Pollution of Environmental Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals(EDCs) in Water and Its Adverse Reproductive Effect on Fish

Environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals （EDCs）, commonly found in the environment, come from industry and agriculture, including pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, herbicides, and other chemicals. Nowadays, more and more EDCs were released into the environment. EDCs go into water body via atmosphere sedi-mentation, surface runoff, soil eluviation, etc., so water body becomes the main place for existing. In order to attract scientific and public attention worldwide and to prevent EDCs pol ution, in this study we reviewed the classification of EDCs and their concentrations in natural water bodies, drinking water sources and water plants, and the reproductive toxicity of EDCs to fish were reviewed. EDCs could disturb the endocrine system and make reproductive organs and reproduction abnor-mal, resulting in fertility descending, reproduction function damage, community quan-tity decrease and even species extinction. In addition, EDCs could disrupt the homeostasis maintained by hormones, which would result in defects of neural de-velopment and abnormalities of the endocrine and reproductive systems. The exact molecular mechanisms have not been completely reported, but researches have suggested that multiple mechanisms were involved in the action of EDCs. Although there have been researches on the biohazard of EDCs, there stil exist problems of weakness in fundamental researches, difficulties in recognizing and identifying EDCs and high cost, which restraint the knowledge on them.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals in mixture and obesity,diabetes and related metabolic disorders

Obesity and associated metabolic disorders represent a major societal challenge in health and quality of life with large psychological consequences in addition to physical disabilities. They are also one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. Although, different etiologic factors including excessive food intake and reduced physical activity have been well identified, they cannot explain the kinetics of epidemic evolution of obesity and diabetes with prevalence rates reaching pandemic proportions. Interestingly, convincing data have shown that environmental pollutants, specifically those endowed with endocrine disrupting activities, could contribute to the etiology of these multifactorial metabolic disorders. Within this review, we will recapitulate characteristics of endocrine disruption. We will demonstrate that metabolic disorders could originate from endocrine disruption with a particular focus on convincing data from the literature. Eventually, we will present how handling an original mouse model of chronic exposition to a mixture of pollutants allowed demonstrating that a mixture of pollutants each at doses beyond their active dose could induce substantial deleterious effects on several metabolic end-points. This proof-of-concept study, as well as other studies on mixtures of pollutants, stresses the needs for revisiting the current threshold model used in risk assessment which does not take into account potential effects of mixtures containing pollutants at environmental doses, e.g., the real life exposure. Certainly, more studies are necessary to better determine the nature of the chemicals to which humans are exposed and at which level, and their health impact. As well, research studies on substitute products are essential to identify harmless molecules.

Research Development of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals(EDCs) in Water in China

More and more importance has been attached to the problem of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) since 1960s. This article elaborates the recent research progress of EDCs in water and the trends in the near future in China.

Removal of endocrine disrupting chemicals from water through urethane functionalization of microfiltration membranes via electron beam irradiation

Polyethersulphone(PES)membranes modified with urethane functional groups were prepared through an interfacial reaction using electron beam irradiation.The removal of eight endocrine disrupting chemicals(EDCs)was studied using both pristine and functionalized PES membranes.The prepared membranes underwent characterization using several techniques,including attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared(ATR-FTIR)spectroscopy,scanning electron microscopy,contact angle analysis,and measurements of pure water flux.Furthermore,dynamic adsorption experiments were conducted to evaluate the adsorption mechanism of the prepared membrane toward the eight EDCs.The urethane functionalized membranes were hydrophilic(52°contact angle)and maintained a high permeate flux(26000 L/h m^(2) bar)throughout the filtration process.Dynamic adsorption results demonstrated that the introduction of urethane functional groups on the membranes significantly enhanced the removal efficiency of 17β-estradiol,estriol,bisphenol A,estrone,ethinylestradiol,and equilin.The adsorption loading of 17β-estradiol on the functionalized PES membrane was 6.7±0.7 mg/m^(2),exhibiting a 5-fold increase compared to the unmodified PES membrane.The membranes were successfully regenerated and reused for three adsorption cycles without experiencing any loss of adsorption capacity.

