Amid mounting concerns over chemicals believed to mimic the functions of endocrines, scientists and policy experts from around the world will open a conference in Yokohama today to present new information and discuss the threat these synthetic chemicals pose to human health and the environment.
During the third annual International Symposium on Environmental Endocrine Disrupters, participants will take stock of current knowledge about suspected endocrine-disrupting chemicals -- their effects on wildlife and human health as well as testing methods and risk management.
Theo Colborn, coauthor of "Our Stolen Future," the 1996 book that sent endocrine- mimicking chemicals blipping onto policymakers' radar, will attend and lecture at the three-day conference for the first time.