In a press release published on June 7, 2018, the Endocrine Society (ES) commented on the release of the guidance document for implementation of the criteria to identify of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) among pesticides and biocides in the EU. This guidance was prepared by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and European Chemical Agency (ECHA), and published on the same day (FPF reported).
The ES “expressed continued concerns” that the EU’s EDC criteria “do not go far enough to protect public health,” because they “require an excessively high level of proof that a chemical is an endocrine disruptor,” and the now-published guidance document on EDC criteria implementation “creates further unnecessary barriers to regulating harmful EDCs.” The ES asserted that “the finding of an adverse effect that involves hormones or endocrine systems should be sufficient to identify an EDC,” while “a detailed study of action and mechanisms should not be required.” Further, the ES commented that the EDC guidance “has a limited scope,” because it looks at only four pathways regulated by well-studied nuclear receptors, and fails to address “other pathways that affect important functions such as metabolism, body weight and insulin action.”
The ES also said that the the EU’s EDC strategy should be extended to cover EDCs in products other than pesticides and biocides, such as “food contact materials, manufacturing chemicals, children’s toys, cosmetics and personal care products.” In a position statement published in May 2018, the ES “called for the EU to revise its 1999 strategy on EDCs to account for new scientific information developed in recent years and with the aim of minimizing exposure to hazardous EDCs throughout the environment and in consumer products.” The ES further emphasized that “EDC regulations should be designed to protect the most vulnerable populations – including fetuses, children and adolescents – from irreversible effects.”
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Endocrine Society (June 7, 2018). “EU criteria fall short of protecting public from endocrine disrupting chemicals.”
Endocrine Society (May 2018). “Endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the European Union.” (pdf)