Occurrence of estrogenic endocrine disrupting chemicals concern in sewage plant effluent

The purpose of this study was to give a worldwide overview of the concentrations of typical estrogenic endocrine disrupting chemicals （EDCs） in the effluent of sewage plants and then compare the concentra- tion distribution of the estrogenic EDCs in ten countries based on the survey data of the estrogenic EDCs research. The concentrations of three main categories （totally eight kinds） of estrogenic EDCs including steroidal estrogens （estrone （El）, estradiol （E2）, estriol （E3） and 17a- ethynylestradiol （EE2））, phenolic compounds （nonylphe- nol （NP） and bisphenol A （BPA）） and phthalate esters （dibutyl phthalate （DBP） and dibutyl phthalate （2- ethylhexyl） phthalate （DEHP）） in the effluents of sewage plants reported in major international journals over the past decade were collected. The statistics showed that the concentration distributions of eight kinds of EDCs were in the range of ng·L^-1 to μg·L^-1. The concentrations of steroidal estrogens mainly ranged within 50.00 ng. L-1, and the median concentrations of El, E2, E3 and EE2 were 11.00, 3.68, 4.90 and 1.00 ng·L^-1, respectively. Phenolic compounds and phthalate esters were found at pg. L-1 level （some individual values were at the high level of 40.00 μg·L^-1）. The median concentrations of BPA, NP, DBP and DEHP were 0.06, 0.55, 0.07 and 0.88 μg·L^-1, respectively. The concentrations of phenolic compounds and phthalate esters in the effluents were higher than that of steroids estrogens. The analysis of the concentration in various ten countries showed that steroids estrogens, phenolic compounds and phthalate esters in sewage plant effluents were detected with high concentration in Canada, Spain and China, respectively.

Roles of membrane and organic fouling layers on the removal of endocrine disrupting chemicals in microfiltration

To understand the adsorption behavior of endocrine disrupting chemicals（EDCs） is important for enhancing the treatment performance and preventing potential secondary pollution caused by EDCs desorption in a microfiltration system. The dynamic adsorption of four representative EDCs, namely estriol（E3）, 17β-estradiol（E2）, 17α-ethynylestradiol（EE2）, and 4-nonylphenol（4-NP） in a microfiltration system was investigated using the Thomas＇ model.The product of the equilibrium constant and the total adsorption capacity of the membrane,Ka, for E3, E2, EE2, and 4-NP were 4.91, 9.78, 15.6, and 826, respectively, strongly correlating with the compound octanol–water partition coefficient（KOW）. Adsorption appeared to be enhanced when organic fouling formed on the surface of membrane, indicating the role of an additional adsorption column for EDCs acted by a fouling layer in microfiltration. Results of a comparison between the Ka values for clean membrane and fouled membrane illustrated that the significant contribution made by fouling layers may be attributed to the foulant layer＇s hydrophobicity（in the case of calcium humate layer） and thickness（in the case of calcium alginate layer）. This study provided a novel perspective to quantitatively analyze the dynamic adsorption behavior of trace pollutants in membrane process.

Adsorption and biodegradation of three selected endocrine disrupting chemicals in river-based artificial groundwater recharge with reclaimed municipal wastewater

Endocrine disrupting chemical（EDC） pollution in river-based artificial groundwater recharge using reclaimed municipal wastewater poses a potential threat to groundwater-based drinking water supplies in Beijing, China. Lab-scale leaching column experiments simulating recharge were conducted to study the adsorption, biodegradation, and transport characteristics of three selected EDCs： 17β-estradiol（E2）, 17α-ethinylestradiol（EE2） and bisphenol A（BPA）. The three recharge columns were operated under the conditions of continual sterilization recharge（CSR）, continual recharge（CR）, and wetting and drying alternative recharge（WDAR）. The results showed that the attenuation effect of the EDCs was in the order of WDAR 〉 CR 〉 CSR system and E2 〉 EE2 〉 BPA, which followed first-order kinetics. The EDC attenuation rate constants were 0.0783, 0.0505, and 0.0479 m-1 for E2, EE2 and BPA in the CR system, respectively. The removal rates of E2, EE2, and BPA in the CR system were 98%, 96% and 92%, which mainly depended on biodegradation and were affected by water temperature.In the CR system, the concentrations of BPA, EE2, and E2 in soil were 4, 6 and 10 times higher than in the WDAR system, respectively. According to the DGGE fingerprints, the bacterial community in the bottom layer was more diverse than in the upper layer, which was related to the EDC concentrations in the water-soil system. The dominant group was found to be proteobacteria, including Betaproteobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria, suggesting that these microbes might play an important role in EDC degradation.

