Endocrine Disrupter Testing To Expand

House lawmakers have instructed EPA to make changes to its program for assessing the potential of chemicals to disrupt the endocrine system. A report that accompanies the fiscal 2010 appropriations bill (H.R. 2996) for EPA, which passed the House on June 26, directs EPA to expand its Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) beyond the current list of 67 pesticides and inert ingredients used in pesticides. The report orders EPA to publish within one year a second list of at least 100 chemicals that will be targeted for screening tests and to issue 25 test orders per year for those chemicals. The list should include drinking water contaminants, bisphenol A, pharmaceuticals, and halogenated organics such as dioxins, brominated flame retardants, and perfluorinated compounds, the lawmakers wrote. In addition, the report urges EPA to expand EDSP beyond estrogen, androgen, and thyroid disruption to include hormones important in metabolism and weight regulation.