The Dose Versus the Poison: "Low-Dose" Effects of Environmental Chemicals
1:00 pm US Eastern Time
Slides & Resources
Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Public Health Protection: A Statment of Principles from The Endocrine Society, Endocrinology, Septembper 2012. R. Thomas Zoeller, et al.
Editorial: Environmental Chemicals: Evaluating Low-Dose Effects, Linda Birnbaum, Director, NIEHS and NTP, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Environmental Health Perspectives, March 2012
Hormones and Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: Low-Dose Effects and Nonmonotonic Dose Responses, Laura N. Vandenberg, Theo Colborn, Tyrone B. Hayes, et al.Endocrine Reviews, March 2012.
Commentary: A Clash of Old and New Scientific Concepts in Toxicity, with Important Implications for Public Health, John Peterson Myers, R. Thomas Zoeller, Frederick S. vom Saal, Environmental Health Perspectives, November 2009
San Francisco Medical Society blog: Environmental Chemicals: Large Effects from Low Doses, Laura N. Vandenberg, PhD; R. Thomas Zoeller, PhD; J.P. Myers, PhD
How Chemicals Affect Us, Nicholas Kristof, New York Times, May 2012
There Are No Safe Doses for Endocrine Disruptors, Laura N. Vandenberg, PhD, Environmental Health News, March 2012
International conference: Low-Dose Effects and Non-monotonic Dose Responses for Endocrine Active Chemicals: Science to Practice, Sept 11-13, 2012, Berlin, Germany
Earlier this year, a landmark paper appeared titled Hormones and Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: Low-Dose Effects and Nonmonotonic Dose Responses, published in Endocrine Reviews, a journal of the prestigious Endocrine Society. In this 78-page review, supported by 845 references, twelve leading environmental health researchers challenge the dogma of “the dose makes the poison,” noting that endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can have effects at low doses that are not predicted by effects at higher doses, and noting that fundamental changes in chemical testing and safety determination are needed to protect human health. The paper has received much attention.
On this call, three of the authors of this paper summarized their work and responses to it.
Featured Speakers
John Peterson Myers, PhD, Founder, CEO and Chief Scientist, Environmental Health Sciences, Charlottesville, Virginia
Laura N. Vandenberg, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology and Department of Biology (L.N.V.), Tufts University
R. Thomas Zoeller, PhD, Professor, Biology Department, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts
A science update was provided by Ted Schettler, MD, MPH, CHE Science Director, and Science Director of the Science and Environmental Health Network.
The call was moderated by Steve Heilig, CHE Director of Public Health & Education, and Director of Public Health & Education, San Francisco Medical Society.
