When you purchase through links on our site , we may take in an affiliate committal . Here ’s how it works .

An environmental health advocacy organisation has released a inclination of what it enunciate are the 12 worst hormone - disrupt chemical substance .

These chemicals , known asendocrine disruptors , interfere with the action of hormones in the human body in some way — for instance , by imitating natural hormones , or increase or decreasing hormone product , according to Environmental Working Group ( EWG ) , the organization that put together the list .

Bottles of cleaning products

Do household cleaning products contain chemicals that may harm health?

The listing include some chemicals that have been scrutinized for their potential ability to step in with endocrine and affect reproduction , such as bisphenol A ( BPA ) and phthalates , although survey on these chemicals are not determinate . [ 5 slipway to restrain BPA in Your life-time ]

Other chemicals on the list — such as arsenic , mercury and Pb — may surprise consumers , as masses may not be aware that these chemicals disrupt hormones , harmonise to EWG .

And still other chemical might be less familiar to consumer , such as glycol ethers , which are dissolver in paints and cleaning products that have been linkedto low sperm count , among other wellness trouble , in painters , according to EWG .

a close-up of a material with microplastics embedded in it

The lean also includes : dioxin , atrazine , phthalates , perchlorate , fire retardent , perfluorinated chemical ( PFCs ) and organophosphate pesticides . [ For the full list , see:12 Hormone - Disrupting Chemicals & Their Health Effects ]

Dr. Kenneth Spaeth , managing director of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Center at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset , N.Y. , said the list was fair . " The larger value of a lean like this is lift the discussion aboutendocrine - disrupting chemicals , " Spaeth said .

While it is generally accepted that there is no secure horizontal surface of pic to chemicals like hint , there is still a lot of work to be done in determining whether other chemical , such asBPA and phthalates , set a risk to human health at the concentrations present in the surround , Spaeth told LiveScience .

A photo of an Indian woman looking in the mirror

" Endocrine - disrupting chemicals are a work in progress in watch what level are , indeed , hazardous , " Spaeth allege . Still , " there ’s enough grounds for many of these [ chemicals ] that it ’s reasonable to have some concern about them , " he said .

Spaeth said he might not have included lead , organophosphate pesticide and perchlorate on the list , because function of these chemicals has decline substantially in recent year , importantly lower multitude ’s level of exposure to these chemicals .

The full list , which is mean for readers of all age , include ways for consumer to avert exposure to these chemicals . However , EWG says that in the end , the best solution is better regulation to foreclose such chemical substance from come to the market .

a teenage girl takes a pill

An Indian woman carries her belongings through the street in chest-high floodwater

Product images of ReadyCare and Imperial nutritional drinks

a group class of older women exercising

a person holds a GLP-1 injector

an illustration of a group of sperm

an MRI scan of a brain

Pile of whole cucumbers

X-ray image of the man�s neck and skull with a white and a black arrow pointing to areas of trapped air underneath the skin of his neck

Pseudomonas aeruginosa as seen underneath a microscope.

An image comparing the relative sizes of our solar system�s known dwarf planets, including the newly discovered 2017 OF201

an illustration showing a large disk of material around a star

A man with light skin and dark hair and beard leans back in a wooden boat, rowing with oars into the sea

A photograph of two of Colossal�s genetically engineered wolves as pups.

An abstract illustration of rays of colorful light