Endocrine Society: Expert panel pushes to regulate endocrine disrupting compounds like BPA

Continued exposure to BPA, phthalates, pesticides and other environmental toxins is worrisome for epigenetic changes from repeated exposure that could harm generations to come.

The scientific group says evidence is “strong” that BPA and other hormone disrupting compounds in the environment could cause infertility, cancers and birth defects in humans that should be further explored.

“In the absence of direct information regarding cause and effect, the precautionary principle is critical to enhancing reproductive and endocrine health. As endocrinologists, we suggest that The Endocrine Society actively engages in lobbying for regulation seeking to decrease human exposure to the many endocrine-disrupting agents.”

The Endocrine Society’s Scientific Statement is a call for more research and a push for decreasing human exposure to compounds like BPA, through government regulation of BPA, pesticides, plasticizers and other compounds that interfere with hormones, known as endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs).

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CHEMICALS IN OUR AIR, HOMES & KITCHENS TO BLAME: Special Report -The New Boys' Health Scare

Special Report: The New Boys' Health Scare

Male infertility appears to be on the rise, and studies suggest that more boys are being born with genital malformations. Could chemicals in our air, our homes, and even our kitchens be to blame? Brian Alexander investigates how you can protect your family.

"Do you think I might be paranoid?" she asks. She has three children. The youngest, a son, is 5 years old, and Brandie has read a lot online about endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which some scientists say can scramble male hormones. EDCs are commonly found in plastics, bug- and weed-killers, the linings of food and drink cans, fragrances, and other household products.

Children may be most seriously affected because their developing brains and bodies are especially vulnerable to chemicals. Over the last few years, there has been a glut of new research about the possible effects on baby boys, in particular. Some research has suggested that EDCs can change the way male fetuses' brains form in the womb.

The official opinion of the Endocrine Society, which represents experts who specialize in the body's hormonal systems, is that "the evidence for adverse reproductive outcomes (infertility, cancers, malformations) from exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals is strong." And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now taking notice. "Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are showing up in low doses in our water supply, and it is troubling," says EPA administrator Lisa Jackson.