Ref. Ares(2016)2766281 - 14/06/2016
Ref. Ares(2017)810384 - 14/02/2017
14 June, 2016
Secretary General
Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 200
1049 Brussels, Belgium
Regarding: Publication of Interest on EDCs
Dear Mr.
,
On behalf of the Endocrine Society’s Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Task Force, and following from our
communication from April 25, I would like to take this opportunity to provide some new information in
advance of the Commission’s pending decision on EDC criteria. Today a new paper was published in the
peer-reviewed scientific journal
The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, by members of the Endocrine
Society. The authors include 9 international experts in the field who have been engaged in global efforts to
identify science-based criteria for regulation of EDCs.
Along with the commentary in
Environmental Health Perspectives that we sent on April 25, we believe that
this paper could be of relevance to the European Commission in establishing scientific criteria for the
identification of Endocrine Disruptors in the context of the PPPR and BPR and in efficiently protecting
public health.
It provides further support for our position that the Roadmap Option 3 represents the best option for criteria
to identify EDCs based on the widely-accepted WHO/IPCS definition. The paper shows that the simple logic
used for the identification and regulation of carcinogens can be used for EDCs. Adding concepts such as that
of “potency” or irreversibility would not be scientifically relevant for the selection of criteria to identify
EDCs.
We have attached a copy of the manuscript to this letter, and we appreciate your continued attention to this
important issue. We look forward to further engagement on EDCs and other critical public health issues.
Sincerely,
MD, PhD,
Liège University Hospital, Belgium
Co-chair, Endocrine Society EDC Task Force