During recent decades, millions of tonnes of man-made chemicals have been produced and released into the environment, with very little safety testing. Many of these chemical substances have been found to interfere with the endocrine system and modulate its function. This book not only overviews the effects of endocrine/disrupting substances on human health, but also addresses the regulatory problems from the point of view of international organisations, including the WHO, the EU, and the European Chlorine Industry.
This volume contains the proceedings of a workshop held at the International Hippocrates Foundation on Kos Island, Greece, in September 1999. The workshop was part of the activities of the ASPIS project, which aims at raising awareness of environmental health impacts among multidisciplinary groups. The contributions to this volume are the result of the interaction of participants at the workshop. As such, it addresses the issue of endocrine disrupters from many different points of view and allows the subject to be approached by a multidisciplinary readership, including: decision makers, medical doctors, environmental experts, post/and undergraduate students, lawyers, engineers, and journalists.

Inhalt
Introductory Chapter: Awareness of the Health Impacts of Endocrine Disrupting Substances.- Scientific Overview.- Reflections on Bioanalytical Techniques for Detecting Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals.- The Impact of Endocrine Disrupting Substances on Human Reproduction.- Immunotoxicity by Dioxins and PCB's in the Perinatal Period.- The 'DES Syndrome': A Prototype of Human Teratogenesis and Tumourigenesis by Xenoestrogens?.- Mechanisms Underlying Endocrine Disruption and Breast Cancer.- Human Exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: The Case of Bisphenols.- Risk Assessment of Endocrine Disrupters.- Strategies and Policies.- Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: A Conceptual Framework.- Pesticide Authorisation: Existing Policy with Regard to Endocrine Disrupters.- Endocrine Disruption The Industry Perspective.- Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals A Strategy of the European Commission.- Endocrine Disrupters and Drinking Water.- Assessment of the Impact of Endocrine Disrupters on Human Health and Wildlife: Activities of the World Health Organisation.- Conclusions.- A Precautionary Approach to Endocrine Disrupters.- List of Abbreviations.- List of Units.