Federal Register Notices Relating to the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) from 1998
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) in a series of Federal Register Notices published in 1998. These notices, which included a Statement of Policy in the December 28, 1998 notice, marked the beginning of the EPA's regulatory approach to identifying chemicals that may interfere with the endocrine system.
The EDSP was established in response to recommendations from the Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Advisory Committee (EDSTAC). The program was mandated to screen pesticides, chemicals, and environmental contaminants for potential endocrine-disrupting effects.
The August 11, 1998 notice outlined the EPA's plan to develop and validate screening procedures to detect potential endocrine disruptors. This notice announced the formation of the EDSP and invited public comment on the screening program and test guidelines. The December 28, 1998 notice followed up with more specific details, including draft test guidelines, protocols for screening chemicals, information collection requirements, and plans for validation and implementation of assays and testing mechanisms.
The program outlined a two-tiered approach: Tier 1 screening to identify substances that have the potential to interact with the endocrine system using a battery of assays, and Tier 2 testing to conduct more definitive evaluations of adverse effects related to endocrine disruption and determine dose-response relationships.
The EPA sought to integrate scientific advances and stakeholder input to finalize test protocols before official validation and routine use. Data requirements, reporting formats, and timelines for submitting screening results were proposed in these notices. The development process was highly collaborative, involving public comment periods, advisory committees, and engagement with scientific experts to ensure robustness and reliability.
Since then, the EDSP has evolved with further refinement of test methods and expanded chemical screenings, as the EPA continues registering pesticides and chemicals with consideration of their endocrine-disrupting potentials.
The Federal Register Notices from 1998 thus represent the initial policy and regulatory blueprint for the EDSP, detailing the planned screening approach, validation process, and regulatory integration aimed at protecting human health and the environment from endocrine disruptors. These notices, which can be found as pdf files, remain foundational to understanding the EPA’s ongoing approach to addressing endocrine disruptors.
The Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP), initially outlined in Federal Register Notices from 1998, was established to screen pesticides, chemicals, and environmental contaminants for potential endocrine-disrupting effects, with a focus on health-and-wellness and therapies-and-treatments. The program follows a two-tiered approach, involving Tier 1 screening and Tier 2 testing, and it relies heavily on scientific advancements, stakeholder input, and collaborative development to protect human health and the environment from endocrine disruptors.
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