Bill Addresses Endocrine Disrupters

Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced joint legislation on Dec. 3 to examine links between endocrine-disrupting chemicals in consumer products and the increase in hormone-related disorders, such as diabetes, obesity, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and autism. The Endocrine Disruption Prevention Act of 2009 (H.R. 4190, S. 2828) authorizes the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to develop a research program and establish an independent panel of scientists to prioritize which chemicals to investigate for their ability to disrupt the endocrine system. If a chemical presents any concern to the panel, the bill would require the relevant federal agency to propose the next steps to Congress within six months. The bill addresses inadequacies in EPA's Endocrine Disrupter Screening Program, which launched in October after more than a decade of delays. EPA's program will initially test 67 pesticide chemicals with methods that are considered outdated by many experts.