The next Gordon Research Conference on Environmental Endocrine Disruptors will be held on July 14-19, 2002, at Mt. Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts.

ABSTRACT: Humans and wildlife are exposed to a large number of widely used environmental chemicals known or suspected to have either estrogenic or antiandrogenic activities, or to interfere with thyroid hormone action. Wildlife studies strongly suggest that populations are severely affected by these environmental endocrine disruptors (EEDs) in a number of ways (dysfunctional endocrine and reproductive systems, altered behavior, malformations, and thus reduced reproduction and population numbers). EEDs are also thought to cause malformations of the human genital tract as well as testicular and breast cancers. These findings have alerted the scientific community, governments worldwide, and the general public to the harm likely to be caused by EEDs. The US and Japanese governments and the European Union are gathering information, funding large research efforts, and in some cases, enacting laws regulating EEDs. In the US, amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Food Quality Protection Act mandate testing of EED activities for chemicals found in water and food.

THE SITE: Mt. Holyoke is a small liberal arts college located in a picturesque town in the beautiful Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts. Both the lecture hall and lodging facilities are modern and comfortable. Hiking in the nearby Berkshire Mountains is easily accessible. Other activities include tennis (indoor and outdoor), canoeing, "championship" golf course (on campus), an arboretum, swimming, racquetball, basketball, volleyball, squash, softball, indoor and outdoor tracks, and a well-equipped fitness center. For those who wish to prolong their stay in the area, cultural activities include Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in nearby Lee, MA. The Conferences site can be easily reached by flying into Boston, Hartford, or New York.