Prague Declaration gathers steam to focus endocrine disrupter research
RESEARCH: Prague Declaration gathers steam to focus endocrine disrupter research
Prominent scientists have signalled their concerns about the risks to human and
wildlife health posed by chemicals in everyday use which interfere with the
hormone system, known as endocrine disrupters. The harmful effects of these
substances on development in humans and wildlife are extremely complex and
demand long-term scientific study and a close coordination of international
research in order to achieve results to properly inform public policy. These are
the broad goals of efforts such as the EU-sponsored CREDO cluster research
projects and the new Prague Declaration, a manifesto whose support is spreading
internationally across the field of endocrine disrupter (ED) research. Abnormal
spermatozoa © Courtesy of A. Salzbrunn Unveiled in June at a press conference in
Brussels, the Prague Declaration emanated from an international workshop in the
Czech capital in early May that was attended by 170 participants. This
Declaration is a clarion call to governments and the public to address the risks
that endocrine disrupters pose to the health of humans and wildlife. The links
between these chemicals and effects which have been observed in wildlife, from
snails to polar bears, have been well established. “Wildlife provides early
warnings of effects produced by endocrine disrupters which may as yet be
unobserved in humans,” said Andreas Kortenkamp, coordinator of CREDO and the
EU-funded EDEN research project. The high prevalence of human reproductive
disorders and the rise in cancers of reproductive organs such as testes is of
particular concern to many scientists. “We have identified an extremely
disturbing trend that shows a substantial rise in genital disorders in boys and
young men in Europe,” said Professor Niels E. Skakkebaek MD, who coordinates
EDEN’s research into human male reproductive. “Lifestyle, diet, and
environmental contamination all play a role in these disorders. We need to make
absolutely sure that research is constantly updated in this area.” Endocrine
disrupters are a diverse group of chemicals from pesticides and pharmaceuticals
to flame retardants and plasticisers used in everyday products. The challenge to
identify these chemicals is huge. The objective of the proposed new EU chemicals
legislation, known as REACH (Regulation, Evaluation, and Authorisation of
Chemicals) is the registration of a vast array of substances – 30 000 – that are
produced or imported into the EU in large quantities, and for endocrine
disrupters to be brought under an authorisation procedure. “Current testing does
not take ED effects fully into account. There is a real need for safety tests to
identify chemicals which are endocrine disrupters,” said Ragnor Pedersen, a
researcher at the University of London School of Pharmacy’s Centre for
Toxicology and a participant in the CREDO project. The Declaration calls on
precautionary action to reduce exposures to and the risks from endocrine
disrupters not to be delayed by uncertainty. ED research: a 360-degree
perspective Informing the public and governments on research progress and making
suggestions that might lead to better protection of human and wildlife health
lies behind the Prague Declaration, whose initial signatures include prominent
researchers from across Europe and leading US scientists. Understanding how
man-made chemicals and substances interact with the growth and reproductive
cycles of humans and wildlife is a vast undertaking, as much for its sheer scope
as for its complexity. Yet no single country in Europe can tackle these
ambitious goals on its own: international co-operation between research groups
is critical. The CREDO cluster aims to do precisely that. With a budget of €20
million funded from the EU’s Fifth Framework Programme, it brings together more
than 60 research laboratories in Europe to exploit their research potential and
promote effective collaboration across individual projects. CREDO’s four
projects each focus on a different area. EDEN pursues the effects of low-dose
exposure and mixtures of chemicals on human and wildlife health. FIRE is centred
on risk assessment of brominated flame retardants, while COMPRENDO focuses on
endocrine disruption in wildlife. Finally, EURISKED is developing new testing
and screening methods to identify effects on biological receptors. ZDROJ:EEA
Prominent scientists have signalled their concerns about the risks to human and
wildlife health posed by chemicals in everyday use which interfere with the
hormone system, known as endocrine disrupters. The harmful effects of these
substances on development in humans and wildlife are extremely complex and
demand long-term scientific study and a close coordination of international
research in order to achieve results to properly inform public policy. These are
the broad goals of efforts such as the EU-sponsored CREDO cluster research
projects and the new Prague Declaration, a manifesto whose support is spreading
internationally across the field of endocrine disrupter (ED) research. Abnormal
spermatozoa © Courtesy of A. Salzbrunn Unveiled in June at a press conference in
Brussels, the Prague Declaration emanated from an international workshop in the
Czech capital in early May that was attended by 170 participants. This
Declaration is a clarion call to governments and the public to address the risks
that endocrine disrupters pose to the health of humans and wildlife. The links
between these chemicals and effects which have been observed in wildlife, from
snails to polar bears, have been well established. “Wildlife provides early
warnings of effects produced by endocrine disrupters which may as yet be
unobserved in humans,” said Andreas Kortenkamp, coordinator of CREDO and the
EU-funded EDEN research project. The high prevalence of human reproductive
