Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are a prime concern for the environment and health globally. Research shows that in developing countries such as India both the environment and human populations are severely exposed to EDCs and consequently experience rising incidents of adverse health effects such as diabetes and cancers. In this paper, we discuss the current EDC management approach in India, critically assess its limitations, and describe opportunities for potential improvements. Foremost, current EDC management actions and interventions in India are fragmented and outdated, and far behind the modern and comprehensive approaches adopted in the European Union and other developed countries. Strong and well-planned actions are required on various fronts of science, policy, commerce, and public engagement. These actions include the adoption of a dedicated and modern regulatory framework for managing EDCs, enhancing capacity and infrastructure for EDC monitoring in the environment and human population, employing public-private partnership programs for not only managing EDCs but also in the sectors that indirectly contribute toward the mismanagement of EDCs in the country, and raising awareness on EDCs and promoting health-preserving consumption habits among the public. As India hosts a large proportion of the global human population and biodiversity, the success or failure of its actions will substantially affect the direction of global efforts to manage EDCs and set an example for other developing countries.

Department of Pediatrics Environmental Medicine and Population Health New York University Grossman School of Medicine New York NY USA

Environmental Science and Technology Laboratory Department of Chemical Engineering SRM Institute of Science and Technology Kattankulathur Tamil Nadu 603203 India

Faculty of Science RECETOX Masaryk University Kotlarska 2 62500 Brno Czech Republic

Mu Gamma Consultants Private Limited Gurugram Haryana India

Norwegian Institute for Water Research Økernveien 94 0579 Oslo Norway

Norwegian University of Life Sciences Universitetstunet 3 1432 Ås Norway

NYU College of Global Public Health New York NY USA

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Ahmed S, Joshi R, Kumar S. Seasonal variation of leachate quality at active landfill sites in Delhi, India. Proc Inst Civ Eng Munic Eng. 2020;173:157–170. doi: 10.1680/jmuen.17.00039. DOI

Apel P, Rousselle C, Lange R, et al. Human biomonitoring initiative (HBM4EU)—strategy to derive human biomonitoring guidance values (HBM-GVs) for health risk assessment. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2020;230:113622. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2020.113622. PubMed DOI

Attina TM, Malits J, Naidu M, Trasande L. Racial/ethnic disparities in disease burden and costs related to exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the United States: an exploratory analysis. J Clin Epidemiol. 2019;108:34–43. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2018.11.024. PubMed DOI PMC

Babu-Rajendran R, Preethi G, Poopal RK, et al. GC–MS determination of phthalate esters in human urine: a potential biomarker for phthalate bio-monitoring. J Chromatogr B. 2018;1079:15–24. doi: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2018.01.039. PubMed DOI

Bhaduri S, Sharma A. Public understanding of participation in regulatory decision-making: the case of bottled water quality standards in India. Public Underst Sci. 2014;23:472–488. doi: 10.1177/0963662512452231. PubMed DOI

Birnbaum LS. Environmental chemicals: evaluating low-dose effects. Environ Health Perspect. 2012 doi: 10.1289/ehp.1205179. PubMed DOI PMC

Bornman MS, Aneck-Hahn NH, de Jager C, et al. Endocrine disruptors and health effects in Africa: a call for action. Environ Health Perspect. 2017;125:085005-1–085005–10. doi: 10.1289/EHP1774. PubMed DOI PMC

Breivik K, Armitage JM, Wania F, et al. Tracking the global distribution of persistent organic pollutants accounting for e-waste exports to developing regions. Environ Sci Technol. 2016;50:798–805. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.5b04226. PubMed DOI

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) Status of Contaminated Sites in India (2020). https://cpcb.nic.in/overall-status/

Chakraborty P, Sampath S, Mukhopadhyay M, et al. Baseline investigation on plasticizers, bisphenol A, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals in the surface soil of the informal electronic waste recycling workshops and nearby open dumpsites in Indian metropolitan cities. Environ Pollut. 2019;248:1036–1045. doi: 10.1016/J.ENVPOL.2018.11.010. PubMed DOI

Chakraborty P, Gadhavi H, Prithiviraj B, et al. Passive air sampling of PCDD/Fs, PCBs, PAEs, DEHA, and PAHs from informal electronic waste recycling and allied sectors in Indian megacities. Environ Sci Technol. 2021;55:9469–9478. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.1c01460. PubMed DOI PMC

Chakraborty P, Shappell NW, Mukhopadhyay M, et al. Surveillance of plasticizers, bisphenol A, steroids and caffeine in surface water of River Ganga and Sundarban wetland along the Bay of Bengal: occurrence, sources, estrogenicity screening and ecotoxicological risk assessment. Water Res. 2021;190:116668. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2020.116668. PubMed DOI

Chandra M. Environmental concerns in India: problems and solutions. J Int Bus Law. 2015;15:1–1.

