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Major Consensus Statements

  1. Statement from the work session on environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals: neural, endocrine and behavioral effects. Erice, Sicily, November 1995.
  2. 1997 Declaration of the Environment Leaders of the Eight on Children's Environmental Health, Miami, Florida, May 5-6, 1997.
  3. Statement from the work session on chemically-induced alterations in sexual development: the wildlife/human connection, Wingspread Conference Center, Racine, Wisconsin July 1991.
  4. United States Catholic Conference, National Conference of Catholic Bishops, National Council of Synagogues, BCEIA, issue joint declaration condemning acts of religious hatres, and on children and the environment, November 2000.
  5. The Earth Charter, March 2000.

Statement from the work session on environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals: neural, endocrine and behavioral effects.

Erice, Sicily, November 1995

The problem:

A multidisciplinary group of international experts gathered for a work session on "Environmental Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: Neural, Endocrine and Behavioral Effects" under the auspices of the International School of Ethology at the Ettore Majorana Centre for Scientific Culture in Erice, Sicily, November 5-10, 1995.

The need for this work session grew out of evidence accumulated since the first consensus statement on endocrine disrupting chemicals was released in October, 1991. This first statement was framed as a product of a work session on "Chemically-Induced Alterations in Sexual and Functional Development: The Wildlife/Human Connection". Research since 1991 has reinforced concerns over the scope of the problems posed to human health and ecological systems by endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

New evidence is especially worrisome because it underscores the exquisite sensitivity of the developing nervous system to chemical perturbations that result in functional abnormalities. Moreover, the consequences of these perturbations depend upon the stage of development during which exposure occurs and are expressed in different ways at different times in life, from birth through to advanced age. This work session was convened because of the growing concern that failure to confront the problem could have major economic and societal implications.

Those in attendance agreed that as scientists we seek only the truth; we value diversity; we believe global problems require global solutions; and our goal should be "science without borders and laboratories without walls" (adapted from Paul Dirac, Piotr Kapitza, and Antonio Zichichi, Erice Statement, 1982).

The meeting was convened specifically to:

  1. come to agreement in principle concerning the magnitude and geographic scope of the impact of endocrine disruptors on brain development and behavior;
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  2. review available technologies for ascertaining biologic markers of exposure to and effects on the nervous system by endocrine disruptors;
  3. provide strategies for increasing communications and collaboration among disciplines to optimize resources for future research; and
    4. suggest methods for translating the findings of this work session into information that is useful for decision makers and the public.

Consensus Statement

The following consensus was reached by participants at the workshop.

