Endocrine disruptors are substances, both natural and chemical, that can alter the functions of the hormonal system and consequently cause adverse effects on people or animals.

The world wildlife fund, physician organizations and learning organizations have pointed out that substances such as DDT have hormone disrupting tendencies or capacities which have very negative implications on the development of children, their capacity to learn, their nervous system, their immune system and their hormone system.

In terms of the honourable parliamentary secretary's comments about why we would want to include a specific reference to endocrine-disrupting substances, I'd also like to argue—and I think Ms. Lloyd will be able to expand on this point—that due to the hit-and-run nature of hormone-disrupting substances, they can only be detected at certain times and they're not necessarily persistent and bioaccumulative, and if a fetus is exposed at the wrong time in terms of its reproduction, there can be serious health implications with regard to its immune, nervous, or reproductive systems, and human or non-human organisms can be affected.

The European Commission has adopted a Communication on a Community Strategy for Endocrine Disrupters a range of substances suspected of interfering with the hormone systems of humans and wild life.

Commission adopts strategy on endocrine disrupters, substances which disrupt human and wildlife hormone systems

" hormone disrupting substance" means a substance having the ability to disrupt the synthesis, secretion, transport, binding, action or elimination of natural hormones in an organism, or its progeny, that are responsible for the maintenance of homeostasis, reproduction, development or behaviour of the organism" .