Genomic organization and transcriptional modulation in response to endocrine disrupting chemicals of three vitellogenin genes in the self-fertilizing fish Kryptolebias marmoratus

Vitellogenin（Vtg）is the precursor of egg yolk proteins,and its expression has been used as a reliable biomarker for estrogenic contamination in the aquatic environment.To examine the biomarker potential of the self-fertilizing killifish Kryptolebias marmoratus Vtgs（Km-Vtgs）,full genomic DNAs of Km-Vtgs-Aa,Km-Vtgs-Ab,and Km-Vtgs-C were cloned,sequenced,and characterized.Three Vtg genes in K.marmoratus are tandemly placed in a550 kb section of the same chromosome.In silico analysis of promoter regions revealed that both the Km-Vtgs-Aa and Km-Vtgs-Ab genes had an estrogen response element（ERE）,but the Km-Vtgs-C gene did not.However,all three Km-Vtgs genes had several ERE-half sites in their promoter regions.Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the three deduced amino acid residues were highly conserved with conventional Vtgs protein,forming distinctive clades within teleost Vtgs.Liver tissue showed the highest expression of Km-Vtg transcripts in all tested tissues（brain/pituitary,eye,gonad,intestine,skin,and muscle）in response to endocrine disrupting chemical（EDC）-exposed conditions.Km-Vtg transcripts were significantly increased in response to 17β-estradiol（E2）,tamoxifen（TMX）,4-n-nonylphenol（NP）,bisphenol A（BPA）,and octylphenol（OP）over 24 hr exposure.The Km-Vtg-A gene was highly expressed compared to the control in response to NP and OP.EDC-induced modulatory patterns of Km-Vtg gene expression were different depending on tissue,gender,and isoforms.

Analysis of Environmental Endocrine Disrupting Activities in Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluents Using Recombinant Yeast Assays Incorporated with Exogenous Metabolic Activation System

Objective To measure the endocrine disrupting chemicals （EDCs） in wastewater and evaluate the EDCs removal efficiencies in the municipal wastewater treatment plants （WWTP）. Methods A battery of in vitro recombinant yeast bioassays incorporated with exogenous metabolic activation system （rat liver preparation, S9 mix） was conducted to assess the estrogen receptor （ER）, androgen receptor （AR）, progesterone receptor （PR）, and thyroid receptor （TR） ant/agonistic activities of effluents collected from Datansha WWTP. Results The indirect estrogenic, anti‐androgenic, anti‐progesteronic, and anti‐thyroidic activities were observed in the influent. The removal efficiencies of EDCs were above 74%, suggesting that the present wastewater treatment processes were good enough to remove most of these indirect endocrine disrupting chemicals. Conclusion The incorporation of exogenous metabolic capacity into the test system was valid for the study of indirect effects on ER, AR, PR, and TR.

Food contaminants and potential risk of diabetes development:A narrative review

The number of people diagnosed with diabetes continues to increase,especially among younger populations.Apart from genetic predisposition and lifestyle,there is increasing scientific and public concern that environmental agents may also contribute to diabetes.Food contamination by chemical substances that originate from packaging materials,or are the result of chemical reactions during food processing,is generally recognized as a worldwide problem with potential health hazards.Phthalates,bisphenol A(BPA)and acrylamide(AA)have been the focus of attention in recent years,due to the numerous adverse health effects associated with their exposure.This paper summarizes the available data about the association between phthalates,BPA and AA exposure and diabetes.Although their mechanism of action has not been fully clarified,in vitro,in vivo and epidemiological studies have made significant progress toward identifying the potential roles of phthalates,BPA and AA in diabetes development and progression.These chemicals interfere with multiple signaling pathways involved in glucose and lipid homeostasis and can aggravate the symptoms of diabetes.Especially concerning are the effects of exposure during early stages and the gestational period.Well-designed prospective studies are needed in order to better establish prevention strategies against the harmful effects of these food contaminants.