  1. We are certain of the following:
    • Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can undermine neurological and behavioral development and subsequent potential of individuals exposed in the womb or, in fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds, the egg. This loss of potential in humans and wildlife is expressed as behavioral and physical abnormalities. It may be expressed as reduced intellectual capacity and social adaptability, as impaired responsiveness to environmental demands, or in a variety of other functional guises. Widespread loss of this in nature can change the character of human societies or destabilize wildlife populations. Because profound economic and social consequences emerge from small shifts in functional potential at the population level, it is imperative to monitor levels of contaminants in humans, animals, and the environment that are associated with disruption of the nervous and endocrine systems and reduce their production and release.
    • Because the endocrine system is sensitive to perturbation, it is a likely target for disturbance. In contrast to natural hormones found in animals and plants, some of the components and by-products of many manufactured organic compounds that interfere with the endocrine system are persistent and undergo biomagnification in the food web, which makes them of greater concern as endocrine disruptors.
    • Man-made endocrine-disrupting chemicals range across all continents and oceans. They are found in native populations from the Arctic to the tropics, and, because of their persistence in the body, can be passed from generation to generation. The seriousness of the problems is exacerbated by the extremely low levels of hormones produced naturally by the endocrine system which are needed to modulate and induce appropriate responses. In contrast, many endocrine disrupting contaminants, even if less potent than the natural products, are presented in living tissue at concentrations millions of times higher that the natural hormones. Wildlife, laboratory animals, and humans exhibit adverse health effects at contemporary environmental concentrations of man-made chemicals that act as endocrine disruptors. New technology has revealed that some man-made chemicals are present in tissue at concentrations previously not possible to measure with conventional analytical methods, but at concentrations which are biologically active.
    • Gestational exposure to persistent man-made chemicals reflects the lifetime of exposure of females before they become pregnant. Hence, the transfer of contaminants to the developing embryo and fetus during pregnancy and to the newborn during lactation is not simply a function of recent maternal exposure. For some egg laying species, the body-burden of the females just prior to ovulation is the most critical period. For mammals, exposure to endocrine disruptors occurs during all of prenatal and early postnatal development because they are stored in the mother.
    • The developing brain exhibits specific and often narrow windows during which exposure to endocrine disruptors can produce permanent changes in its structure and function. The timing of exposure is crucial during early developmental stages, particularly during fetal development when a fixed sequence of structural change is occurring and before protective mechanisms have developed. A variety of chemical challenges in humans and animals early in life can lead to profound and irreversible abnornmalities in brain development at exposure levels that do not produce permanent effects in adults.
    • Thyroid hormones are essential for normal brain functions throughout life. Interference with thyroid hormone function during development leads to abnormalities in brain and behavioral development. The eventual results of moderate to severe alterations of thyroid hormone concentrations, particularly during fetal life, are motor dysfunction of varying severity including cerebral palsy, mental retardation, learning disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, hydrocephalus, seizures and other permanent neurological abnormalities. Similarly, exposure to man-made chemicals during early development can impair motor function, spatial perception, learning, memory, auditory development, fine motor coordination, balance, and attentional processes; in severe cases, mental retardation may result.
    • Sexual development of the brain is under the influence of estrogenic (female) and androgenic (male) hormones. Not all endocrine disruptors are estrogenic or anti-estrogenic. For example, new date reveal that DDE, a breakdown product of DDT, found in almost all living tissue, is an anti-androgen in mammals. Man-made chemicals that interfere with sex hormones have the potential to disturb normal brain sexual development. Wildlife studies of gulls, terns, fishes, whales porpoises, alligators and turtles link environmental contaminants with disturbances in sex hormone production and/or action. These effects have been associated with exposure to sewage and industrial effluents, pesticides, ambient ocean and freshwater contamination, and the aquatic food web.
    • Commonalties across species in the hormonal mechanisms controlling brain development and function mean that adverse effects observed in wildlife and in laboratory animals may also occur in humans, although specific effects may differ from species to species. Most important, the same man-made chemicals that have shown these effects in mechanistic studies in laboratory animals also have a high exposure potential for humans.
    • The full range of substances interfering with natural endocrine modulation of neural and behavioral development cannot be entirely defined at present. However, compounds shown to have endocrine effects include dioxins, PCBs, phenolics, phthalates, and many pesticides. Any compounds mimicking or antagonizing actions of, or altering levels of, neurotransmitters, hormones, and growth factors in the developing brain are potentially in this group.
  2. We estimate with confidence that:
    • Every pregnant woman in the world has endocrine disruptors in her body that are transferred to the fetus. She also has measurable concentrations of endocrine disruptors in her milk that are transferred to the infant.
    • There may not be definable thresholds for responses to endocrine disruptors. In addition, for naturally occurring hormones, too much can be as severe a problem as too little. Consequently, simple (monotonic) dose-response curves for toxicity do not necessarily apply to the effects of endocrine disruptors.
    • Because certain PCBs and dioxins are known to impair normal thyroid function, we suspect that they contribute to learning disabilities, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and perhaps other neurological abnormalities. In addition, many pesticides affect thyroid function and, therefore, may have similar consequences.
    • Some endocrine disruptors or their breakdown products are nearly equipotent to natural hormones. Even weak endocrine disruptors may exert potent effects because they can bypass the natural protection of blood binding proteins for endogenous hormones. Some disruptors also have a substantially longer biological half-life than naturally produced hormones because they are not readily metabolized, and as a result are stored in the body and accumulate to concentrations of concern. Some man-made chemicals that appear non-toxic are converted by the liver to more toxic compounds. Also, compounds that are not toxic in the mother may be toxic to her developing embryo, fetus or newborn. The exquisite vulnerability of the fetal brain to methylmercury and lead are prime examples of this principle.
    • Functional deficits are not as easily measured as physical anomalies or clinical disease, in part because they are typically expressed as continuous measures, such as IQ, rather than the number of cases in a population. Consequently, conventional population surveys may overlook the extent of such deficits. Moreover, because such surveys tend to express their findings as shifts in mean values even when they are based on appropriate measures, they tend to obscure influences on the more susceptible members of the population.
    • Large amounts of man-made chemicals capable of disrupting the endocrine and nervous systems are sold to, or produced and used in, third world countries that lack the resources or technology to properly monitor and control exposure levels. Insufficient and improper training in handling chemicals and ignorance of concerning health effects and monitoring strategies leads to the likelihood of very high levels of exposure.
  3. There are many uncertainties in our understanding because:
    • No one is exposure-free, thus confounding studies to determine what is normal. Everyone is exposed at any single time and throughout life to large numbers of manmade chemicals. Relatively few of the manmade chemicals found in human tissue have been identified. Lack of funding has seriously constrained testing these chemicals for their potential to disrupt natural systems.
    • Sensitive parameters, including neurological abnormalities, behavioral and neuropsychiatric disorders, and neuroanatomical, neurochemical, and neurophysiologic endpoints need to be investigated. Most important, criteria at the population level need to include the social and economic costs of impairment because the true costs to society of such problems can be significant, e.g., the costs of a 5 point IQ loss across a population. Investigation of potential toxicity typically includes laboratory, population and field studies, clinical reports, and accident reports. However, developmental neurotoxicants produce a spectrum of effects that are not typically evaluated. such as the progression and latency of behavioral and neurological changes. In addition, alternation of other systems can produce subsequent cognitive, behavioral, and neurological dysfunction; i.e. diseases of other organ systems that influence the brain; non-CNS drugs; other foreign substances such as air pollutants; and immune system involvements that alter behavior.
    • Trade secret laws afford industry confidentiality, depriving the consumer and public health authorities of the right to know the components of commercial products so they can be tested.
      • Our judgment is that:
        • The benefits of reduced health care costs could be substantial if exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals were reduced.
        • A trivial amount of governmental resources is devoted to monitoring environmental chemicals and health effects. The public is unaware of this and believes that they are adequately protected. The message that endocrine disruptors are present in the environment and have the potential to affect many people over a lifespan has not effectively reached the general public, the scientific community, regulators, or policy makers. Although this message is difficult to reduce to simple statements without over- or understating the problem, the potential risks to human health are so widespread and far-reaching that any policy based on continued ignorance of the facts would be unconscionable.
        • The outcome of exposure is inadequately addressed when based just on population averages. Instead, risk should be based on the range of responses within a population – that is, the total distribution. The magnitude of the problem can be better determined by knowing the distribution of responses to endocrine disruptors by individuals within subsets of the population most at risk, such as pregnant women, developing embryos, fetuses, and newborns, teens, the aged, the ill or those with pre-existing endocrine disorders. The magnitude of the risks also depends upon the endpoint under consideration. For example, a variety of motor, sensory, behavioral, and cognitive functions, endpoints which are more sensitive than cancer, must be considered when assessing neurological function. This holds for wildlife and domestic animals, as well as human populations.
        • Wildlife have been effective models for understanding endocrine disruption at the molecular, cellular, individual, population, and ecosystem levels. Future research to examine diverse wildlife species at all levels of biological organization must be broadened and adequately supported.
        • Those responsible for producing man-made chemicals must assure product safety beyond a reasonable doubt. Manufacturers should be required to release the names of all chemicals used in their products with the appropriate evidence that the products pose no developmental health hazard.
        • Current panels of scientists who determine the distribution of public research funds often have a narrow scope of expertise and are thus ill-equipped to review the kind of interdisciplinary research that is necessary in this field. Funding institutions should be encouraged to increase the scope of representation on review panels and to develop more appropriate mechanisms for interdisciplinary reviews. Governmental agencies should also increase funding for multidisciplinary extramural projects for surveillance of wildlife and human populations where neurological damage is suspected and follow any leads with laboratory research. In addition, populations of animals consuming the contaminated foods also eaten by humans should be studied for developmental health effects. It is important to observe a variety of vertebrate species through multigenerational studies.
        • Strategies for increasing interdisciplinary communication and collaborations to optimize resources and future research are needed. Studies should be designed more economically to include the sharing of material among many collaborators. Interdisciplinary teams should explore neurological and other types of damage at all levels of biological organization from molecular through biochemical, physiological, and behavioral.
        • A concerted effort should be undertaken to deliver this consensus statement to the public, key decision makers, and the media. In addition, specially designed messages should be developed for family physicians and others responsible for public health who are often unaware of the possible role of occupational and environmental chemical pollutants as agents underlying or constituting risk factors for "primary" human diseases. Physicians must be trained in medical school about often latent effects of pollutants on human development and health. This training is currently inadequate. A coordinated speakers bureau and on-line systems such as a site on the World Wide Web for endocrine-disruptors should be established

