Leading Edge of a Crisis?

I’ve been hearing about endocrine disruptors (or hormonally active agents, if the other term is prejudicial) for many years. The worst-case scenario is more than most people can bear (something you can’t see, touch, taste or feel is going to feminize or masculinize our kids, in addition to making them stupid). The economic impact of addressing this potential problem is more than most industries can bear. So, it doesn’t get a lot of attention these days. It may be time to start paying more attention to it, though.

kband cites an article from The Globe and Mail from GRIST months ago about the plight of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation in Canada. The Aamjiwnaang live surrounded by chemical plants, in an industrial area that contains 20 percent of Canada's refineries. For the last five years, the band has produced nearly two girls for every boy; in addition, women report a higher number of miscarriages and schools report more learning disabilities. No definitive link to chemical exposure has been established, but the band is pushing for further study.

In a related story, male bass in the South Branch of the Potomac River, in West Virginia, are producing eggs. The occurrence of “intersex” bass may be related to endocrine disruptors. The U.S. Geological Survey has been studying this problem, and has coined the phrase “emerging contaminants”, which covers chemicals in municipal sewer discharges as well as industrial discharges.

I haven’t followed endocrine disruptors closely, so all I have readily available is a fairly old reference – but it’s a start for learning something about the basic science and issues. Here is a current piece of research, on the potential risks to amphibians associated with the herbicide atrazine, care of Chris Mooney, which is useful as a snapshot of what ecological endocrine disruptor research looks likes these days. Chris also thinks the researcher has been the victim of some scientific censorship. As I said earlier – it’s a topic that noone wants to think about right now.