Speciality Chemicals Magazine JUL / AUG 2022 | Page 41

REGULATORY & COMPLIANCE

Adverse

Data from in vitro testing

Adverse effects potentially ED-related

ED among metabolites

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Similarity with known ED !

Missing information

Human data

Similarity with known ED

Figure 2 - Rationale for ED concerns under substance the evaluation CoRAP

Missing information

use endpoints that may be considered ED-specific . New approaches are needed to fill the gap between the number of chemicals in use and the number of chemicals assessed to date . Epidemiologic research provides key information towards our understanding of the relationship between environmental exposures like EDCs and human health outcomes , but regulatory toxicologists often overlook it . Ho et al . advocate for an integrative approach of expertise in the fields of epidemiology , exposure science , risk assessment

and toxicology to adequately study the health risks associated with EDCs while tackling their challenges . ⁶ Overall , there is concern and uneasiness among the chemical industry that the assessment of EDCs may be too precautionary , which would assume a substance to be an EDC until proved otherwise . It is becoming critical to properly identify EDCs to determine their exposure and provide a justification when it is considered appropriate to use such substances . Many EDCs will be affected by new regulatory changes under the EC

Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability , largely due to tighter regulations on endocrine disruptors in the EU . These and other regulatory changes globally mean that the industry is preparing for a big shake-up . Many companies have also been investing in sustainable chemistries for at least the past decade or more , particularly in using natural feedstocks , but also in new biotechnology , such as the fermentation of microbes to ensure that chemicals are produced in a way that reduces the impact to human health and environment . •

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