1997 Declaration of the Environment Leaders of the Eight on Children's Environmental Health, Miami, Florida, May 5-6, 1997

We acknowledge that, throughout the world, children face significant threats to health from an array of environmental hazards. The protection of human health remains a fundamental objective of environmental policies to achieve sustainable development. We increasingly understand that the health and well-being of our families depends upon a clean and healthy environment. Nowhere is this more true than in the case of children, who are particularly vulnerable to pollution. Evidence is growing that pollution at levels or concentrations below existing alert thresholds can cause or contribute to human health problems and our countries' present levels of protection may not, in some cases, provide children with adequate protection.

Among the most important environmental health threats to children worldwide are microbiological and chemical contaminants in drinking water, air pollution that exacerbates illness and death from respiratory problems, polluted waters, toxic substances, pesticides, and ultra-violet radiation. Most of these threats are aggravated for children living in poverty. While not a comprehensive list, we have chosen items for action, enumerated below, because they can benefit most from collective effort by the Eight.

We affirm that prevention of exposure is the single most effective means of protecting children against environmental threats. We seek to improve levels of protection for children, and we reaffirm the priority of children's environmental health in our own countries, as well as in bilateral and multilateral agendas. We agree to cooperate on environmental research, risk assessment, and standard-setting within the jurisdictions of each ministry. We agree to raise public awareness that would enable families to better protect their children's health. We urge our Leaders to make the protection of children's environmental health a high environmental priority and call for international financial institutions, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme and other international bodies to continue ongoing activities and give further attention to children's environmental heath, in particular the environmental, economic and social dimensions of children's health.

Environmental Risk Assessments & Standard Setting: Historically, due to a lack of comprehensive science, environmental protection programs, standards and testing protocols often have not adequately taken into account nor fully protected infants and children from environmental threats. While our countries have incorporated the precautionary principle or precautionary approaches and safety factors into environmental standard setting, it is important to employ more explicit scientific consideration of children's characteristics and behaviour in this process.

