be published in the second half of 2000.