disorders and the rise in cancers of reproductive organs such as testes is of
particular concern to many scientists. “We have identified an extremely
disturbing trend that shows a substantial rise in genital disorders in boys and
young men in Europe,” said Professor Niels E. Skakkebaek MD, who coordinates
EDEN’s research into human male reproductive. “Lifestyle, diet, and
environmental contamination all play a role in these disorders. We need to make
absolutely sure that research is constantly updated in this area.” Endocrine
disrupters are a diverse group of chemicals from pesticides and pharmaceuticals
to flame retardants and plasticisers used in everyday products. The challenge to
identify these chemicals is huge. The objective of the proposed new EU chemicals
legislation, known as REACH (Regulation, Evaluation, and Authorisation of
Chemicals) is the registration of a vast array of substances – 30 000 – that are
produced or imported into the EU in large quantities, and for endocrine
disrupters to be brought under an authorisation procedure. “Current testing does
not take ED effects fully into account. There is a real need for safety tests to
identify chemicals which are endocrine disrupters,” said Ragnor Pedersen, a
researcher at the University of London School of Pharmacy’s Centre for
Toxicology and a participant in the CREDO project. The Declaration calls on
precautionary action to reduce exposures to and the risks from endocrine
disrupters not to be delayed by uncertainty. ED research: a 360-degree
perspective Informing the public and governments on research progress and making
suggestions that might lead to better protection of human and wildlife health
lies behind the Prague Declaration, whose initial signatures include prominent
researchers from across Europe and leading US scientists. Understanding how
man-made chemicals and substances interact with the growth and reproductive
cycles of humans and wildlife is a vast undertaking, as much for its sheer scope
as for its complexity. Yet no single country in Europe can tackle these
ambitious goals on its own: international co-operation between research groups
is critical. The CREDO cluster aims to do precisely that. With a budget of €20
million funded from the EU’s Fifth Framework Programme, it brings together more
than 60 research laboratories in Europe to exploit their research potential and
promote effective collaboration across individual projects. CREDO’s four
projects each focus on a different area. EDEN pursues the effects of low-dose
exposure and mixtures of chemicals on human and wildlife health. FIRE is centred
on risk assessment of brominated flame retardants, while COMPRENDO focuses on
endocrine disruption in wildlife. Finally, EURISKED is developing new testing
and screening methods to identify effects on biological receptors. ZDROJ:EEA
RESEARCH: Prague Declaration gathers steam to focus endocrine disrupter research
Prominent scientists have signalled their concerns about the risks to human and wildlife health posed by chemicals in everyday use which interfere with the hormone system, known as endocrine disrupters. The harmful effects of these substances on development in humans and wildlife are extremely complex and demand long-term scientific study and a close coordination of international research in order to achieve results to properly inform public policy. These are the broad goals of efforts such as the EU-sponsored CREDO cluster research projects and the new Prague Declaration, a manifesto whose support is spreading internationally across the field of endocrine disrupter (ED) research.
Abnormal spermatozoa
© Courtesy of A. Salzbrunn
Unveiled in June at a press conference in Brussels, the Prague Declaration emanated from an international workshop in the Czech capital in early May that was attended by 170 participants. This Declaration is a clarion call to governments and the public to address the risks that endocrine disrupters pose to the health of humans and wildlife. The links between these chemicals and effects which have been observed in wildlife, from snails to polar bears, have been well established. “Wildlife provides early warnings of effects produced by endocrine disrupters which may as yet be unobserved in humans,” said Andreas Kortenkamp, coordinator of CREDO and the EU-funded EDEN research project.
The high prevalence of human reproductive disorders and the rise in cancers of reproductive organs such as testes is of particular concern to many scientists. “We have identified an extremely disturbing trend that shows a substantial rise in genital disorders in boys and young men in Europe,” said Professor Niels E. Skakkebaek MD, who coordinates EDEN’s research into human male reproductive. “Lifestyle, diet, and environmental contamination all play a role in these disorders. We need to make absolutely sure that research is constantly updated in this area.”
Endocrine disrupters are a diverse group of chemicals from pesticides and pharmaceuticals to flame retardants and plasticisers used in everyday products. The challenge to identify these chemicals is huge. The objective of the proposed new EU chemicals legislation, known as REACH (Regulation, Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals) is the registration of a vast array of substances – 30 000 – that are produced or imported into the EU in large quantities, and for endocrine disrupters to be brought under an authorisation procedure. “Current testing does not take ED effects fully into account. There is a real need for safety tests to identify chemicals which are endocrine disrupters,” said Ragnor Pedersen, a researcher at the University of London School of Pharmacy’s Centre for Toxicology and a participant in the CREDO project. The Declaration calls on precautionary action to reduce exposures to and the risks from endocrine disrupters not to be delayed by uncertainty.
