Endocrine disruptors: Analytical and toxicological aspects

http://www.edpsciences.org Endocrine disruptors: Analytical and toxicological aspects Over the last 5 years, concerns have increased about chemicals in the environment, which influence the reproductive capabilities of human and animals. Reproductive hormone-receptor systems appear to be especially vulnerable. Hormonal disturbances in wildlife include sex changes in riverine fish and marine snails, reproductive failure in birds, genital tract malformations in mammals. These effects may be attributed to various classes of chemicals such as chlorinated pesticides (DDT, endrin, pentachlorophenol) or chlorinated aromatic compounds (PCBs, dioxins), metals (cadmium, selenium, zinc, mercury, tributyltin), alkylphenols (nonylphenol, pentylphenol, bisphenol), phytooestrogens. The identification of the chemicals responsible of these reproductive alterations is difficult and demands the development of specific procedures to analyse these compounds in complex environmental mixtures. Moreover the causal relationships between the exposure to these substances by wildlife organisms and the adverse effects on reproduction in the environment are not yet clear evidence.