Q & A: What to Know About Endocrine Disruptors

We’re hearing a lot these days about some really scary chemicals called endocrine disruptors.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has vowed to expand safety assessments to study endocrine—or hormone—effects of some of these chemicals, especially those found in food and food packaging. But it’s unclear if his interest will go anywhere, as actions taken by the Trump administration, including cancelling scientific funding, contradict this and other of RFK Jr.’s so-called “Make America Healthy Again” promises.

Intentions, rhetoric, and roadblocks aside, the majority of people in America don’t know what an endocrine disruptor—or even the endocrine system—is or how it can affect human health. To understand the public health crisis related to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), here’s some background.

What is the endocrine system?
What are endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs)?
Where are EDCs found?
Are there any regulations on EDCs in personal care products, food, or plastic?
What can I do to protect my family from EDCs in daily life?

What is the endocrine system?

According to the Endocrine Society, the endocrine system is a network of glands and organs that produce, store, and secrete hormones. When functioning normally, the endocrine system works with other systems to regulate your body’s healthy development and function throughout life. You can think of the endocrine system as being in charge of your hormones. And our hormones control all our bodily functions: metabolism, growth and development, reproduction, and mood, including stress.

What are endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs)?

These are substances in the environment—air, water, and soil—and in food, personal care products, and other manufactured daily products that can interfere, mimic, or block the normal function of hormones, throwing our systems out of whack. EDCs are associated with a wide array of health issues, including developmental malformations, increased cancer risk, and disturbances with reproduction as well as immune and nervous system function.

Humans can be exposed to EDCs in the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink, and through our skin. Fetuses, babies, and children, who are still developing rapidly, are uniquely vulnerable to negative impacts of EDCs.

Where are EDCs found?

Unfortunately, EDCs are all over the place. We are being exposed to multiple EDCs pretty much all day every day—and for years. It doesn’t require a science degree to understand that chemicals specifically meant to disrupt our endocrine system can shift hormones in our bodies; birth control pills are an obvious example. But it’s less straightforward to understand how chemicals in things like plastic mess with our hormones.

There are over 1,000 chemicals that can disrupt hormones and contribute to disease. The evidence is currently greatest for four categories of chemicals: flame retardants, used in electronics, carpeting, and furniture; phthalates, used in cosmetics, personal care products and food packaging; bisphenols, found in plastics, thermal paper receipts, and aluminum cans; and pesticides, used in agriculture. Scientists believe that even low doses of endocrine-disrupting chemicals may be unsafe and can cause significant developmental and biological effects.

Because of extensive reliance on EDCs across many sectors to do things like stiffen and soften plastic, and make our lotions smoother and more readily absorbable by our skin, they’re now in everything from perfume to rugs. And they especially permeate childhood: EDCs are found in toys, plastic sippy cups, packaged snacks, bubble bath, and more. They shouldn’t be allowed to mess with our hormones—and especially children’s hormones.

Are there any regulations on EDCs in personal care products, food, or plastic?

Various agencies are supposed to protect consumers from EDCs, including EPA (pesticides) and the FDA (cosmetics). RFK Jr. has said that hormone-disrupting chemicals in food, pesticides, and water are “mass-poisoning” children and adults and has linked EDC exposure to an increase in chronic health problems and childhood diseases. But since he started working with this administration, no protections against EDCs have been put in place at any of the agencies he works with. Meanwhile, the petrochemical industry is racing to triple or even quadruple petrochemical and plastics production—the source of many hormone disrupters. And EPA under Administrator Lee Zeldin is proving so far to be more interested in protecting the petrochemical industry than people.

What can I do to protect my family from EDCs in daily life?

Despite how prevalent EDCs are in the environment, we can all reduce exposure to them. Here are some ways:

Avoid plastic in daily life in everything from water bottles to lunch boxes to rugs to food packaging—choose safer, more natural materials
Never microwave foods in plastic.
Choose to eat a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, prioritizing these foods over ultra-processed or canned ones. Organic foods will have a lower pesticide burden.
Try not to handle thermal paper receipts.
Always wash hands before eating.
Take pains to be conscious consumers, voting with our dollars to find and buy personal care products and clothing that don’t contain EDCs, or contain fewer EDCs, including flame retardants.
Cook in pans without nonstick coatings.
Recirculate indoor air.
Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter.
Filter drinking water.

No one person can shop their way out of a problem as large as hormone-disrupting chemicals in everyday life. For that, we need legislation and regulations. You can join Moms Clean Air Force to advocate to protect humans—and especially kids—from EDCs.

Tell Congress: Protect Our Families From Harmful Toxic Chemicals