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Theo Colborn: Chemical Detective

Like a detective searching for hidden clues, scientist Theo Colborn is trying to solve a toxic mystery.

The evidence: On every corner of the planet, animals have turned up with abnormalities like crossed beaks, deformed reproductive organs, and damaged eggshells. Even humans haven’t been spared declining IQs and reproductive abnormalities have also been measured in people.

What does Dr. Colborn make of the evidence? She suspects a culprit that’s widespread and largely unnoticed: synthetic chemicals in the environment. Her research reveals that these chemicals interfere with the hormones of fish, birds, whales, and even humans. And she’s concerned because billions of pounds of synthetic chemicals are produced every year without first being tested for their long-term effects.

In fact, adequate tests for endocrine-disrupting problems don’t even exist yet. What’s more, these problems are hard to monitor over the short term because many abnormalities might not show up for several generations. But, according to Dr. Colborn, tests for the kinds of problems that she studies can be developed. “It’s going to take brilliant young scientists and creative approaches to come up with tests that ultimately will lead to a safer environment for all animals—including people.”