Effects of bisphenol compounds on the growth and epithelial mesenchymal transition of MCF-7 CV human breast cancer cells

Bisphenol-A（BPA） has been considered as an endocrine disrupting chemical（EDC） because it can exert estrogenic properties.For bisphenol-S（BPS） and bisphenol-F（BPF） that are BPA analogs and substitutes,their risk to estrogendependent cancer has been reported rarely compared with the numerous cases of BPA.In this study,we examined whether BPA,BPS,and BPF can lead to the proliferation,migration,and epithelial mesenchymal transition（EMT） of MCF-7 clonal variant（MCF-7 CV） breast cancer cells expressing estrogen receptors（ERs）.In a cell viability assay,BPA,BPS,and BPF significantly increased proliferation of MCF-7 CV cells compared to control（DMSO） as did17β-estradiol（E2）.In Western blotting assay,BPA,BPS,and BPF enhanced the protein expression of cell cycle progression genes such as cyclin D1 and E1.In addition,MCF-7 CV cells lost cell to cell contacts and acquired fibroblast-like morphology by the treatment of BPA,BPS,or BPF for 24 hours.In cell migration assay,BPA,BPS,and BPF accelerated the migration capability of MCF-7 CV cells as did E2.In relation with the EMT process,BPA,BPS,and BPF increased the protein expression of N-cadherin,while they decreased the protein expression of Ecadherin.When BPA,BPS,and BPF were co-treated with ICI 182,780,an ER antagonist,proliferation effects were reversed,the expression of cyclin D1 and cyclin E1 was downregulated,and the altered cell migration and expression of N-cadherin and E-cadherin by BPA,BPS,and BPF were restored to the control level.Thus,these results imply that BPS and BPF also have the risk of breast cancer progression as much as BPA in the induction of proliferation and migration of MCF-7 CV cells by regulating the protein expression of cell cycle-related genes and EMT markers via the ER-dependent pathway.

Photochemical degradation of typical halogenated herbicide 2,4-D in drinking water with UV/H_(2)O_(2)/micro-aeration

UV/H2O2/micro-aeration is a newly developed process based on UV/H2O2. Halogenated pesticide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) photochemical degradation in aqueous solution was studied under various solution conditions. The UV intensity,initial 2,4-D concentrations and solution temperature varied from 183.6 to 1048.7 μW·cm-2,from 59.2 to 300.0 μg·L-1 and from 15 to 30℃,respectively. The concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and pH ranged from 0 to 50 mg·L-1 and 5 to 9,and different water quality solutions (tap water,distilled water and deionized water) were examined in this study. With initial concentration of about 100 μg·L-1,more than 95.6% of 2,4-D can be removed in 90 min at intensity of UV radiation of 843.9 μW·cm-2,H2O2 dosage of 20 mg·L-1,pH 7 and room temperature. The removal efficiency of 2,4-D by UV/H2O2/micro-aeration process is better than UV/H2O2 process. The photodecomposition of 2,4-D in aqueous solution follows pseudo-first-order kinetics. 2,4-D is greatly affected by UV irradation intensity,H2O2 dosage,initial 2,4-D concentration and water quality solutions,but it appears to be slightly influenced by pH and temperature. There is a linear relationship between rate constant k and UV intensity and initial H2O2 concentration,which indicates that higher removal capacity can be achieved by the improvement of these factors. Finally,a preliminary cost analysis reveals that UV/H2O2/micro-aeration process is more cost-effective than the UV/H2O2 process in the removal of 2,4-D from drinking water.

Removal of estrogens by electrochemical oxidation process

Treatments of estrogens such as Estrone （El）, Estradiol （E2） and Ethinylestradiol （EE2） were conducted using an electrolytic reactor equipped with multi-packed granular glassy carbon electrodes. Experimental results showed that El, E2 and EE2 were oxidized in the range of 0.45-0.85 V and were removed through electro-polymerization. Observed data from continuous experiments were in good agreement with calculated results by a mathematical model constructed based on mass transfer limitation. In continuous treatment of trace estrogens （1 μg/L）, 98% of El, E2 and EE2 were stably removed. At high loading rate （100 μg/L）, removal efficiency of E1 was kept around 74%-88% for 21 days, but removal efficiency reduced due to passivation of electrodes. However, removal efficiency was recovered after electrochemical regeneration of electrodes in presence of ozone. Electric energy consumption was observed in the range of 1-2 Wh/m3. From these results, we concluded that the present electrochemical process would be an alternative removal of estrogens.

