Organic chemicals are discharged to water, air, and soil from various human activities, and have the ability to biomagnify in food webs and persist in fatty tissues of organisms.  Many of these chemicals are found in everyday household products and have toxic effects from the molecular to the organismal to the ecosystem levels, including endocrine disruption.  Endocrine disruption effects are fascinating, alarming, and far-reaching.

This seminar will be an overview of persistent organic pollutants that are endocrine disruptor chemicals (EDCs). These chemicals of emerging concern include pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, bisphenol-A, phthalates, and perfluorinated compounds. The seminar will begin with a description of the sources, properties, and mechanism of action of EDCs, and exposure pathways.  We will then focus on the impacts of specific EDCs and mixtures of EDCs, primarily on humans, with some examples drawn from the aquatic environment (e.g., impacts on brain development, the immune defense system, carbohydrate metabolism, body weight, and reproductive health, and links between EDCs and certain types of cancer in humans). We will conclude with a discussion of regulatory reform and individual actions that can be taken to reduce exposure to EDCs.  The types of activities to be included in the seminar are lectures, stories, “show and tell” demonstrations, discussions, and a small group in-class exercise.

Upon completion of the seminar you will be able to:

• Identify human activities that contribute to discharge of endocrine disruptor chemicals (EDCs) to water, air, and soil.
• Describe the consequences of exposure to EDCs.
• Educate patients and colleagues about the impacts that EDCs can have on human health.
• Educate patients about actions that can be taken to reduce exposure to EDCs.
• Make informed decisions on actions that can be taken to reduce your exposure to EDCs.

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