Endocrine disruption and human health risk assessment in the light of real-life risk simulation

Endocrine disrupting chemicals have recently come to the forefront of toxicology due to their effects on human health and rather distinctive features that challenge traditional concepts in toxicology. Major issues in the studies of Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are low-dose and long-term exposure, the presence of nonmonotonic dose–response curves, and the concept of the threshold of adversity. Another point is that following the concept of Real-Life Risk Simulation, it is evident that humans are exposed to mixtures of EDCs, rather than to a single EDC. The chapter reviews these concepts with special attention given to their implication in human health risk assessment. Furthermore, some approaches to limit human exposure will be discussed to define steps that will lead to a higher standard of public health.