What Has Been Done So Far?

By Katy Califf

Chemical companies have been dumping hundreds upon hundreds of new synthetic compounds into the environment every year, making it nearly impossible for scientists to be able to identify and detect them, let alone analyze their effects and dangers. Because of this insufficient data, it is difficult to make sound policy decisions.

DDT, a pesticide which disrupts reproductive development of wildlife and causes egg shell thinning, has been banned in most developed countries, but is still used in many developing countries, such as India.

Production of PCBs has also been banned since 1977 in the U.S., but there are still products in use that contain them.

The Environmental Protection Agency has formed an Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program to try to gather data needed to identify endocrine disruptors.

A bill to authorize the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) to conduct and coordinate a research program on hormone disrupting chemicals was introduced to the US House of Representatives on May 9, 2002 by Louise Slaughter, a Democrat from New York. The Hormone Disruption Research Act of 2002 proposes $500 million to fund the first 5 years of research, beginning in 2003.