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The economics–ecology nexus
Published in Peter N. Nemetz, Unsustainable World, 2022
Endocrine mimickers: According to the US NIH (n.d., p. 1),Many chemicals, both natural and man-made, may mimic or interfere with the body’s hormones, known as the endocrine system. Called endocrine disruptors, these chemicals are linked with developmental, reproductive, brain, immune, and other problems. Endocrine disruptors are found in many everyday products, including some plastic bottles and containers, liners of metal food cans, detergents, flame retardants, food, toys, cosmetics, and pesticides. Some endocrine-disrupting chemicals are slow to break down in the environment. That characteristic makes them potentially hazardous over time. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals cause adverse effects in animals. But limited scientific information exists on potential health problems in humans. Because people are typically exposed to multiple endocrine disruptors at the same time, assessing public health effects is difficult.
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Published in Cristobal N. Aguilar, Suresh C. Ameta, A. K. Haghi, Green Chemistry and Biodiversity, 2019
Jayesh Bhatt, Kanchan Kumari Jat, Avinash K. Rai, Rakshit Ameta, Suresh C. Ameta
In the last few decades, humans have been showing ignorance toward conscious usage of water and its contamination. It has increased ever increasing scarcity of potable water. Anthropogenic contaminants are increasing exponentially. Most of these are highly toxic to living beings. Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that can interfere with endocrine (or hormone) systems. Most of them are toxic, xenogenic, and carcinogenic in nature. Environmental contamination by these toxic chemicals is causing serious global problems. Various methods and techniques such as biological methods, physical methods, chemical methods, and so on are developed to remove these pollutants. Every method has its own pros and cons. Photocatalytic wastewater treatment has gained much importance recently. Cost-effectiveness, eco-friendly nature, and applicability on large scale for different kind of pollutants are the key factors. Photocatalysts used at present are basically semiconductors like TiO2, ZnO, CdS, and so on. Their composite may prove to be more beneficial for efficient decomposition of EDCs.
Occurrence, Effects, and Treatment of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in Water
Published in I. M. Mujtaba, R. Srinivasan, N. O. Elbashir, The Water–Food–Energy Nexus, 2017
Chedly Tizaoui, Olajumoke Ololade Odejimi, Ayman Abdelaziz
The effects of EDCs can be immediate or delayed and reversible or irreversible, depending on the type of chemical, kind of tissue exposed, the dose, timing and duration of exposure, as well as metabolism and elimination rate from the body. The major categories of adverse biological effects linked to exposure to endocrine disruptors are reproductive problems (such as problem in the sperm quality and sperm count decline; Toppari et al., 1996; Swan et al., 1997), developmental disruptions (such as delayed sexual development; Gore, 2007), cancer (such as testicular cancer in males and breast cancer in females), immunological effects, and neurological effects (The Royal Society, 2000; Hotchkiss et al., 2008). Table 3.13 shows some known EDCs and their effects on the endocrine system.
Probabilistic risk assessment of endocrine disrupting pesticides in Iran
Published in International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 2023
Vahideh Mahdavi, Ahmad Heidari, Amin Mousavi Khaneghah
The term endocrine disruptors (EDs) is commonly used to refer to compounds with common characteristics, namely the ability to mimic the actions of hormones that interfere with the behavior of the endocrine systems in different living species (Yilmaz et al. 2020). On the other hand, endocrine disruption refers to a mechanism of toxicity that hinders the ability of cells, tissues, and organs to communicate hormonally, resulting in a wide variety of adverse health outcomes, including reduced fertility and fecundity, spontaneous abortion, skewed sex ratios within the offspring of exposed communities, male and female reproductive tract abnormalities, precocious puberty, polycystic ovary syndrome, neurobehavioral disorders, impaired immune function and a wide variety of cancers (Ewence et al. 2015; Schneider et al. 2019). Endocrine-disruptors are sometimes also referred to as hormonally active agents or endocrine-disrupting chemical compounds that can interfere with endocrine or hormonal systems (Kahn et al. 2020). These disruptions can cause cancerous tumors, congenital disabilities, and other developmental disorders (Montes-Grajales and Olivero-Verbel 2020).
Quality and safety of South African hand sanitisers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Published in International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 2023
W. de Bruin, M. C. van Zijl, N. H. Aneck-Hahn, L. Korsten
Excipients may also have endocrine-disruptive properties. The endocrine system regulates all biological processes in the body, including growth, reproduction, and metabolism. Endocrine disruptors are linked to neurological and behavioural disorders, obesity and metabolic dysfunction, reproductive disorders, and hormone-sensitive cancers (WHO/UNEP 2013). Endocrine disruptors that may be present in hand sanitisers include triclosan, benzophenone-4, and nonylphenol. Triclosan can be absorbed by the skin and has been detected in blood, urine, and breast milk samples. Various in vivo and/or in vitro studies demonstrated the estrogenic, anti-estrogenic, androgenic, and anti-thyroid activities of triclosan, benzophenone-4, and nonylphenol (Kunz and Fent 2006; Olaniyan et al. 2016).
Restricted substances for textiles
Published in Textile Progress, 2022
Arun Kumar Patra, Siva Rama Kumar Pariti
APEOs are synthetic compounds and they are never produced naturally. Ethoxylates with less than five ethylene oxide residues linked together are water insoluble while the higher oligomers are water soluble and hydrophilic in nature (Ahel & Giger, 1993). Alkylphenol ethoxylates, on degradation, lose most of the EO units, the final breakdown products being alkylphenoxy carboxylic acids and APs as shown in Figure 2 (Renner, 1997). Many studies have been done to assess the levels of AP and APEO in waste-water discharges, water sediments and live organisms. The APs resulting from degradation of the detergents are found to cause endocrine disruption. They are able to accumulate in several aquatic species, including aquatic plants, algae and fish (Lintelmann, Katayama, Kurihara, Shore, & Wenzel, 2003). Endocrine disruptors are substances that mimic hormones and thus interfere with their functions in the endocrine system of the human body. For example, 4-nonylphenol mimics oestradiol (a female hormone) and thus affects the development, reproductive, neural and immunity systems in human beings. APEOs are not only hormone disruptors and toxic to aquatic organisms, but also have a destructive action on the upper respiratory tract, eyes and skin of living beings. Nonylphenol moderately bio-accumulates and is extremely toxic to aquatic animals. Human exposure to nonylphenol and octylphenol may cause testicular damage, decreased testicular size, decreased sperm production and dysfunction of male reproduction system.