[Editorial] Serious look into 'environmental hormone'

The Environment Ministry`s findings from its recent studies on our environment give us a grave warning: it detected the abnormal mutations of sex-related tissues from four fish and a frog. Most fearsome to us, in particular, is the observation that such mutations of female tissues similar to male`s were observed over wide areas.

The environment hormone, the substance that disturbs the endocrine system, is believed to cause the mutations of sex-related tissues which were detected nation-wide. This indicates that our soils and atmosphere are already polluted enough to disturb our eco-system. This will affect the biological system of human body in the end.

The endocrine hormone is known to disturb human immune and nerves systems together with reduction of sperms to affect human reproductive organs.

So far, it has not been definitely determined as to what exactly constitutes the environment hormone and its exact effects on human body. But, we have to be concerned about it because we know it can cause cancer if accumulated in human body. The contamination of dioxin which is known as a cancer-causing substance, was detected 24-48 times higher than the acceptable level in mother`s first milk after childbirth. The Food and Drug Administration recently reported that it also detected the contamination of the insecticide DDE, a variety of the DDT, the use of which was banned in 1971.

The problem with the environment hormone is that it is caused by multiple factors and its contamination remains inside human body. There are various ways it gets into human body. Our soils, waters, agricultural and chemical products can easily be contaminated by such substances as dioxin from the burning of waste materials, agricultural pesticides, mercury, lead, bisphenol-A which is used as a plasticizer.

The environment hormone will in the end destroy eco-system and human body without our thorough environmental protection and supervision. The Environment Ministry found from its studies that our intake of environment hormone is much below than the internationally accepted level. It is also below than Japan in terms of overall findings of its quantity and varieties the Ministry detected. The nation has yet to establish the safety level and the rules to regulate the environment hormone. But, the Ministry`s studies represented a meaningful undertaking to analyze facts and realities about our contamination of the environment hormone, but the effort should not stop there.

The administration of the environment hormone requires the comprehensive, overall government`s policies. The Ministry of Environment is rightly taking steps for the legislation of a special law which is to deal with such issues as the standards to regulate the environment hormone, inspection of the contamination`s level of accumulation in food materials. Additional measures appear imperative for the crackdown of pollution -causing industries, inspection of agricultural and fisheries products, regulation of agricultural pesticides and exhaustion levels and poisonous chemical substances.