Report on the State of the Science to Address Endocrine Disrupters Under the Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling

A variety of chemicals may interfere with the endocrine systems of humans and wildlife. To protect humans and the environment from potential adverse effects, there is interest in identifying such chemicals and classifying the hazard. To evaluate available methods to identify endocrine disrupters under the United Nations Globally Harmonised System for Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), the OECD convened an expert group to provide input. The expert group reviewed the state of the science for the relatively well studied estrogen, androgen, thyroid, and steroidogenesis (EATS) pathways, as well as other endocrine pathways (i.e. “non-EATS”). Methods were reviewed for their ability to identify chemical interactions with endocrine pathway targets (i.e. mechanism) and associated downstream adverse effects to humans and environmental species. This report summarises the review of the state of the science, methods identified for EATS and non-EATS endocrine disrupters, and the diversity of expert views provided to the GHS.