Rapid removal of bisphenol A on highly ordered mesoporous carbon

Bisphenol A （BPA） is of global concern due to its disruption of endocrine systems and ubiquity in the aquatic environment. It is important, therefore, that efforts are made to remove it from the aqueous phase. A novel adsorbent, mesoporous carbon CMK-3, prepared from hexagonal SBA- 15 mesoporous silica was studied for BPA removal from aqueous phase, and compared with conventional powdered activated carbon （PAC）. Characterization of CMK-3 by transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, X-ray diffraction, and nitrogen adsorption indicated that prepared CMK-3 had an ordered mesoporous structure with a high specific surface area of 920 m^2/g and a pore-size of about 4.9 nm. The adsorption of BPA on CMK-3 followed a pseudo second-order kinetic model. The kinetic constant was 0.00049 g/（mg.min）, much higher than the adsorption of BPA on PAC. The adsorption isotherm fitted slightly better with the Freundlich model than the Langmuir model, and adsorption capacity decreased as temperature increased from 10 to 40℃. No significant influence of pH on adsorption was observed at pH 3 to 9; however, adsorption capacity decreased dramatically from pH 9 to 13.

Application of permanganate in the oxidation of micropollutants:a mini review

As a green oxidant,permanganate has received considerable attention for the removal of micropollutants in drinking water treatment.To provide a better understanding of the oxidation of organic micropollutants with permanganate,the oxidation kinetics of 32 micropollutants were compiled.The pollutants include algal toxins,endocrine disrupting chemicals(EDCs),and pharmaceuticals.The oxidation kinetics of micropollutants by permanganate were found to be first order with respect to both contaminant and permanganate concentrations from which second-order rate constants(k″)were obtained.Permanganate oxidized the heterocyclic aromatics with vinyl moiety(i.e.,microcystins,carbamazepine,and dichlorvos)by the addition of double bonds.For the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs)with alkyl groups,permanganate attacked the benzylic C-H through abstraction of hydrogen.The mechanism for the oxidation of phenolic EDCs by permanganate was a single electron transfer and aromatic ring cleavage.The presence of background matrices could enhance the oxidation of some phenolic EDCs by permanganate,including phenol,chlorinated phenols,bisphenol A,and trichlosan.The toxicity of dichlorvos solution increased after permanganate oxidation,and the estrogenic activity of bisphnol A/estrone increased significantly at the beginning of permanganate oxidation.Therefore,the toxicity of degradation products or intermediates should be determined in the permanganate oxidation processes to better evaluate the applicability of permanganate.The influence of background ions on the permanganate oxidation process is far from clear and should be elucidated in the future studies to better predict the performance of permanganate oxidation of micropollutants.Moreover,methods should be employed to catalyze the permanganate oxidation process to achieve better removal of micropollutants.

Tetrabromobisphenol A(TBBPA): A controversial environmental pollutant

Tetrabromobisphenol A(TBBPA)is one of the most widely used brominated flame retardants and is extensively used in electronic equipment,furniture,plastics,and textiles.It is frequently detected in water,soil,air,and organisms,including humans,and has raised concerns in the scientific community regarding its potential adverse health effects.Human exposure to TBBPA is mainly via diet,respiration,and skin contact.Various in vivo and in vitro studies based on animal and cell models have demonstrated that TBBPA can induce multifaceted effects in cells and animals,and potentially exert hepatic,renal,neural,cardiac,and reproductive toxicities.Nevertheless,other reports have claimed that TBBPA might be a safe chemical.In this review,we re-evaluated most of the published TBBPA toxicological assessments with the goal of reaching a conclusion about its potential toxicity.We concluded that,although low TBBPA exposure levels and rapid metabolism in humans may signify that TBBPA is a safe chemical for the general population,particular attention should be paid to the potential effects of TBBPA on early developmental stages.