We pledge to establish national policies that take into account the specific exposure pathways and dose-response characteristics of children when conducting environmental risk assessments and setting protective standards. We agree there is a need to upgrade testing guidelines to improve our ability to detect risks to children and to assess and evaluate the effects of both single and multiple exposures for children. We urge cooperation through the OECD on adopting revised, harmonized testing guidelines. We will promote research to understand the particular exposures and sensitivities of infants and children to environmental hazards and exchange research results and information on regulatory decisions. Where there is insufficient information, we agree to pursue the precautionary principles or precautionary approaches to protecting children's health. We call for the consideration of children's environmental health, based on sound science, in the negotiation and implantation of future, bilateral, regional and global agreements, such as the negotiations on persistent organic pollutants, long range transboundary air pollution, and trade in particularly dangerous pesticides, chemicals and hazardous wastes.

Children's Exposure to Lead: Lead poisoning is a major environmental hazard to children and our countries have taken many successful actions to reduce children's exposure to lead. Our countries continue to support the reduction in risks from exposure to lead.

We call for further actions that will result in reducing blood lead levels in children to below 10 micrograms per decilitre. Where this blood lead level is exceeded, further action is required. We acknowledge the importance to child health of maternal exposure to lead and agree to reduce maternal exposure.

Microbiologically Safe Drinking Water: Worldwide, the greatest threat to childhood survival is lack of access to clean water, with more than four million children dying annually from diarreal disease associated with contaminated water. In recent years, a number of countries have experienced serious waterborne disease outbreaks associated with microbial contaminants, such as cryptosporidium and bacterial and viral pathogens. All countries and relevant international organizations should better incorporate the existing knowledge bases into protecting children from microbiological contaminants in drinking water.

We agree to focus increased attention on drinking water disinfection, source water protection and sanitation, as major instruments of good drinking water quality in our national and regional progress, as well as through existing bilateral foreign assistance programs, international organizations and financial institutions. We will facilitate technology transfer to and capacity building in developing countries where micro biologically safe drinking water is a primary child survival concern.

We strongly support the initiative on sustainable use of freshwater for social and economic purposes, including, inter alia, safe drinking water and sanitation, proposed in the context of the preparations for UNGASS and consider that this initiative should make a major contribution to children's health.

We agree to share information and policies among our countries to improve our drinking water standards and will designate officials from our ministries to exchange monitoring data on microbiological drinking water contaminants and waterborne disease outbreaks on a regular basis. We agree to collaborate on research to support the development of technologies and methods to control disease outbreaks and will give special emphasis to appropriate technologies for small drinking water treatment systems.

Air Quality: Air quality is of particular importance to infants and children, both indoors and outdoors. Childhood asthma and other pediatric respiratory ailments are increasing dramatically in our countries and are substantially exacerbated by environmental pollutants in the air, including emissions from fossils fuel combination and other sources. While research on children's exposure to some specific air pollutants has been conducted by some our countries, further research is needed.

We undertake to reduce air pollution in our respective countries, which will alleviate both domestic and transboundary impacts of air quality and, particularly, children's health. Recognizing that indoor air pollution has been identified as a critical problem affecting children's health worldwide, we agree to exchange information, on indoor air health threats and remedial measures.

Environmental Tobacco Smoke: Children exposed to environmental tobacco smoke are more likely to suffer from reduced lung function, lower respiratory tract infections and respiratory irritations. Asthmatic children are especially at risk. Many of these symptoms lead to increased hospitalizations of children.

We affirm that environmental tobacco smoke is a significant public health risk to young children and that parents need to know about the risks of smoking in the home around their young children. We agree to cooperate on education and public awareness efforts aimed at reducing children's exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.

Emerging Threats to Children's Health from Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals:

There is growing scientific evidence that a variety of environmental contaminants can exert adverse health effects by their ability to alter the functions of hormones within the body. These effects, which include cancer, reproductive disorders, changes in behaviour and immune dysfunction, have been observed in laboratory animals exposed to specific chemicals, wildlife populations in several broadly contaminated ecosystems such as the Great Lakes, and to a more limited extent in humans exposed to some organochlorine compounds. Some of these chemicals also are capable of causing long-term neurological damage. Infants and children may be at particular risk to the potential effects of these contaminants. Children may be exposed to endocrine disrupting chemicals in utero, through breast milk and in the environment.

We encourage continuing efforts to compile an international inventory of research activities, develop an international assessment of the rate of the science, identify and prioritize research needs and data gaps, and develop a mechanism for coordinating and cooperating on filling the research needs. These activities should complement initiatives that are being pursued in international fora such as the Inter-governmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS) and through the work of agencies such as the United Nations Environment Programme. We pledge to develop cooperatively risk management or pollution prevention strategies, as major sources and environmental fates of endocrine disrupting chemicals are identified and will continue to inform the public as knowledge is gained.

Impacts of Global Climate Change to Children's Health: Decisive international action must be taken to confront the problem of global warming including at Kyoto. Our children and future generations face serious threats to their health and welfare from changes in the Earth's climate due the build-up of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. Overwhelming scientific evidence links human actions to anticipated changes in the global climate system that are likely to result in unacceptable impacts to all nations. In the words of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: "Climate change is likely to have wide-ranging and mostly adverse impacts on human health, with significant loss of life." Children will be among the most susceptible to more severe heat waves, more intense air pollution, and the spread of infectious diseases and we are only beginning to understand the interactions between these issues and other global trends, such as ozone depletion. Future generations will face many potential impacts of climate change with serious health, environmental and economic consequences.

