10. Conclusions

Endocrine disruptors are "chemical substances of natural or artificial origin, foreign to the organism, which can interfere with the functioning of the endocrine system and thus induce deleterious effects on this organism or its descendants".

The main sources of exposure of the general population to endocrine disruptors are substances present, individually or in mixtures, in water and food, but also in the air and in certain industrial products (drugs, cosmetics, plant protection products).

Estimating the effects of endocrine disruptors on human health is made very difficult by the many questions surrounding their mechanisms of action, the multiplicity of substances involved and routes of exposure, and exposure at low doses, over time or at critical periods of development (gestation, lactation, puberty, for example).

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