News Briefing at 12:30 p.m., Wed, Aug 26, Sheraton, Beacon A
The national meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, will be held in Boston, August 23 - 27. The following papers are among the 6,700 presentations that will be made.
BOSTON, Mass.--August 26--Scientists from government agencies, academe and industry will present the latest research on environmental endocrine disruptors and their impact on human health and the environment. Two dozen research reports will be presented during this special two-day symposium at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.
Federal Strategy Unveiled For Endocrine Disruptor Screening And Testing
In 1996, amendments to the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) and the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) required the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create a consensus strategy for screening pesticides for estrogenic effects on human health, and for screening other hormonal effects and substances detected in drinking water. EPA will provide a review of its just-completed consensus plan, which sets priorities for testing, includes specific screens and tests, and provides for public information. The plan is expected to be proposed for public comment next month.
Paper ENVR 104 will be presented by Senior Technical Advisor, G. Timm (replacing L. Goldman) at 11:15 a.m., Wed., August 26, in the Convention Center Room 207, 2nd Level.
Pesticides And Pcbs In Sierra Nevada Ecosystems: Potential Links To Amphibian Decline
The decline of amphibians have many researchers searching for the cause of this population decrease. In the past eight years, the Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering at Reno, NV, has tested samples of air, rain, pine needles, snowmelt and surface water in the central and southern Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. The samples contained residues of PCBs and several pesticides, transported by air from the agricultural community of the Central Valley of California. These data are now in use to test amphibians during their most vulnerable stage as tadpoles. The researchers have collected tadpoles from the Pacific coast to Tahoe, and are now extending their research to the Sequoia National Park and Sierra Nevada.
Paper ENVR 114 will be presented by J. LeNoir at 3:45 p.m., Wed., August 26, in the Convention Center Room 207, 2nd Level.
Studies Of Human Health Effects Of Endocrine-Active Xenobiotic Compounds
Two major endocrine-related areas have been researched at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), National Center for Environmental Heath (NCEH), in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and Copenhagen Hospital. NCEH researchers will discuss the results of their 5-year effort with the National Cancer Institute on studies of endocrine-related cancers. Two years ago, the CDC began studying the implications of endocrine disruption by xenobiotic compounds. They found a significant lack of large studies of fetal exposure to possible endocrine-disruptors.
Researchers will discuss a study with NIEHS now underway to examine possible fetal exposure to persistent endocrine-related compounds (PCBs and DDTs). Researchers are investigating whether male fetuses exposed to these compounds experience hypospadias (a condition in which the urethra is on the upside of the phallus, not the tip) and cryptorchidism (failure of the testes to descend into the scrotum), both of which are endocrine-related functions. The researchers are also exploring whether fetal exposure is linked to later developmental problems.
Paper ENVR 115 will be presented by J. Brock at 4:15 p.m., Wed., August 26, in the Convention Center Room 207, 2nd Level.
For further information Contact:
Hillarie Fogel, (202) 872-4451. August 20-27: Press Room, Convention Center, Room 308
Phone: (617) 351-6808; FAX: (617) 351-6820