Overview of The Endocrine Disruption Exchange (TEDX)
May 1, 2007
What is TEDX? TEDX (The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, Inc) is the only international organization that focuses primarily on the human health and environmental problems caused by low-dose and/or ambient exposure to chemicals that interfere with development and function, called endocrine disruptors. Since antiquity, humans have known that some chemical substances in the environment can cause adverse health effects. For example, the Romans knew that sentencing prisoners to work in lead mines was a death sentence due to the toxicity of elemental lead.
We have learned over time that many chemical substances can cause a range of adverse health problems, including death, cancer, birth defects, and delays in development of cognitive functions. For instance, it is well established that asbestos can cause a fatal form of lung cancer, thalidomide can cause limb deformities, and breathing high concentrations of some industrial solvents can cause irreversible brain damage and death. Only relatively recently have we learned that a large number of chemicals can penetrate the womb and alter the construction and programming of a child before it is born. Through trans-generational exposure, endocrine disruptors cause adverse developmental and reproductive disorders at extremely low amounts in the womb, and often within the range of human exposure.
In 1999, the National Research Council (NRC), a sister organization of the National Academy of Sciences, released its report Hormonally Active Agents in the Environment. The NRC study found "Adverse reproductive and developmental effects have been observed in human populations, wildlife, and laboratory animals as a consequence of exposures to HAAs {hormonally active agents}." The NRC identified areas of needed research and advised that a program of testing and screening of chemicals for potential endocrine disruption properties should be implemented. Unfortunately many of the NRC recommendations have not been adopted.
The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, Inc. (TEDX), a 501(c)(3) organization, is based in Paonia, Colorado, and is incorporated as a business under the laws of that state. It was founded by Dr. Theo Colborn, who has written and lectured widely on the human health and environmental threat posed by endocrine disruptors and other industrially-produced chemicals at low concentrations in the environment. Dr. Colborn serves as the President of TEDX and holds the academic rank of Professor, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. TEDX's programs and finances are overseen by a Board of Directors, whose specialties include public health service, environmental policy development and analysis, environmental advocacy, medical ethics, philosophy, journalism, and history.
TEDX's work focuses on the endocrine system, which is the exquisitely balanced system of glands and hormones that regulates such vital functions as body growth, response to stress, sexual development and behavior, production and utilization of insulin, rate of metabolism, intelligence and behavior. Hormones are chemicals such as insulin, thyroxin, estrogen, and testosterone that interact with specific target cells. The interactions occur through a number of mechanisms, the easiest of which to conceptualize is through a lock and key arrangement. For example, target cells such as those in the uterus contain receptor anatomical areas (locks) into which specific estrogenic hormones can attach (key) and thereby cause specific biological actions, such as regulating ovulation or terminating pregnancy. As a matter of science, some synthetic chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and their substitute, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), have been found to mimic this kind of cellular lock-key mechanism by locking onto a specific blood protein that ordinarily transports thyroid hormones throughout the body, blocking the function of the blood protein and thereby disrupting normal biological processes.
Why is TEDX unique? TEDX's work is prevention driven, and it is the only environmental organization that focuses on the problems associated with endocrine disruption attributable to synthetic chemicals found in the general environment. While there are other national, international, and local organizations that address the public health and environmental consequences of toxic chemicals in the environment, none of them expressly emphasize endocrine disruption. By mainly focusing on substances in the environment that interfere with development and function throughout all life stages, TEDX has one of the most complete databases in the world on this topic, available for those concerned about public health and environmental quality. This database was developed because traditional toxicological protocols have used high doses on fully developed tissues and individuals that heretofore missed the consequences of chemical substances on developing tissues.
TEDX is unique because it focuses on the damaging activity of chemicals on biological systems from an entirely new approach. This new approach focuses on the effects of very low and ambient levels of exposure on developing tissue and resulting function before an individual is born, which can lead to irreversible, chronic disorders expressed at any time throughout the individual's life. Endocrine disruption takes into consideration the vulnerability of every individual in the population during their most vulnerable life stages. By providing this unique perspective on the actions of endocrine disruptors, TEDX fills in the very large gap in public health protection that traditional toxicology and government regulatory agencies do not fill. Drawing upon its computerized databases on endocrine disruption and coordination with researchers in the field of endocrine disruption, TEDX provides the very latest summaries of the state of knowledge and its meaning for human health and the environment.
Why is TEDX needed? The human health consequences of endocrine disruption are dire. Yet, no chemical has been regulated in the U.S. to date because of its endocrine disrupting effects. The U.S. government has failed to respond to the evolving science of endocrine disruption. While much remains to be learned in regard to the nature and extent of the impact of endocrine disruptors on human health, enough is known now to assume a precautionary approach should be taken. TEDX provides concerned persons and organizations with a science-based foundation for individuals to act and promote responsive public policy-making. Moreover, as federal government resources devoted to research on endocrine disruption have inexplicitly diminished due to budget cuts, TEDX must assume an even more prominent role in developing and disseminating information on the human and environmental impacts of endocrine disruption.
TEDX's actions are based on three principles:
1. Strict adherence to science is imperative during this period in the history of our country when science is being marginalized and dismissed while decisions are being made that could have widespread impact on the health of our children for generations to come. TEDX has developed a unique and comprehensive computer-based collection of scientific literature on endocrine disruptors. Although research on the health and environmental consequences of endocrine disruptors has decreased within government laboratories, considerable research is being conducted by academic scientists in the U.S. and other countries. As a result, the database on endocrine disruptors continues to grow at a large rate, making all the more important that new data are collected and collated within the TEDX database.
From this database, TEDX can develop reports on the endocrine disruption of specific chemicals and formulate research needs. As an example, a thorough review of TEDX's database found that Bisphenol A (BPA), a plastic monomer used widely in the production of materials to package food, in plastics that are rapidly replacing steel, and as a fire retardant, has endocrine disrupting properties in every developing system in which it has been tested, depending on stage of exposure and dose. As an example of science-based service, TEDX was asked to assess the potential for endocrine disruption and other toxic effects of the chemicals injected into the ground and released into the air when drilling gas and oil deposits.
2. Promoting education about the endocrine disruption posed by chemicals in the environment derives from concern that susceptible populations such as the embryo, fetus, young children, persons with infirmities, and the elderly may be at special risk. This concern is exacerbated by the fact that a growing list of endocrine disruptors are being found in almost all human tissue, including fetal tissue, in the northern hemisphere. And in the case of BPA, it is found in everyone at the dose that causes alterations in function and construction in the laboratory.
3. Advocating policy changes to protect the public and the environment is based on the known and anticipated associations between endocrine disruptors and their link to reproductive and developmental disorders in children and offspring of animals in natural settings. It is well known within the public health community that prevention of disease and disability is the heart of public health purpose and practice. TEDX is committed to educating the public about the hazards of exposure to endocrine disruptors, promoting policies that support research on endocrine disruptors, and advocating public policies that will lead to reducing the number and amounts of endocrine disruptors in the home, workplace, and community environments.