We must address environmental health threats with a specific focus on children which, for many countries, will require increased coordination between environment, health and other ministries. Countries must increase institutional and other scientific capacities to work on the specific problems of environmental threats to children. We will make the steps agreed upon in this declaration a priority in domestic action plans, report on our progress in carrying out those steps in appropriate international fora and broaden our cooperative efforts on children's environmental health with other countries.

We recognize that environmental threats to children's health must be set in a larger context of poverty, alleviation and economic and social development and we urge Leaders to commit to specific results-orientated actions that will accelerate a global transition to sustainable development at The UNGASS and other international fora.

Annex A: Implementation Actions on Protecting Children's Health and Environment Which the Environment Leaders of the Eight Have Agreed to Promote Within Their Governments and Countries

Risk Assessment and Standard Setting

  • Urge the OECD to expedite completion of the process of updating and harmonizing developmental and reproductive toxicity testing guidelines.
  • Designate officials to work towards enhanced international harmonization of risk assessment approaches that explicitly address environmental risks to children.
    • Lead
      • Each country agrees to develop and share individual country actions to accomplish the goals of the OECD Declaration on lead.
      • The Eight will establish principal points of contact and a mechanism for sharing timely information regarding lead hazards in toys and other products to which children might be exposed, including imported products, and will consider other joint actions as appropriate.
      • Provide access, on a timely basis, to new technological developments on blood lead level testing.
    • Microbiologically Safe Drinking Water
      • Recommend that foreign assistance programs of the Eight, international organizations, and international financial institutions focus increased attention on drinking water disinfection and source water protection for nations worldwide.
      • Designate contact points to exchange monitoring data on microbiological drinking water contaminants and waterborne disease outbreaks.
      • Designate contact points to collaborate on research to support the development of technologies and methods, focused on small drinking water systems, to control disease outbreaks.
    • Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals
      • Request that the International Organization on the Management of Chemicals and U.S. EPA complete an international inventory of ongoing research activities.
      • Work with UNEP and other appropriate international organizations to complete an international scientific assessment.
      • Develop an international research strategy after completion of the inventory and scientific assessment.
      • Support an OECD initiative to develop a battery of screening and testing guidelines for endocrine disrupting chemicals that considers the special susceptibilities and exposures to children.
    • Air Quality
      • Carry out regional commitments to address transboundary impacts of air pollution.
      • Cooperate through existing scientific organization to enhance the exchange of information on health threats and effective remedial approaches for addressing indoor air quality problems.

Statement from the work session on chemically-induced alterations in sexual development: the wildlife/human connection.

Wingspread Conference Center, Racine, Wisconsin, July 1991

The problem:

Many compounds introduced into the environment by human activity are capable of disrupting endocrine system of animals, including fish, wildlife, and humans. The consequences of such disruption can be profound because of the crucial role hormones play in controlling development. Because of the increasing and pervasive contamination of the environment by compounds capable of such activity, a multidisciplinary group of experts gathered in retreat at Wingspread, Racine, Wisconsin, 26-28 July 1991 to assess what is known about the issue. Participants included experts in the fields of anthropology, ecology, comparative endocrinology, histopathology, immunology, mammalogy, medicine, law, psychiatry, psychoneuroendocrinology, reproductive physiology, toxicology, wildlife management, tumor biology, and zoology.

The purposes of the meeting were:

  1. to integrate and evaluate findings from the diverse research disciplines concerning the magnitude of the problem of endocrine disruptors in the environment;
  2. to identify the conclusions that can be drawn with confidence from existing data; and
  3. to establish a research agenda that would clarify uncertainties remaining in the field

Consensus Statement

The following consensus was reached by participants at the workshop.

We are certain of the following:

  • A large number of man-made chemicals that have been released into the environment, as well as a few natural ones, have the potential to disrupt the endocrine system of animals, including humans. Among these are the persistent, bioaccumulative, organohalogen compounds that include some pesticides (fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides) and industrial chemicals, other synthetic products, and some metals.
  • Many wildlife populations are already affected by these compounds. The impacts include thyroid dysfunction in birds and fish; decreased fertility in birds, fish, shellfish, and mammals; decreased hatching success in birds, fish and turtles; gross birth deformities in birds, fish, and turtles; metabolic abnormalities in birds, fish, and mammals; behavioral abnormalities in birds; demasculinization and feminization of male fish, birds and mammals; defeminization and masculinization of female fish and birds; and compromised immune systems in birds and mammals.
  • The pattern for effects vary among species and among compounds. Four general points can nontheless be made:
    1. the chemicals of concern may have entirely different effects on the embryo, fetus, or perinatal organism than on the adult;
    2. the effects are most often manifested in offspring, no in the exposed parent;
    3. the timing of exposure in the develping organism is crucial in determing its character and future portential; and
    4. although critical exposure occurs during embryonic development, obvious manifestations may not occur until maturity.
  • Laboratory studies corroborate the abnormal sexual development observed in the field and provide biological mechanisms to explain the observations in wildlife.
  • Humans have been affected by compounds of this nature, too. The effects of DES (diethylstilbestrol), a synthetic therapeutic agent, like many of the compounds mentioned above, are estrogenic. Daughters born to mothers who took DES now suffer increased rates of vaginal clear cell adenocarcinoma, various genital tract abnormalities, abnormal pregnancies, and some changes in immune responses. Both sons and daughters exposed in utero experience congenital anomalies of their reproductive system and reduced fertility. The effects seen in in utero DES-exposed humans parallel those found in contaminated wildlife and laboratory animals, suggesting that humans may be at risk to the same environmental hazards as wildlife.

