It can be concluded that not only is there a need to reduce exposure to anti-androgens and oestrogen-like substances from food products, indoor air and dust, but also to reduce exposure to the studied product groups, as these contribute to both indoor air and dust and to direct exposure, based on the assumptions made in this report.. Danish Environmental Protection Agency.In summary, it can be concluded that there is not only a need to reduce exposure to antiandrogenic and oestrogen-like substances from foods and the indoor climate, but also from products in the studied product groups. Based on the assumptions made in this report, these contribute to both the indoor climate and to the direct exposure. A reduction of the potential cumulative risk requires knowledge of which sources are present in foods and the indoor climate. Furthermore, there is a need to reduce possible contributions from other sources, e.g. propyl, butyl and isobutylparaben in cosmetics, phthalates from other footwear (e.g. rubber clogs and rubber shoes). Researchers have long known that endocrine disruptors can affect sexual development in laboratory animals. Findings in males included malformedgenitals, undescended testicles to the scrotum at birth (cryptorchidism), decreased sperm quality as well as testicular cancer later in life (Sharpe, 2009). Similar symptoms have been observed in humans, and new Danish research shows that Danish girls develop breasts earlier than 15 years ago. Exposure to endocrine disruptors in the environment is suspected to be a contributory factor in the development of these syndromes in the general population (Aksglaede et al., 2009). However, in humans it is much more difficult to prove a cause-effect relationship. A risk assessment is normally performed by assessing the exposure to a single substance in a single product. We are exposed to many different products on a daily basis, of which several contain the same chemical substances. We arealso exposed to many different chemical substances that can have the same toxicological effect. This project attempts to take into account some of these combination effects. In the past few years, surveys have shown surprising results on combinationeffects (also known as cocktail effects) of endocrine disruptors. A new Danish survey has revealed serious malformations in baby rats when female rats are exposed to a mixture of endocrine disruptors at concentrations which would not by themselves cause an effect. An expert workshop was held to follow up these results. Several world leaders in endocrine disruptors and combination effects met in Denmark in January 2009, where they considered on current knowledge on combination effects and possibilities for introducing legislation to address the issue. In the report from the workshop, the experts emphasise the fact that the risks posed by chemicals are currently underestimated because we do not take into account our daily exposure to a cocktail of many different substances, including endocrine disruptors. The advice from the experts is that, it is possible and necessary to include the risks of combination effects when performing a risk assessment of endocrine disruptors. The experts also refer to a so-called dose addition method that can be used until further knowledge is acquired. This project attempts to use the dose addition method for exposure to a series of substances that have been proven to exhibit endocrine disrupting effects in animal studies. The present project has shown that if one considers the total exposure as the sum of exposure from all the products suurrounding a 2-year-old, then for certain individual substances such as DBP, dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs, and propyl- and butylparaben, the individual substance can in themselves pose a risk. If the exposure is then assessed together with the substances that are suspected of having antiandrogenic or oestrogen-like effects, the total contribution will result in a potential risk for endocrine disrupting effects.
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