Chemicals in everyday items pose a health hazard
We are making ourselves, and our children, sick, through widespread use of chemicals which can interfere with hormones in our bodies.
Latest studies have found clearer associations between exposure to substances dubbed as “endocrine disrupting chemicals” (EDCs) and the surge in modern-day ailments such as breast and prostate cancers, reduced human fertility, birth deformities, early puberty and developmental disorders in children such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
A study commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) points to three strands of evidence which fuel concerns over EDCs.
These are the high incidence and rise in many endocrine-related disorders in humans; observations of endocrine-related effects in wildlife populations; and laboratory studies which linked chemicals with endocrine disrupting properties to certain diseases.
“We live in a world in which man-made chemicals have become part of everyday life. It is clear that some of these chemical pollutants can affect the endocrine (hormonal) system and interfere with important developmental processes in humans and wildlife species,” declared the State of the Science of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals 2012, released last week as a policy guide for governments.
The report, developed by a global team of experts grouped under the Inter-Organisation Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC, a multi-UN-agency body established in 1995), is the most comprehensive compilation on EDCs to date.
Human health depends on a well-functioning endocrine system to regulate the release of certain hormones that are essential for functions such as metabolism, growth and development, sleep and mood.
EDCs – pervasive in many household and industrial products – can alter the functions of this hormonal system, leading to adverse effects on human and wildlife health.
Source: The Star/Asia News Network
Category: Health alert
