Featured Questions, Comments and Responses

Subject: EMCOM Queries
Question: When were health concerns for hormone disrupters first realized?
Chelsea, Australia

Answer: Thank you for your question. Health concerns were initialized characterized in animals (birds, reptiles, fish) in the early 1950's-1960's. Though these changes in clutch size, reproductive failures and declines in population were not immediately linked to environmental contaminants, scientists began to suspect that contaminated habitats (Lake Apopka, Florida, Great Lakes) may play a role in the outcomes exhibited by certain animal species.

In humans, hormonal disruption can be traced back to the use of diethylstilbestrol (DES), a synthetic estrogen used in the 50's-60's to treat nausea and maintain pregnancy. Children born to DES-treated women exhibited birth defects, reproductive tract abnormalities and rare vaginal cancers.

DES continues to be perhaps the most well documented case of endocrine disruption, however, it should be noted that DES is a very potent estrogen. The evidence linking other estrogenic chemicals to human health concerns is not as clear. Please continue to visit our website as we explore the issue of endocrine disruption through our review of the scientific literature, special topics and basic information about the endocrine system.