In a letter addressed to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins, U.S. Representatives Paul Broun (Republican Party) and Larry Buschon (Republican Party) criticized that Linda Birnbaum, Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) had not placed a disclaimer in her article, published May 7, 2013. The article published in the scientific journal Trends in Endocrinology Metabolism had linked endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) to skyrocketing disease, including early puberty, breast cancer and obesity. The Representatives criticized in their letter that Birnbaum had not placed a disclaimer declaring the article her personal opinion rather than the official position of the administration. They state that Birnbaum’s statement may imply that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is not controlling chemicals adequately. However, while the U.S. EPA is mandated to screen chemicals for endocrine properties since 1996, screening and testing procedures have yet to be finalized.

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Letter to Francis Collins, Congress of the United States

Beyond Pesticides

Reference

Birnbaum, L. (2013). “When environmental chemicals act like uncontrolled medicine.” Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 24, Issue 7, 321-323, 07 May 2013

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