We estimate with confidence that:

  • Some of the developmental impairments reported in humans today are seen in adult offspring of parents exposed to synthetic hormone disruptors (agonists and antagonists) released in the environment. The concentrations of a number of synthetic sex hormone agonits and antagonists measured in the US human population today are well within the range and dosages at which effects are seen in wildlife populations. In fact, experimental results are being seen at the low end of current environmental concentrations.
  • Unless the environmental load of synthetic hormone disruptors is abated and controlled, large scale dysfunction at the population level is possible. The scope and potential hazard to wildlife and humans are great because of the probability of repeated and/or constant exposure to numerous synthetic chemicals that are known to be endocrine disruptors.
  • As attention is focused on this problem, more parallels in wildlife, laboratory, and human research will be revealed.

Current models predict that:

  • The mechanisms by which these compounds have their impact vary, but they share the general properties of
    1. mimicking the effects of natural hormones by recognizing their binding sites;
    2. antagonizing the effect of these hormones by blocking their interaction with their physiological binding sites;
    3. reacting directly and indirectly with the hormone in question;
    4. by altering the natural pattern of syntheisis of hormones; or
    5. altering hormone receptor levels.
  • Both exogenous (external source) and endogenous (internal source) androgens (male hormones) and estrogens (female hormones) can alter the development of brain function.
  • Any perturbation of the endocrine system of a developing organism may alter the development of the that organism: typically these effects are irreversible. For example, many sex-related characteristics are determined hormonally during a window of time in the early stages of development and can be influenced by small changes in hormone balance. Evidence suggests that sex-related characteristics, once imprinted, may be irreversible.
  • Reproductive effects reported in wildlife should be of concern to humans dependent upon the same resources, e.g., contaminated fish. Food fish is a major pathway of exposure for birds. The avian (bird) model for organochlorine endocrine disruption is the best described to date. It also provides support for the wildlife/human connection because of similarities in the development of the avian and mammalian endocrine systems.

There are many uncertainties in our predictions because:

  • The nature and extent of the effects of exposure on humans are not well established. Information is limited concerning the disposition of these contaminants within humans, especially data on concentrations of contaminants in embryos. This is compounded by the lack of measurable endpoints (biologic markers of exposure and effect) and the lack of multi-generational exposure studies that simulate ambient concentrations.
  • The potencies of many synthetic estrogenic compounds relative to natural estrogens have not been established. This is important because contemporary blood concentrations of some of the compounds of concern exceed those of internally produced estrogens.

Our judgment is that:

  • Testing of products for regulatory purposes should be broadened to include hormonal activity in vivo. There is no substitute for animal studies for this aspect of testing.
  • Screening assays for androgenicity and estrogenicity are available for those compounds that have direct hormonal effects. Regulations should require screening all new products and by-products for hormonal activity. If the material tests positive, further testing for functional teratogenicity (loss of function rather than obvious gross birth defects) using multigenerational studies should be required. This should apply to all persistent, bioaccumulative products released in the past as well.
  • It is urgent to move reproductive effects and functional teratogenicity to the forefront when evaluating health risks. The cancer paradigm is insufficient because chemicals can cause severe health effects other than cancer.
  • A more comprehensive inventory of these compounds is needed as they move through commerce and are eventually released to the environment. This information must be made more accessible. Information such as this affords the opportunity to reduce exposure through containment and manipulation of food chains. Rather than separately regulating contaminants in water, air, and land, regulatory agencies should focus on the ecosystem as a whole.
  • Banning the production and use of persistent chemicals has not solved the exposure problem. New approaches are needed to reduce exposure to synthetic chemicals already in the environment and prevent the release of new products with similar characteristics.
  • Impacts on wildlife and laboratory animals as a result of exposure to these contaminants are of such a profound and insidious nature that a major research initiative on humans must be undertaken.
  • The scientific and public health communities' general lack of awareness concerning the presence of hormonally active environmental chemicals, functional teratogenicity, and the concept of transgenerational exposure must be addressed. Because functional deficits are not visible at birth and may not be fully manifested until adulthood, they are often missed by physicians, parents, and the regulatory community, and the causal agent in never identified.

