Assessment of the effects of endocrine disrupting substances in the Canadian environment

Endocrine disrupters are a complex issue that continues to evolve. From a government perspective, the issue of endocrine disruptors is complicated by the inclusion of several related issues, making it difficult to deal with in an effective manner. The sub-issues probably need to be dealt with through different regulatory mechanisms. The endocrine disrupter issues can be divided into three main categories: a) issues associated with subtle responses to compounds that are persistent, lipophilic and capable of biomagnification; b) issues associated primarily with non-persistent and relatively hydrophilic substances in industrial and municipal effluents; and c) issues associated with screening existing and new chemicals for their capability of interacting with the endocrine system in an adverse manner. This paper discusses options for dealing with chemicals found in complex mixtures such as pulp mill effluents, sewage effluents and in-use agricultural chemicals. When studies documented potential concerns about the potential for pulp mill effluents to cause reproductive and endocrine changes in fish, the Government of Canada developed an Environmental Effects Monitoring program as part of the new regulatory package. The EEM program is designed to provide information on whether effects are present in the environment when industry complies with their regulated discharge requirements. Endocrine disrupters have the potential to cause environmental effects with other regulated effluents, and an EEM-type of approach would be capable of identifying situations where effects are present and need to be dealt with.