Special aspects of endocrine modulators in human and environmental risk assessment of existing chemicals

The Existing Chemicals Programme of the European Union provides "Human and Environmental Risk Assessments of Existing Chemicals". These official asses sments include human exposure scenarios. For instance, it has been stated f or nonylphenol, an industrial chemical with some estrogenic potency, that q uantitative data are available,for one of the exposure scenarios, namely fo r pesticide formulations containing alkylphenol ethoxylates. Inhalation and dermal exposures have been estimated to be 21 and 32 mu g/human/event, res pectively. Such exposure scenarios, along with potency estimates for endocr ine activities, may provide a basis for a quantitative comparison of potent ial endocrine disrupting effects of industrial chemicals with endocrine mod ulators as natural constituents of human diet.