Associations Between Daily-Use Products and Urinary Biomarkers of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in Adults of Reproductive Age.

Background: Daily-use products, including personal care products, household products, and dietary supplements, often contain ingredients that raise concerns regarding harmful chemical exposure. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) found in daily-use products are associated with numerous adverse health effects.

Methods: This pilot study explores the relationship between concentrations of EDCs in urine samples and products used 24 h prior to sample collection, and ingredients of concern in those products, in 140 adults of reproductive age in Northern Nevada.

Reducing Exposures to Endocrine Disruptors (REED) study, a personalized at-home intervention program to reduce exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals among a child-bearing age cohort: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have been linked to chronic diseases including breast cancer, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and infertility. Exposure during pregnancy may have a lifelong impact on the fetus. Services are needed to allow individuals to learn about their personal EDC exposures and how to reduce them.

A Personalized Intervention to Increase Environmental Health Literacy and Readiness to Change in a Northern Nevada Population: Effects of Environmental Chemical Exposure Report-Back.

Background: Interventions are needed to help people reduce exposure to harmful chemicals from everyday products and lifestyle habits. Report-back of individual exposures is a potential pathway to increasing environmental health literacy (EHL) and readiness to reduce exposures.

Objectives: Our objective was to determine if report-back of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can reduce EDC exposure, increase EHL, and increase readiness to change (i.

Effective communications strategies to increase the impact of environmental health research.

Background: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are the subject of a growing body of research with the potential to positively impact public and ecological health. However, to effect positive change, findings must be communicated beyond the scientific community.

Objective: We sought to (a) evaluate the relationships between communications strategy, media attention, and scholarly citations of PFAS research and (b) offer guidance for researchers and communications professionals who would like to publicize future work and increase its impact.

Quaternary Ammonium Compounds: A Chemical Class of Emerging Concern.

Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), a large class of chemicals that includes high production volume substances, have been used for decades as antimicrobials, preservatives, and antistatic agents and for other functions in cleaning, disinfecting, personal care products, and durable consumer goods. QAC use has accelerated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the banning of 19 antimicrobials from several personal care products by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2016. Studies conducted before and after the onset of the pandemic indicate increased human exposure to QACs.

Optimizing Chemicals Management in the United States and Canada through the Essential-Use Approach.

Chemicals have improved the functionality and convenience of industrial and consumer products, but sometimes at the expense of human or ecological health. Existing regulatory systems have proven to be inadequate for assessing and managing the tens of thousands of chemicals in commerce. A different approach is urgently needed to minimize ongoing production, use, and exposures to hazardous chemicals.

The PFAS-Tox Database: A systematic evidence map of health studies on 29 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

Background: PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a large class of synthetic chemicals widely used in consumer products and industrial processes. The scientific literature on PFAS has increased dramatically in the last decade. Many stakeholders, including regulators, scientists, non-governmental organizations, and concerned individuals could benefit from an efficient way to access the health and toxicological literature related to PFAS.

Identifying environmental factors that influence immune response to SARS-CoV-2: Systematic evidence map protocol.

Background: Widespread environmental contamination can directly interact with human immune system functions. Environmental effects on the immune system may influence human susceptibility to respiratory infections as well as the severity of infectious diseases, such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Furthermore, the efficacy of vaccines to respiratory diseases may be impacted by environmental exposures through immune perturbations.

Beyond Cholinesterase Inhibition: Developmental Neurotoxicity of Organophosphate Ester Flame Retardants and Plasticizers.

Background: To date, the toxicity of organophosphate esters has primarily been studied regarding their use as pesticides and their effects on the neurotransmitter acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Currently, flame retardants and plasticizers are the two largest market segments for organophosphate esters and they are found in a wide variety of products, including electronics, building materials, vehicles, furniture, car seats, plastics, and textiles. As a result, organophosphate esters and their metabolites are routinely found in human urine, blood, placental tissue, and breast milk across the globe.

Scientific Basis for Managing PFAS as a Chemical Class.

This commentary presents a scientific basis for managing as one chemical class the thousands of chemicals known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). The class includes perfluoroalkyl acids, perfluoroalkylether acids, and their precursors; fluoropolymers and perfluoropolyethers; and other PFAS. The basis for the class approach is presented in relation to their physicochemical, environmental, and toxicological properties.

Improving the quality of toxicology and environmental health systematic reviews: What journal editors can do.

Systematic reviews are fast increasing in prevalence in the toxicology and environmental health literature. However, how well these complex research projects are being conducted and reported is unclear. Since editors have an essential role in ensuring the scientific quality of manuscripts being published in their journals, a workshop was convened where editors, systematic review practitioners, and research quality control experts could discuss what editors can do to ensure the systematic reviews they publish are of sufficient scientific quality.

