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Endocrine disruption has come under regulatory scrutiny since the passage of 1996 federal laws. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) convened the Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Advisory Committee (EDSTAC) to develop recommendations for a screening and testing program to assess chemicals potential to disrupt hormone function. The committee's September 1998 consensus report is important because it signals that endocrine disruption is a threat which a responsible society has an obligation to address. Furthermore, the program will generate significant new toxicological data. However, shortcomings in the EPA program will include: inadequate low dose testing; lack of a screening assay that examines early developmental exposure; and mechanisms that substitute "functionally equivalent" information. Implementation will face serious hurdles: insufficient funding; realistic validation yardsticks; resolution of crucial scientific questions, and political will. A wide diversity of constituencies appeared before the EDSTAC during public meetings, and the public will stay engaged by commenting on EPA s proposed program and by nominating chemicals for inclusion in the program. A meaningful response to endocrine disruption exposes a fundamental flaw in traditional risk assessment. If there is no "safe" exposure, there is also no regulatory threshold to identify.

The City Council of Oakland, California has unanimously passed the following resolution on dioxin, making it the first city in the country to approve a measure that aims to eliminate dioxin emissions wherever possible. The resolution was introduced by Council member Nancy Nadel and intense lobbying took place around it. Nevertheless, the resolution retains strong language about the health care industry's role in dioxin loading to the environment. An amendment was added committing Oakland to pursue dioxin reduction practices that do not cause workers to become unemployed. Appearing at City Hall in favor of the resolution were People United for a Better Oakland (PUEBLO),

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