Screening of agonistic activities against four nuclear receptors in wastewater treatment plants in Japan using a yeast two-hybrid assay

To assess the potential endocrine disruptive effects through multiple nuclear receptors （NRs）, especially non-steroidal NRs, in municipal wastewater, we examined the agonistic activities on four NRs （estrogen receptor α, thyroid hormone receptor α, retinoic acid receptor ct and retinoid X receptor α） of untreated and treated wastewater from municipal wastewater treatment plants （WWTPs） in Japan using a yeast two-hybrid assay. Investigation of the influent and effluent of seven WWTPs revealed that agonistic activities against steroidal and non-steroidal NRs were always detected in the influents and partially remained in the effluents. Further investigation of four WWTPs employing conventional activated sludge, pseudo-anoxic-oxic, anoxic-oxic and anaerobic-anoxic-oxic processes revealed that the ability to reduce the agonistic activity against each of the four NRs varies depending on the treatment process. These results indicated that municipal wastewater in Japan commonly contains endocrine disrupting chemicals that exert agonistic activities on steroidal and non-steroidal NRs, and that some of these chemicals are released into the natural aquatic environment. Although the results obtained in yeast assays suggested that measured levels of non-steroidal NR agonists in the effluent of WWTPs were not likely to cause any biological effect, further study is required to assess their possible risks in detail.

Molecular characterization and m RNA expression of ribosomal protein L8 in Rana nigromaculata during development and under exposure to hormones

Like Xenopus laeuis, some species of the Rang genus are also used to study endocrine disrupting chemicals （EDCs）. Although ribosomal protein L8 （rp18） is the most-used reference gene for analyzing gene expression by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in Rang, its suitability as the reference gene has never been validated in any species of the Rana genus. We characterized rp18 cDNA in Rana nigromaculata, a promising native species in East Asia for assaying endocrine disrupting effects. We found that the rp18 cDNA consisted of 919 bp and encoded 257 amino acids, exhibiting high identities of amino acid sequence with known rp18 in other Rana species. Then, we examined the stability of mRNA expression during development. Compared with elongation factor 1 alpha 1, another common housekeeping gene, neither stage-specific nor tissue-specific expression of the rp18 gene was found in all tissues examined （brain, liver, intestine, tail, testis and ovary） during R. nigromaculata development. Finally, we investigated rp18 expression under exposure to hormones. No change in rp18 mRNA expression was found under exposure to thyroid hormone （T4） and estrogen （estradiol）, whereas expression of the corresponding biomarker genes was induced. Our results show that rp18 is an appropriate reference gene for analyzing gene expression by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction for assaying EDCs using R. nigromaculata, and might also provide support for using rp18 as a reference gene in other Rang species due to the high conservation of rp18 among the Rana genus.

Expression, secretion and functional characterization of three laccases in E. coli

Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals(EDCs)are a group of molecules that can influence hormonal balance,causing disturbance of the reproductive system and other health problems.Despite the efforts to eliminate EDC in the environment,all current approaches are inefficient and expensive.In previous research,studies revealed that laccase-producing microorganisms may be a potential candidate for EDC degradation,as laccases have been found to be able to degrade many kinds of EDCs effectively and steadily.Here,we created two recombinant laccases,each fused with secretion peptide,Novel Signal Peptide 4(NSP4),and expressed them in Escherichia coli(E.coli,BL21),together with one laccase without secretion peptide.We first optimized the culture condition of expressing these laccases.Then,we test the activity of the recombinant laccases of decolorizing of a synthetic dye,indigo carmine.Finally,we confirmed the secreted can degrade one of the EDCs,β-estradiol,showing the potential of using the laccase secretion system to degrade toxic compounds.

A review of the role of emerging environmental contaminants in the development of breast cancer in women

The incidence of breast cancer is on a rise worldwide;it is a disease having a complex etiology.Besides genetics,environmental and other lifestyle factors play a role in the development of the disease.There has been a keen interest in studying associations between breast cancer and exposures to emerging environmental chemicals,which mimic estrogens or influence estrogen levels and signaling in the human body.The common consequence of an endocrine disrupting chemical exposure is that it may have an impact on breast cancer etiology by stimulating formation as well as progression of breast cancer.Exposures to selected emerging environmental contaminants such as alkylphenols(APs),bisphenol A(BPA),parabens,perfluoroalkyl substances(PFASs),phthalates,polybrominated diphenyl ethers(PBDEs),synthetic musks and triclosan,and their probable role in breast cancer development are reviewed.Studies evaluated include the experimental in vitro and in vivo studies as well as human population based studies.In vitro and in vivo evidences indicate that a number of emerging environmental contaminants may play a role in the initiation and/or progression of breast cancer.Although exposures have been assessed in some human populations,breast and other cancer risks associated with these exposures are largely unknown.Efforts should be focussed on the evaluation of these environmental exposures in human populations and their interactions with each other and other genetic and lifestyle risk factors.