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Volume 2 Environment Pollution and Climate Change
ISSN: 2573-458X Climate Change 2018 &
Global ENVITOX 2018
October 04-06, 2018 Page 38
conferenceseries.com
October 04-06, 2018
London, UK
16th Annual Meeting on
Environmental Toxicology and Biological Systems
&
5th World Conference on Climate Change
JOINT EVENT
Edwin John Routledge, Environ Pollut Climate Change 2018, Volume 2
DOI: 10.4172/2573-458X-C1-001
Towards a sustainable chemical future
Since the start of the industrial revolution, society has become increasingly reliant on the use of chemicals, including pesticides,
pharmaceuticals, plasticizers and personal care products, to name a few. In 2016, European chemical sales alone were valued
at 507 billion Euros, with 80,000 chemicals reported to be in common use worldwide. Alongside the many benefits of chemicals
to society, concerns about the impacts of certain chemicals to both human and wildlife health, including the so-called ‘endocrine
disrupting chemicals’ is a topic of increasing concern. Since the term ‘endocrine disruptor’ was coined in 1991, extensive research
into the effects of various chemicals, and chemical mixtures, on human and wildlife health has been conducted globally. More than
1,300 studies have suggested connections between endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) exposure and serious health conditions
such as infertility, diabetes, obesity, hormone-related cancers and neurological disorders in humans. The range of endocrine targets
captured by regulatory tests is expanding rapidly, and newmechanistic insights, such as epigenetic mechanisms of chemical-induced
disease, continue to challenge the regulatory frameworks designed to protect society and the environment. Difficulties still exist in
balancing the trade-offs between the benefits of chemicals to society at point of use with the burden of proof needed to demonstrate
the adverse consequences of the same chemicals once they are allowed to disperse in the environment. When dealing with such
complexity, is it possible to achieve a vision of a sustainable society where chemicals are managed carefully throughout their lifecycle
and where people benefit from their use and thrive within nature’s limits? What strategies and insights can sustainability science offer
to help society balance the Tox-Eco system?
Recent Publications
1. Kaur S, Jobling S, Jones CS, Noble LR, Routledge EJ, Lockyer AE (2015) The Nuclear Receptors of Biomphalaria glabrata
and Lottia gigantea: Implications for Developing New Model Organisms. PLOS One 10(4): UNSP e0121259.
2. Bannister R, BeresfordN, GrangerDW, PoundsNA, Rand-WeaverM,White R, Jobling S, Routledge EJ (2013) No substantial
changes in estrogen receptor and estrogen-related receptor orthologue gene transcription inMarisa cornuarietis exposed to
estrogenic chemicals. Aquatic Toxicology 140: 19-26.
3. Routledge EJ, White R, Parker MG, Sumpter JP (2000) Differential effects of xenoestrogens on coactivator recruitment by
estrogen receptor (ER) alpha and ER beta. Journal of Biological Chemistry 275(46): 35986-35993.
4. Routledge EJ, Parker J, Odum J, Ashby J, Sumpter JP (1998) Some alkyl hydroxy benzoate preservatives (parabens) are
estrogenic. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology 153(1): 12-19.
5. Routledge EJ & Sumpter JP (1996) Estrogenic activity of surfactants and some of their degradation products assessed using
a recombinant yeast screen. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 15(3): 241-248.
Biography
Edwin John Routledge is an Environmental Scientist whose research is concerned with understanding the effects of environmental chemicals (particularly endocrine
disrupting chemicals) on aquatic wildlife. His research interest is broadly in the field of water quality. It started with investigations into endocrine disrupting chemicals
and their effects on fish and amphibians, and more recently includes the effects of EDCs on molluscs. Current research (mostly unpublished) is concerned with new and
emerging threats, including chemicals that impact on the retinoid system, and how chemical exposures might alter disease transmission in parasite-host interactions.
Edwin John Routledge
Brunel University London, UK