ED research: a 360-degree perspective
Informing the public and governments on research progress and making suggestions that might lead to better protection of human and wildlife health lies behind the Prague Declaration, whose initial signatures include prominent researchers from across Europe and leading US scientists. Understanding how man-made chemicals and substances interact with the growth and reproductive cycles of humans and wildlife is a vast undertaking, as much for its sheer scope as for its complexity. Yet no single country in Europe can tackle these ambitious goals on its own: international co-operation between research groups is critical.
The CREDO cluster aims to do precisely that. With a budget of €20 million funded from the EU’s Fifth Framework Programme, it brings together more than 60 research laboratories in Europe to exploit their research potential and promote effective collaboration across individual projects. CREDO’s four projects each focus on a different area. EDEN pursues the effects of low-dose exposure and mixtures of chemicals on human and wildlife health. FIRE is centred on risk assessment of brominated flame retardants, while COMPRENDO focuses on endocrine disruption in wildlife. Finally, EURISKED is developing new testing and screening methods to identify effects on biological receptors.
ZDROJ:EEA
Prominent scientists have signalled their concerns about the risks to human and wildlife health posed by chemicals in everyday use which interfere with the hormone system, known as endocrine disrupters. The harmful effects of these substances on development in humans and wildlife are extremely complex and demand long-term scientific study and a close coordination of international research in order to achieve results to properly inform public policy. These are the broad goals of efforts such as the EU-sponsored CREDO cluster research projects and the new Prague Declaration, a manifesto whose support is spreading internationally across the field of endocrine disrupter (ED) research.
Abnormal spermatozoa
© Courtesy of A. Salzbrunn
Unveiled in June at a press conference in Brussels, the Prague Declaration emanated from an international workshop in the Czech capital in early May that was attended by 170 participants. This Declaration is a clarion call to governments and the public to address the risks that endocrine disrupters pose to the health of humans and wildlife. The links between these chemicals and effects which have been observed in wildlife, from snails to polar bears, have been well established. “Wildlife provides early warnings of effects produced by endocrine disrupters which may as yet be unobserved in humans,” said Andreas Kortenkamp, coordinator of CREDO and the EU-funded EDEN research project.
The high prevalence of human reproductive disorders and the rise in cancers of reproductive organs such as testes is of particular concern to many scientists. “We have identified an extremely disturbing trend that shows a substantial rise in genital disorders in boys and young men in Europe,” said Professor Niels E. Skakkebaek MD, who coordinates EDEN’s research into human male reproductive. “Lifestyle, diet, and environmental contamination all play a role in these disorders. We need to make absolutely sure that research is constantly updated in this area.”
Endocrine disrupters are a diverse group of chemicals from pesticides and pharmaceuticals to flame retardants and plasticisers used in everyday products. The challenge to identify these chemicals is huge. The objective of the proposed new EU chemicals legislation, known as REACH (Regulation, Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals) is the registration of a vast array of substances – 30 000 – that are produced or imported into the EU in large quantities, and for endocrine disrupters to be brought under an authorisation procedure. “Current testing does not take ED effects fully into account. There is a real need for safety tests to identify chemicals which are endocrine disrupters,” said Ragnor Pedersen, a researcher at the University of London School of Pharmacy’s Centre for Toxicology and a participant in the CREDO project. The Declaration calls on precautionary action to reduce exposures to and the risks from endocrine disrupters not to be delayed by uncertainty.
ED research: a 360-degree perspective
Informing the public and governments on research progress and making suggestions that might lead to better protection of human and wildlife health lies behind the Prague Declaration, whose initial signatures include prominent researchers from across Europe and leading US scientists. Understanding how man-made chemicals and substances interact with the growth and reproductive cycles of humans and wildlife is a vast undertaking, as much for its sheer scope as for its complexity. Yet no single country in Europe can tackle these ambitious goals on its own: international co-operation between research groups is critical.
The CREDO cluster aims to do precisely that. With a budget of €20 million funded from the EU’s Fifth Framework Programme, it brings together more than 60 research laboratories in Europe to exploit their research potential and promote effective collaboration across individual projects. CREDO’s four projects each focus on a different area. EDEN pursues the effects of low-dose exposure and mixtures of chemicals on human and wildlife health. FIRE is centred on risk assessment of brominated flame retardants, while COMPRENDO focuses on endocrine disruption in wildlife. Finally, EURISKED is developing new testing and screening methods to identify effects on biological receptors.
ZDROJ:EEA
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