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Events
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On March 23, 2000, VJEL held its first spring symposium on endocrine disrupters. Endocrine disruptors are substances that disturb the natural behaviors and biological processes in the bodies of animals and humans. In animal species, these substances have been traced to birth defects, sexual abnormalities and reproductive failures. For humans, endocrine disruptors are increasingly thought to be linked to increases in cancer, endometriosis, behavioral aberrations, and reproductive effects such as a dramatic drop in worldwide sperm counts in recent years. As the name implies, endocrine disruptors accomplish their damage through interference in the endocrine systems of humans and animals. The endocrine system is the chemical counterpart to the nervous system. Where the nervous system controls and regulates body functions through electrochemical transmissions originating in the brain, the endocrine system does the same work using chemical messengers originating in the endocrine glands. These chemical messengers are called hormones. Once released by an endocrine gland in response to a certain stimuli, hormones travel in the bloodstream until they reach particular receptors in a certain type of body tissue. The hormone and receptor then interlock much like a lock and key. Endocrine disruptors wreak havoc in this system by either mimicking a particular hormone and "fooling" the receptor or by completely blocking the reception of the hormone in the first place. Either form of disruption results in a change in hormone levels in the body. Even minute disruptions can be harmful since small alterations in the amount of a hormone can produce large changes in the functions of the body. Presently, there are many substances that are present in everyday life that are known or suspected to be endocrine disruptors. Two of the more prominent are certain pesticides and particular types of plastic. Endocrine disruptors are gaining attention in the scientific, public health, and legal communities. Scientists and governments are beginning to study and appreciate the potential dangers these substances present to human and animal health. To educate the Vermont community and generate important dialogue on this emerging issue, Res Communes (now the "Vermont Journal of Environmental Law") hosted a panel discussion on endocrine disrupters.
Discussion Panel
Mary Jane Angelo, Senior Assistant Counsel, St. Johns River Water Management District and Adjunct Professor, University of Florida, Levin College of Law. Ms. Angelo received her B.S. in biological sciences from Rutgers University and went on to earn both her M.S. in entomology and J.D. from University of Florida. She spent seven years with the U.S. EPA in Washington as an Assistant Judicial Officer in the Office of the Administrator and as an attorney in the Office of General Counsel. She has published on a variety of environmental topics including the regulation of biotechnology and currently teaches a skills course in environmental dispute resolution at the University of Florida.
Leslie Henderson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Physiology and Biochemistry, Dartmouth College. Dr. Henderson received both her undergraduate degree and her doctorate in Neuroscience from Stanford University. She was a Postdoctoral Fellow at both the University of California, San Diego and Tufts Medical School before joining the Dartmouth faculty in 1989. She has received numerous awards and grants for her research and has published extensively on the effects of hormones on the nervous system and behavior.
Todd Hettenbach, Policy Analyst, Environmental Working Group. Mr. Hettenbach is a graduate of Brown University, where he was a triple major in Environmental Studies, Economics, and Public Policy. He served as the President of the Student Sierra Club from 1994 to 1995. He is currently a policy analyst for the Environmental Working Group in Washington, D.C., where he focuses on pesticide issues.
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