Bisphenol A (BPA) was first created in 1891 and was discovered to have estrogenic effects on the body in 1936. BPA is the most mass-produced chemical out of all chemicals, in 2015 15 billion pounds of BPA were produced. It is found in, food packaging, toys, canned food and beverage linings. When BPA in food or drink containers is exposed to high levels of heat, manipulation of repetitious use the BPA can leach into the food and liquids we are consuming from these vessels. Shockingly, a study showed that 93% of American people had a detectable amount of BPA found in their urine. BPA has also been found in human breast milk, meaning babies are also exposed to this chemical just from feeding from their mother’s. Luckily, BPA has a relatively short half-life and is metabolized into non-bioactive forms after 4-5 hours, making it relatively quick and easy to avoid and detox from the body (Gore et al, 2015).

Phthalates and phthalate esters are liquid plasticiser chemical compounds that were introduced in the process of plastic production back in 1920 and contributed to polyvinyl plastic use. The problem with Phthalates is that they are not chemically bound to the plastic, so can easily leach into the environment and be difficult to contain.  Phthalates are found in medical tubing, personal care products, toys, vinyl flooring. Phthalates have also been detected in human urine, blood serum and breast milk (Sifakis, Androutsopoulos, Tsatsakis & Spandidos, 2017).

Atrazine is a commonly used herbicide to control weed growth on commercial crops such as corn, sugar cane and sorghum. Public parks, tree farms and golf courses have also been known to use atrazine as a weed control herbicide. Atrazine is an attractive herbicide as it is economical in price, effective for long periods of time, and is a broad spectrum weed killer. Being such a long-lasting herbicide, its no wonder atrazine and its metabolites is the most found pesticide and can be detected in groundwater and drinking water. Atrazine exposure has been linked to carcinogenic effects on the human body. Studies on the effects of atrazine on frogs have also shown the pesticide to emasculate 75% of adult male frogs and turning 1 in 10 frogs into a female frog (COX, 2002).

Polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PCBs) Have been mass produced since the 1920s and have been used in a variety of environments including various building and schools. PCBs can be found in rubber and resin plasticizers, adhesives, inks, paints, flame retardants in mattresses, clothing items and carbon copy paper. PCBs accumulate in the environment and within human body fat, meaning there can be long term adverse health effects. Certain PCBs are considered endocrine disruptors and can exert antiandrogenic, estrogenic or thyroidogenic actions on the body (Gore et al, 2015).