Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, found in household and industrial products, have been associated with negative health effects from cancers to learning disabilities to hormonal disorders. They have been a subject of scientific concern since the 1990s, and in 2013, the World Health Organization called out gaps in the science surrounding them in a pathbreaking report.
Yet it’s only in Europe that EDCs have been subjected to policy scrutiny, in a bitter battle among industry, regulators and advocacy groups. What does the science tell us, and what is the path forward for globally regulating this threat?