Reports in recent years of malformed frogs and fish and other developmental anomalies in wildlife have kindled concerns about chemical and contaminant exposure, prompting lawmakers and citizens alike to call on science for answers. Battelle is working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a suite of tests and screens for identifying chemicals that alter or impair the endocrine systems of humans and wildlife. Under a contract with the EPAs Office of Science Coordination and Policy, Battelle is providing technical support to the EPA Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program.

In humans and animals, endocrine systems are the glands and hormones that help guide reproduction, development, and behavior. Some experts believe that exposure to certain chemicals introduced to the environment, such as pesticides, interferes with or impairs endocrine systems and leads to reproduction and health problems in humans and wildlife. Through changes to the Food Quality Protection Act and Safe Drinking Water Act, Congress has directed the EPA to move forward aggressively on this issue. Because there are thousands of chemicals, scientists do not know how many are endocrine disruptors or how to test new chemicals for their endocrine-disrupting potential.

Battelle’s support of the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program involves staff at its facilities in Columbus, Ohio, and Richland and Sequim, Wash. Project management as well as statistics and quality assurance activities are conducted at Battelle Columbus, while Battelle’s Marine Sciences Laboratory in Sequim, Wash., directs the ecotoxicological testing. While the majority of the aquatic testing and analytical testing for the chemical repository are conducted at Sequim, mammalian studies are conducted primarily by a subcontractor. Battelle’s Richland facility will direct bird-related research, and amphibian work will be conducted by another subcontractor. Although animal studies will be a part of the project, EPA and Battelle are committed to using alternative testing methods where possible.

Initial work is focused on gathering existing literature on chemical and endocrine-related research. After scientists review this information, determine the current level of understanding, and sort and prioritize suspect chemicals, numerous testing procedures or assays will be developed and validated. Assorted subcontractors will assist in validation of the assays after method development is complete.

The results ultimately will help to create a tool kit of tests that the EPA and industry can use to evaluate chemicals. The tests will be useful, for example, when a chemical company plans to introduce a new product to the marketplace or concerns arise about an existing product.

For more information, please contact Dr. David Houchens at (614) 424-3564, houchensd@battelle.org.