To improve our predictive capability:

  • More basic research in the field of developmental biology of hormonally responsive organs is needed. For example, the amount of specific endogenous hormones required to evoke a normal response must be established. Specific biologic markers of normal development per species, organ, and stage of development are needed. With this information, levels that elicit pathological changes can be established.
  • Integrated cooperative research is needed to develop both wildlife and laboratory models for estrapolating risks to humans.
  • The selection of a sentinel species at each trophic level in an ecosystem is needed for observing functional deficits, while at the same time describing the dynamics of a compound moving through the system.
  • Measurable endpoints (biologic markers) as a result of exposure to exogenous endocrine disrupters are needed that include a range of effects at the molecular, cellular, organismal, and population levels. Molecular and cellular markers are important for the early monitoring of dysfunction. Normal levels and patterns of isoenzymes and hormones should be established.
  • In mammals, exposure assessments are needed based on body burdens of chemical that describ the concentration of a chemical in an egg (ovum) which can be extrapolated to a dose of chemical to the embryo, fetus, newborn, and adult. Hazard evaluations are needed that repeat in the laboratory what is being seen in the field. Subsequently, a gradient of doses for particular responses must be determined in the laboratory and then compared with exposure levels in wildlife populations.
  • descriptive field research is needed to explain the annual influx to areas of know pollution of migratory species that appear to maintain stable populations in spite of the relative vulnerability of their offspring.
  • A reevaluation of the in utero DES-exposed population is required for a number of reasons. First, because the unregulated, large volume releases of synthetic chemicals coincide with the use of DES, the results of the original DES studies may have been confounded by widespread exposure to other synthetic endocrine disruptors. Second, exposure to a hormone during fetal life may elevate responsiveness to the hormone during later life. As a reuslt, the first wave of of individuals exposed to DES in utero is just reaching the age where various cancers (vaginal, endometrial, breast, and prostatic) may start appearing if the individuals are at a greater risk because of perinatal exposure to estrogen-like compounds. A threshold for DES adverse effects is needed. Even the lowest recorded dose has given rise to vaginal adenocarcinoma. DES exposure of fetal humans may provide the most-severe-effect model in the investigation of the less potent effects from environmental estrogens. Thus, the biological endpoints determined in in utero DES-exposed offspring will lead the investigation in humans following possible ambient exposures.
  • The effects of endocrine disruptors on longer-lived humans may not be as easily discerned as in shorter-lived laboratory or wildlife species. Therefore, early detection methods are needed to determine if human reproductive capability is declining. This is important from an individual level, as well as at the population level, because infertility is a subject of great concern and has psychological and economic impacts. Methods are now available to determine fertility rates in humans. New methods should involve more use of liver-enzyme-system activity screening, sperm counts, analyses of developmental abnormalities, and examination of histopathological lesions. These should be accompanied by more and better biomarkers of social and behavioral development, the use of multigenerational histories of individuals and their progeny, and congener-specific chemical analyses of reproductive tissues and products, including breast milk.

United States Catholic Conference, National Conference of Catholic Bishops, National Council of Synagogues, Bceia, Issue Joint Declarations: Condemning Acts of Religious Hatred, and on Children and the Environment

WASHINGTON – (NOVEMBER 28, 2000) The Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs (BCEIA) and the National Council of Synagogues issued a joint statement condeming acts of religious hatred, and a joint reflection on children and the environment.

"As religious leaders of the Catholic and Jewish communities in the United States, we are alarmed by a wave of attacks on synagogues and Jews that have occurred in North America and Europe in the past several weeks," the statement said. "Scores of acts of vandalism and numerous personal assaults have been reported," the religious leaders noted. "We condemn any acts of desecration of holy places or deeds of verbal or physical violence that threaten any person's ability to practice their religion freely. Such actions we repudiate as sinful and offensive to God according to both the Christian and Jewish traditions"The joint reflection said: "As Catholic and Jewish religious leaders, we wish to express our concern over environmental health hazards adversely affecting the health of children. Children are especially vulnerable to their environment and deserve special concern from their society." The statement and the reflection were issued after a meeting of the Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs (BCEIA) and the National Council of Synagogues, in Baltimore, November 20. Catholic participants included (Chair) Cardinal William Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore and Episcopal Moderator for Catholic-Jewish Relations of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Basil Losten, Ukrainian Catholic Diocese of Stamford, Bishop John J. Nevins, Diocese of Venice, Florida, Auxiliary Bishop John Nienstedt, Archdiocese of Detroit, Msgr. Denis Madden, Catholic Near East Welfare Association, Rev. James Loughran, SA, Archdiocese of New York, Rev. Drew Christiansen, SJ, Ms. Nancy Wisdo, and Mr. Gerard Powes, United States Catholic Conference, and Dr. Eugene Fisher, National Conference of Catholic Bishops. Jewish participants included (Co-Chairs) Rabbi Michael A. Signer, Union of American Hebrew Congregations, and Rabbi Joel Zaiman, Rabbinical Assembly of Conservative Judaism, Rabbi Paul Menitoff, Central Conference of Reformed Rabbis, Rabbi Joel Meyers, Rabbinical Assembly of Conservative Judaism, Rabbi Ronald Kronish, Interreligious Coordinating Committee in Israel, Jerusalem, Dr. Victor Goldbloom, Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC), Rabbi David Saperstein, Religious Action Center (UAHC), Rabbi David Davidson, UAHC/Joint Commission, Rabbi Sari Laufer, UAHC/Joint Commission, Ms. Judith Hertz, UAHC/Joint Commission, Ms. Sarrae Crane, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Rabbi Jeffrey Wohlberg, Rabbinical Assembly of Conservative Judaism, Rabbi Jonathan Waxman, Rabbinical Assembly of Conservative Judaism, Rabbi A. Nathan Abamovitz, Rabbinical Assembly of Conservative Judaism, Mr. Mark Pelavin, Religious Action Center (UAHC).

