Endocrine disruptors, wow do they sound dangerous. So, what does Wikipedia have to say about them? Quite a lot of interesting things.
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Some brominated flame retardants are endocrine disruptors. Flame retardants of some sort are used in almost every plastic, because most plastics will spontaneously combust when heated above a certain temperature. Although the pure plastic itself may have no endocrine disruptors on its own, the flame retardant additive can make it so. (Note that I discuss flame retardants in more detail in a subsequent blog post)
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Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) is essentially the precursor to common brominated flame retardant PDBE. PCB is, likewise, also an endocrine disruptor.
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Plasticizer additives, used to make an otherwise rigid plastic softer and more flexible, are another common source of endocrine disruptors. Typically, phthalates are used. Again, a pure plastic on its own may contain no endocrine disruptors, but the plasticizer additive makes it so.
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Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disruptor. “BPA-free” products may substitute Bisphenol S instead, which can be even more dangerous. These chemicals are used to line either plastic beverage containers or aluminum beverage containers for additional wet strength.
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Polycarbonate can hydrolize into Bisphenol A (BPA) under high temperatures and high humidity, and therefore although polycarbonate in its pure form may not be an endocrine disruptor, it can readily transform into one, especially under the conditions present in manufacturing, 3D printing, and incineration.
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Phthalates used in thermal paper receipts are often endocrine disruptors.
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Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) may contain also contains endocrine disruptors, due to phthalate platicizer additives.
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Burning polyvinyl chloride from trash incineration is one of the world’ls largest sources of dioxin. Also, dioxins are created in the manufacturing process. Yep, the end of DDT and Agent Orange did not stop the dioxins from coming to us.
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Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is suspected of being capable of leaching out endocrine disruptors. Due to the inclusion of a type of phthalate (terephthalate), suffice it to say that PET plastic contains endocrine disruptors.
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One major source, of course, of human intake and exposure to endocrine disruptors is through food containers. Due to the demands of food containers, especially those that need to carry wet materials, it is very likely that some chemical endocrine disruptor additives were placed into the packaging, and these chemicals can then transfer to the food contained. Heating food containers, like what may be done in a microwave, is also a source of endocrine disruptors leaching into food.
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Another major source of human intake and exposure to endocrine disruptors is through dust in artificial interiors: household, automotive, office, you name it. If there is dust that can flake off a built surface that contains endocrine disruptors, and humans can inhale it, the endocrine disruptors can enter their body. Typically, this is due to plastic surfaces or plastic-like wood finishes.
- Notably, toddlers who live in the same households as adults may have higher levels of endocrine disruptors in their body due to ingesting dust that adults, by contrast, do not ingest. Adults know better than to eat dust.
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Interesting:
Old Order Mennonite women in mid-pregnancy determined that they have much lower levels in their systems than the general population. Mennonites eat mostly fresh, unprocessed foods, farm without pesticides, and use few or no cosmetics or personal care products. One woman who had reported using hairspray and perfume had high levels of monoethyl phthalate, while the other women all had levels below detection. Three women who reported being in a car or truck within 48 hours of providing a urine sample had higher levels of diethylhexyl phthalate which is found in polyvinyl chloride, and is used in car interiors.[68]”
Theo Colborn was a notable researcher and publisher involved in describing the effects of endocrine disruptors.
20190117/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocrine_disruptor
20190117/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theo_Colborn
20190117/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polybrominated_diphenyl_ethers
20190117/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polychlorinated_biphenyl
20190118/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_chloride
20190204/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycarbonate
20190204/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyethylene_terephthalate
20190205/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bis(2-Hydroxyethyl)_terephthalate
20190205/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terephthalic_acid
This is an interesting documentary movie that investigates the question: are stinky chemicals bad for your health? The answer is yes, and it goes through the interesting stories of how these chemicals were justified into mass production.
20190117/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stink!
Now, speaking of all the problems with endocrine disruptors, how do the “classic toxic metals” such as mercury, lead, arsenic, and antimony compare? Do they cause heritable deformations? Apparently, the only such metal that can cause heritable deformations is arsenic. It turns out that antimony is not particularly hazardous to human health in general. This is good news, as that means the antimony that was traditionally used in the production of polyethyline is not too much of a concern.
Notably, mercury and lead were some of the few metals that were known since antiquity. That being said, given they were discovered and used, if only by a few, so many thousands of years ago, and we humans have still survived to this day, we know they have a proven track record of only being a limited risk to humans as a species. Mercury, lead, and arsenic are bioaccumulators, so the main risk these pose is biomagnification in the food chain, not heritable deformations.
20190118/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenic#Essential_trace_element_in_higher_animals
20190118/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead#Biological_effects
20190118/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metals_of_antiquity
20190118/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimony#Precautions
The introduction to the Wikipedia article on the metals of antiquity is quite awe-inspiring.
The metals of antiquity are the seven metals which humans had identified and found use for in prehistoric times: gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, iron, and mercury. These seven are the metals from which the modern world was forged; until the discovery of arsenic in the 13th century, these were the only known elemental metals, compared to the 86 known today.