Endocrine Disrupters (PCBs, Chlordane, and Toxaphene)

Recent headlines have warned of the newly-discovered dangers caused by certain Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs) known as Endocrine Disrupters. Many industrial chemicals we have been dumping into the ecosystem in huge quantities for years are now thought to interfere with hormones. Since the publishing of Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring, public attention has been focused on the carcinogenic effects of VOCs. Now there is even more cause for concern regarding VOCs. Certain VOCs, known as Endocrine Disrupters (also known as "Hormone Mimickers," "Estrogen Mimickers," and "Xeno-Estrogens"), can wreak havoc in the Endocrine System, Reproductive System, and Immune System. The effects of exposure to Endocrine Disrupters early in life are permanent and irreversible.

To understand how these Endocrine Disrupters function, let us first take a look at the Endocrine System itself. The endocrine system is a complex set of bodily organs and tissues whose actions are coordinated by chemical messengers called hormones, which control sexual reproduction, growth, development, and behavior. If these chemical "messages" are disrupted by hormone mimicking chemicals, then the systems receiving the messages are going to be damaged. According to Dr. Peter Montague of the Environmental Research Foundation, the range of problems that may be caused by hormone disruption is large: cancer, birth defects, stunted growth, reproductive failure, diminished sperm count, smaller penises, endometriosis ( a painful disease of menstrual tissues), ectopic (tubal) pregnancies, damage to the immune system, loss of muscle tone, weakened reflexes, impaired short-term memory, decreased ability to pay attention, lower IQs, and violent behavior.

Endocrine Disrupters can get into water supplies in various ways. Since many Endocrine Disrupters are herbicides and pesticides, agricultural run-off can carry these chemicals to water supplies. Some Endocrine Disrupters are products of industrialization and may get into water supplies through various means, such as leakage of storage tanks, accidental spills, or illegal dumping of toxic wastes. With no visible characteristics, smell, or taste, Endocrine Disrupters are virtually undetectable in drinking water. The Environmental Working Group (in their report "Weed Killers by the Glass") has noted that people are "routinely exposed to many different pesticides in a single glass of water."

According to the Environmental Working Group, the only reliable technology that can effectively remove Volatile Organic Chemicals, including certain Endocrine Disrupters, from tap water is Activated Carbon. Public utilities, in most cases, are using only conventional water treatment (chlorination and sand filtration) which does nothing to reduce Endocrine Disrupter levels in consumers' tap water . Other types of water treatment can not as effectively reduce Endocrine Disrupters in tap water.