This review (1.35MB) appeared in Science News on June 8, 1996, (vol. 149:356) and shows how pesticides may affect genes in a fashion similar to estrogen. Relatively mild effects of some pesticides are greatly increased to highly significant effects when used in combination. This discovery is important for at least two reasons. First, estrogens are hormones that affect the sexual differentiation in embryos and young children, and disturbances in these critical developmental steps may produce serious life-time effects. Second, the synergistic effects of combinations of pesticides casts considerable doubt on the previous testing and regulatory standards for protection of public health. The costs of retesting alone will be high, but the potential health effects already set in motion may be unimaginable. We all are "at risk" since none of us can escape the exposure to these chemicals. While the effects on certain genes in development have been detected, there are undoubtedly other effects on gene regulation that may seriously affect our health at any stage of our life. Science has not, and cannot, protect us from what we do not know what to study. Chemicals that mimic hormones are much more dangerous than simple poisons that block a critical enzyme's activity.
Maintained by Dick Richardson
d.richardson@mail.utexas.edu
Last updated 01/20/04
