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Fact Sheet 2 Endocrine Disruption And PCBs
New discoveries about the Hudson River contaminant heighten concerns
over human health and ecosystem safety.
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are an oily amber fluid -- highly
toxic -- that was discharged into the Hudson River from two General
Electric plants near Glens Falls, NY. It has recently been classified
as a known carcinogen.
Principal pathways for PCB uptake by humans are:
Eating Hudson River fish.
Eating waterfowl.
Drinking Hudson River water (some 600,000 people are affected).
Breathing Hudson River air.
All of us have PCBs, and many, many other chemicals, in our bodies. We
are the guinea pigs in a vast experiment using human subjects -- an
experiment we never asked to participate in. What are the results of
this experiment? It depends on who you ask. If you ask the chemical
industry, you will hear that we are perfectly safe.
But if you ask medical researchers, a totally different picture emerges.
PCBs, and other organochlorines, insinuate themselves into animal and
human bodies by imitating a variety of natural hormones, including
estrogen. Once in the body, these compounds do one of two things:
Block the normal passage of hormones into their receptors.
Mimic the hormone itself, and enter the receptors in lieu of the hormone.
Humans and animals are most vulnerable to PCB endocrine system attacks
during gestation and when very young. Hormones play a critical role in
development at those times. Growth and development are regulated by
hormones, and it only takes a few parts-per-trillion of a hormone at
the right time to set the body on a course of normal development. A
few parts per trillion of PCBs at the wrong time, by blocking the
hormonal "message,"or by sending a different message of its own, can
irrevocably alter and damage the development of the organism.
The effects of this hormonal interference can include:
Impaired intelligence.
Poor adaptability to stress.
Attention Deficit Disorder.
Reduced penis size.
Dysfunctional female reproductive development.
Reduced sperm counts.
Masculinization of females.
Feminization of males.
Inability to reproduce.
There is a critical need for more research on site-specific and
pollutant-specific endocrine disruption effects. At this point, EPA is
in the middle of a lengthy process of deciding whether or not to
require GE to dredge the most contaminated Hudson River sediments.
Cancer risk is the only human effect they are currently considering.
Clearwater urges you to contact the EPA and Gov. Pataki to demand that
endocrine effects be included in the ongoing PCB Reassessment.
Jeanne Fox, Administrator Hon. George E. Pataki, Governor
USEPA, Region 2 Executive Chamber
290 Broadway, 26th Floor State Capitol
New York, NY 10007-1866 Albany, NY 12224
212-637-5000 518-474-8390
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Send comments and questions to
EnvAction@Clearwater.org
Updated 4/2/97