Unite to assess contaminant risk

摘要

There is an urgent need for a globally coordinated research programme to evaluate the risks to human health and the environment posed by contaminants of emerging concern, or CECs. CECs are natural or synthetic chemicals that can affect an organisms ability to communicate with and respond to its environment. Well-known examples of their adverse biological effects include intersex phenotypes in wildlife, and poor sperm quality and quantity in humans (see also R. W. Stahlhut et al. Environ Health Perspect. 115, 876-882; 2007).