Recommendations for the conduct of systematic reviews in toxicology and environmental health research (COSTER).

Background: There are several standards that offer explicit guidance on good practice in systematic reviews (SRs) for the medical sciences; however, no similarly comprehensive set of recommendations has been published for SRs that focus on human health risks posed by exposure to environmental challenges, chemical or otherwise.

Objectives: To develop an expert, cross-sector consensus view on a key set of recommended practices for the planning and conduct of SRs in the environmental health sciences.

Methods: A draft set of recommendations was derived from two existing standards for SRs in biomedicine and developed in a consensus process, which engaged international participation from government, industry, non-government organisations, and academia.

Impacts of food contact chemicals on human health: a consensus statement.

Food packaging is of high societal value because it conserves and protects food, makes food transportable and conveys information to consumers. It is also relevant for marketing, which is of economic significance. Other types of food contact articles, such as storage containers, processing equipment and filling lines, are also important for food production and food supply.

An integrative method for identification and prioritization of constituents of concern in produced water from onshore oil and gas extraction.

In the United States, onshore oil and gas extraction operations generate an estimated 900 billion gallons of produced water annually, making it the largest waste stream associated with upstream development of petroleum hydrocarbons. Management and disposal practices of produced water vary from deep well injection to reuse of produced water in agricultural settings. However, there is relatively little information with regard to the chemical or toxicological characteristics of produced water.

PFAS health effects database: Protocol for a systematic evidence map.

Background: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) confer waterproof, greaseproof, and non-stick properties when added to consumer products. They are also used for industrial purposes including in aqueous film forming foams for firefighting. PFAS are ubiquitous in the environment, are widely detected in human biomonitoring studies, and are of growing regulatory concern across federal, state, and local governments.

Environmental Chemicals and Autism: A Scoping Review of the Human and Animal Research.

Background: Estimates of autism prevalence have increased dramatically over the past two decades. Evidence suggests environmental factors may contribute to the etiology of the disorder.

Objectives: This scoping review aimed to identify and categorize primary research and reviews on the association between prenatal and early postnatal exposure to environmental chemicals and the development of autism in epidemiological studies and rodent models of autism.

Exploring the endocrine activity of air pollutants associated with unconventional oil and gas extraction.

Background: In the last decade unconventional oil and gas (UOG) extraction has rapidly proliferated throughout the United States (US) and the world. This occurred largely because of the development of directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing which allows access to fossil fuels from geologic formations that were previously not cost effective to pursue. This process is known to use greater than 1,000 chemicals such as solvents, surfactants, detergents, and biocides.

Potential Developmental and Reproductive Impacts of Triclocarban: A Scoping Review.

Triclocarban (TCC) is an antimicrobial agent used in personal care products. Although frequently studied with another antimicrobial, triclosan, it is not as well researched, and there are very few reviews of the biological activity of TCC. TCC has been shown to be a possible endocrine disruptor, acting by enhancing the activity of endogenous hormones.

Melamine, beyond the kidney: A ubiquitous endocrine disruptor and neurotoxicant?

Melamine is commonly used in a variety of consumer products such as furniture, dining ware, and food utensils. The chemical infamously gained worldwide attention by its illegal addition to a variety of foodstuffs in order to falsify protein content, which led to serious, sometimes fatal, health impacts in children and pets. This resulted in a large amount of published primary studies and reviews of the impacts of melamine exposure on kidney function.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and female reproductive health: A scoping review.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a class of common persistent environmental pollutants found in water, air, soil, and plants and can be released by natural sources. However, the majority of atmospheric PAHs are from vehicular emissions, coal-burning plants, and the production and use of petroleum-derived substances. Exposure to PAHs has been implicated in cancer and other diseases, including reproductive disorders.

Twenty-Five Years of Endocrine Disruption Science: Remembering Theo Colborn.

For nearly 30 years, Dr. Theo Colborn (1927–2014) dedicated herself to studying the harmful effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on wildlife, humans, and the environment. More recently, she extended this effort to address the health impacts of unconventional oil and gas development.

Project TENDR: Targeting Environmental Neuro-Developmental Risks The TENDR Consensus Statement.

Children in America today are at an unacceptably high risk of developing neurodevelopmental disorders that affect the brain and nervous system including autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, intellectual disabilities, and other learning and behavioral disabilities. These are complex disorders with multiple causes—genetic, social, and environmental. The contribution of toxic chemicals to these disorders can be prevented.