National Toxicology Program

[Federal Register: April 3, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 64)]
[Notices]
[Page 16567]

Public Health Service

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Notice of Workshop on "Characterizing the Effects of Endocrine Disruptors on Human Health at Environmental Exposure Levels"

The workshop will be held in the Brownestone Hotel, Raleigh, North Carolina, on May 11-13, 1998, from 9:00am to 5:30pm on May 11th, from 8:30am to 5:30pm on May 12th, and from 8:30am to 12:30pm on May 13th.

Background and Workshop Goals:
Evaluating potential low dose risks of endocrine disruptors is a major challenge for the risk assessment community. Most important is how to incorporate mechanistic information that will lead to biologically based and scientifically credible low-dose extrapolations. This workshop was organized to provide a forum for discussion of methods and data needs to improve risk assessments of endocrine disruptors, with special emphasis on characterizing potential health effects at low doses (environmental levels). The Workshop will focus on how to make better use of current knowledge on endocrine signaling pathways to understand and quantify perturbations induced by endocrine disrupting agents that lead to adverse health effects (reproductive and developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity, or cancer) and to specifically address exposures and perturbations at critical stages of development. Research needs will be identified within the framework of a risk assessment approach and a final workshop report to be published in the open scientific literature will include recommendations and guidance on how to incorporate mechanistic information into low-dose extrapolations.

Workshop Topics:

To address the workshop objectives, six breakout group topics have been identified:

• Homeostasis and endocrine function in adults
• Endocrine function during development
• Species variability, interindividual variability, and tissue specificity
• Dose-response models that link xenobiotic-induced perturbations in endocrine signaling
• pathways with tissue response in adults and during development
• Case study: estimating risk from exposure to DES
• Case study: estimating risk from environmental exposure to PCBs

Invited participants will lead the discussions in each breakout group. Outside observers from the public sector are welcome with attendance limited by space available.

Workshop Co-Sponsors:
NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
FDA/National Center for Toxicological Research
US Environmental Protection Agency
Chemical Manufacturers Association.

For further information including observer registration contact Alma Britton (919-541-0530; fax: 919-541-0295).

Dated: 3/24/98

________________________
Kenneth Olden, Ph.D.
Director
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

[Billing Code 4140-01-P]