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SETAC Focused Topic Meeting on endocrine-disrupting chemicals: Overview and outcomes
Citation:
Ankley, G., P. Mattheissen, M. Ottinger, AND G. Van Der Kraak. SETAC Focused Topic Meeting on endocrine-disrupting chemicals: Overview and outcomes. IN: SETAC Globe, SETAC Press, Pensacola, FL, 15(5):1, (2014).
Impact/Purpose:
A SETAC North America Focused Topic Meeting (FTM), “Endocrine Disruption: Chemical testing, Risk Assessment Approaches and Implications”, was held 4-6 February, 2014 at the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) conference facility in Research Triangle Park, NC. The meeting, which was co-chaired by Annegaaike Leopold (Wildlife International) and Holly Zahner (US Food and Drug Administration; FDA), was co-supported by more than 20 sponsors representing the private sector and government. More than 200 participants from 10 different countries representing four of the five SETAC Geographic Units attended. Moreover, five SETAC student members attended the meeting and were supported by the meeting sponsors. This meeting was a follow-up to a similar workshop held 24-25 October, 2012 in Brussels. The focus of that meeting was on research and regulatory issues for endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), with emphasis on the European perspective. The FTM in RTP provided an opportunity to explore EDC issues from a North American perspective which differs somewhat from other parts of the world with required testing in support of regulatory mandates. As such, an important emphasis on the meeting concerned the status of the USEPA Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP). The EDSP stems from a legislated mandate to the USEPA to develop a screening and testing program for certain classes of EDCs, specifically, those with the potential to cause adverse effects in humans or wildlife through direct perturbation of the hypothalamic pituitary-gonadal and thyroidal (HPG/T) axes. This is achieved through an initial screening of chemicals through 11 in vitro and in vivo assays designed to determine the presence of endocrine activity (Tier 1), followed by more intensive testing of active chemicals to collect data (e.g., dose-response relationships in full life-cycle tests) suitable for conducting formal risk assessments (Tier 2).
Description:
A SETAC North America Focused Topic Meeting (FTM), “Endocrine Disruption: Chemical testing, Risk Assessment Approaches and Implications”, was held 4-6 February, 2014 at the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) conference facility in Research Triangle Park, NC. The meeting, which was co-chaired by Annegaaike Leopold (Wildlife International) and Holly Zahner (US Food and Drug Administration; FDA), was co-supported by more than 20 sponsors representing the private sector and government. More than 200 participants from 10 different countries representing four of the five SETAC Geographic Units attended. Moreover, five SETAC student members attended the meeting and were supported by the meeting sponsors. This meeting was a follow-up to a similar workshop held 24-25 October, 2012 in Brussels. The focus of that meeting was on research and regulatory issues for endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), with emphasis on the European perspective. The FTM in RTP provided an opportunity to explore EDC issues from a North American perspective which differs somewhat from other parts of the world with required testing in support of regulatory mandates. As such, an important emphasis on the meeting concerned the status of the USEPA Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP). The EDSP stems from a legislated mandate to the USEPA to develop a screening and testing program for certain classes of EDCs, specifically, those with the potential to cause adverse effects in humans or wildlife through direct perturbation of the hypothalamic pituitary-gonadal and thyroidal (HPG/T) axes. This is achieved through an initial screening of chemicals through 11 in vitro and in vivo assays designed to determine the presence of endocrine activity (Tier 1), followed by more intensive testing of active chemicals to collect data (e.g., dose-response relationships in full life-cycle tests) suitable for conducting formal risk assessments (Tier 2).
