THE WORKSHOP ON ENDOCRINE DISRUPTER RESEARCH NEEDS - A REPORT

On April 10-13, 1995 the US EPA sponsored a workshop to develop resear ch needs for endocrine disrupters, Participants were assigned to discu ssion groups for health effects issues and risk assessment methodologi es. The neurotoxicology workgroup identified several chemicals includi ng the PCBs and dioxins that affect nervous system function possibly b y acting on the endocrine system during development. The study of endo crine disrupter is confounded by a number of uncertainties, including the presence of chemical mixtures in the environment unclear exposure parameters, poorly understood mechanisms of action, poor dose-response characterization, and uncertain anima I-to-human extrapolation. The w orking group proposed a research strategy to address these uncertainti es, which includes initial identification of effects of concern to hum an and/or wildlife populations and determining whether those effects c an be associated with exposure to specific chemicals in the environmen t and neuroendocrine disruption. Once a problem chemical has been iden tified and the exposure conditions established, hypothesis-driven rese arch to determine mechanism of action could proceed. (C) 1997 Inter Pr ess, Inc.