Environmental Research Foundation . . P.O. Box 5036, Annapolis, MD 21403 . .
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To subscribe, E-mail the words . . The chemical industry received some extraordinarily bad news last week. The new study shows that combinations of two or three common pesticides, at low levels that might be found in the environment, are up to 1600 times as powerful as any of the individual pesticides by themselves. The study showed that one chemical, chlordane, which has no ability to disrupt hormones by itself, nevertheless greatly magnifies the ability of other chemicals to disrupt hormones. If these findings are confirmed by follow-up studies, it could profoundly affect the way chemicals are viewed, tested for toxicity, and regulated because combinations of chemicals will have to be considered.