Fig. 1 |. A timeline of the concept of endocrine disruptors.

Blue squares represent scientific findings, such as the oestrogenicity of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) in 1953, that led to the concept of endocrine disruptors at the Wingspread Conference in 1991. From 1991 on, blue squares show discoveries that buttressed, expanded and refined the concept and its theoretical and practical implications. Orange squares represent the events that mark the conceptual development of endocrine disruptors regarding environmental and public health and the regulatory consequences of conceptual and experimental advances. The Weybridge conference and the National Research Council Report represent the earlier assessments of the endocrine-disrupting chemicals problem from the European and US perspectives, respectively. The Chapel Hill Consensus Statement is the first global assessment of the toxicity of bisphenol A (BPA) in the context of endocrine disruption.; EU, European Union; NMDRC, non-monotonic dose–response curve.