The full text of the reflection follows:

Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs
National Council of Synagogues
Baltimore, MD
November 20, 2000

Children and the Environment: A Joint Reflection by the National Council of Synagogues and the Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations

November 20, 2000

As Catholic and Jewish religious leaders, we wish to express our concern over environmental health hazards adversely affecting the health of children. Children are especially vulnerable to their environment and deserve special concern from their society. They are, we believe, "a gift from the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward" (Psalm 127:3). The rabbis of the Talmud centuries ago interpreted the biblical words, "blessed is the one who does righteousness at all times" (Psalm 106:3), as referring to one who gives proper attention to the welfare of their children when they are young (Ketuboth 50a), making the raising and protection of children of paramount importance for the religious community. Jews and Christians infused with the spirit of the Psalms view nature as a living testimony to a living God, as the Talmud states: "One who goes out in the spring and views the trees in bloom must recite blessed is God who left nothing lacking in God's world, and created beautiful trees for humanity to glory in'" (Berakhot 43a)See Jonathan Helfand, Consider the Work of God: Jewish Sources for Conservation Ethics, in Daniel Polish and Eugene Fisher, editors, Liturgical Foundations of Social Policy in the Catholic and Jewish Traditions (University of Notre Dame Press, 1983) 134-148. With the praise of God comes moral responsibility, as an ancient rabbinic tale teaches: "When the Holy One, Blessed be He, created Adam, He took him to survey all the trees of the Garden of Eden and said to him: See how beautiful and superior are my works and all that I created for you. Take heed not to corrupt and destroy my world, for if you corrupt it, there is none who can repair it after you'" (Koheleth Rabbah). Decisions about how we use the environment, and about the environmental health risks to which we expose our children, have a distinct moral dimension for the Church as well. Pope John Paul II has strongly stated that the "state has the responsibility of ensuring that its citizens are not exposed to dangerous pollutants or toxic wastes. The right to a safe environment (italics in original) is ever more insistently presented today as a right" John Paul II, The Ecological Crisis: A Common Responsibility, © World Day of Peace Message, January 1, 1990, no. 9.

While our country has made significant progress in reducing air pollution and providing clean water over the last several decades, further efforts are needed to ensure safety. This is particularly true in the areas of lead and pesticide poisoning which can lead to damage to the nervous system and to immunity, and for air pollution which can lead to asthma and other breathing problems. While all children are at some risk from exposure, we express a special concern for children from low income families, who share a disproportionate risk and burden from environmental hazards.

We recognize that children are not "little adults". Children have different patterns of exposure to environmental contaminants and also respond differently to them than adults. Additionally, children's normal behavior puts them at increased risk for exposure to toxic substances that may cause debilitating or life threatening health problems. Children, for example, tend to be outdoors more than adults and consequently have greater exposure to pesticides or air pollutants. Infants and toddlers have more exposure to substances in floors, carpeting, and soil. The ability of children's bodies to cope with harmful substances is also significantly less than that of adults. Young children breathe more rapidly and inhale more air in proportion to their body weight than do adults. They have higher metabolic rates, drink more fluid, and consume more calories for their body weight. If the air children breathe or the food they consume contains toxic substances, they will receive a larger dose than would adults. Further, because their metabolic systems are not yet mature, they have less ability to detoxify and excrete harmful substances than do adults.

As leaders in the Jewish and Catholic communities, we strongly support efforts to protect the most vulnerable among us, who certainly include the children of our nation. Because of our common concern for and desire to protect our children, we encourage our Jewish and Catholic people at the local and national level to work together to help make our environment safe for children. We urge that this interfaith endeavor will lend special assistance to poorer communities who may not have the resources to address these concerns adequately. We pray together that God Who created this bountiful and beautiful world and Who gives and sustains our lives will enable us and others of good will to provide a safe physical environment for all children.

Joint Social Action Recommendations

  • Create a coalition of key individuals and groups in your community to assist in assessing its environmental health.' Potential members include pediatricians, nurses, health department officials, child advocacy groups, PTAs, and environmental, youth, civil, business, academic and religiousgroups.
  • Educate community and school leaders about children's special vulnerability to toxins, and families about using fewer toxins in their homes, yards and neighborhoods.
  • Support "right to know" laws to enable families, schools and communities to learn about their children's exposure to toxic chemicals and products.
  • Work with existing community groups who are environmentally concerned. Map your community's known or potential hazards (e.g. dump sites, incinerators, superfund sites, major industry). Check the Toxic Release Inventory (TRA) data available to the public. Work with local industry and government to reduce emissions, clean up sites, etc.
  • Religious educators can communicate the ethical and moral dimensions of this issue from the perspective of Catholic and Jewish social teaching.
  • Advocate the development of a national warning system for environmental health risks. While the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has monitored lead levels in human blood over the years, to good effect, it does not monitor for other dangerous pollutants.

Selected Resources for Information on Children's Environmental Health on Federal Agency Websites

Non-Governmental Organizations
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