Chatham-Stephens K, Caravanos J, Ericson B, et al. Burden of disease from toxic waste sites in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines in 2010. Environ Health Perspect. 2013;121:791–796. doi: 10.1289/ehp.1206127. PubMed DOI PMC

Chiapella AM, Grabowski ZJ, Rozance MA, et al. Toxic chemical governance failure in the United States: key lessons and paths forward. Bioscience. 2019;69:615–630. doi: 10.1093/biosci/biz065. DOI

Choi J, Aarøe Mørck T, Joas A, E. Knudsen L, Major national human biomonitoring programs in chemical exposure assessment. AIMS Environ Sci. 2015;2:782–802. doi: 10.3934/environsci.2015.3.782. DOI

CSIR_NEERI . CSIR-NEERI annual report 2018–19. India: Nagpur; 2019.

Daniels SI, Chambers JC, Sanchez SS, et al. Elevated levels of organochlorine pesticides in South Asian immigrants are associated with an increased risk of diabetes. J Endocr Soc. 2018;2:832–841. doi: 10.1210/JS.2017-00480. PubMed DOI PMC

Deloitte . Industry 4.0 in food industry. Bangalore: India Food Report; 2018.

Devanathan G, Subramanian A, Sudaryanto A, et al. Brominated flame retardants and polychlorinated biphenyls in human breast milk from several locations in India: potential contaminant sources in a municipal dumping site. Environ Int. 2012;39:87–95. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2011.10.005. PubMed DOI

Devegappanavar G. Occupational health: farmers knowledge on pesticide usage and its harmful effects on human health in rural areas of South India. J Ecophysiol Occup Heal. 2020;20:108–113. doi: 10.18311/jeoh/2020/25130. DOI

Dhillon PK, Mathur P, Nandakumar A, et al. The burden of cancers and their variations across the states of India: the global burden of disease study 1990–2016. Lancet Oncol. 2018;19:1289–1306. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(18)30447-9. PubMed DOI PMC

Dileep Kumar AD, Jayakumar C. From precautionary principle to nationwide Ban on Endosulfan in India. Bus Hum Rights J. 2019;4:343–349. doi: 10.1017/bhj.2019.9. DOI

Dolla T, Laishram B. Factors affecting public-private partnership preference in Indian municipal waste sector. Int J Constr Manag. 2020;20:567–584. doi: 10.1080/15623599.2019.1703085. DOI

Dutta A, Jinsart W. Waste generation and management status in the fast-expanding Indian cities: a review. J Air Waste Manage Assoc. 2020;70:491–503. doi: 10.1080/10962247.2020.1738285. PubMed DOI

Dutta D, Khadgawat R. Endocrine disruptors: can it be the missing link explaining the diabetes epidemic in India? J Soc Heal Diabetes. 2015;03:016–021. doi: 10.4103/2321-0656.140878. DOI

Eguchi A, Nomiyama K, Devanathan G, et al. Different profiles of anthropogenic and naturally produced organohalogen compounds in serum from residents living near a coastal area and e-waste recycling workers in India. Environ Int. 2012;47:8–16. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2012.05.003. PubMed DOI

Escobar-Pemberthy N, Ivanova M. Implementation of multilateral environmental agreements: rationale and design of the environmental conventions index. Sustainability. 2020;12:7098. doi: 10.3390/su12177098. DOI

Evers DC, Keane SE, Basu N, Buck D. Evaluating the effectiveness of the minamata convention on mercury: principles and recommendations for next steps. Sci Total Environ. 2016;569–570:888–903. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.05.001. PubMed DOI

Fång J, Nyberg E, Winnberg U, et al. Spatial and temporal trends of the Stockholm convention POPs in mothers’ milk—a global review. Environ Sci Pollut Res. 2015;22:8989–9041. doi: 10.1007/s11356-015-4080-z. PubMed DOI PMC

FAO . The state of the World’s biodiversity for food and agriculture. Rome: Italy; 2019.

Federal Office for the Environment FOEN (2021) Contaminated sites: In brief. https://www.bafu.admin.ch/bafu/en/home/topics/contaminated-sites/in-brief.html. Accessed 22 Oct 2021

Fenner K, Scheringer M. The need for chemical simplification as a logical consequence of ever-increasing chemical pollution. Environ Sci Technol. 2021;55:14470–14472. doi: 10.1021/ACS.EST.1C04903/ASSET/IMAGES/ACS.EST.1C04903.SOCIAL.JPEG_V03. PubMed DOI

Geueke B, Groh KJ, Maffini MV, et al. Systematic evidence on migrating and extractable food contact chemicals: most chemicals detected in food contact materials are not listed for use. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2022 doi: 10.1080/10408398.2022.2067828. PubMed DOI

GIZ (2015) The role of the private sector to scale up climate finance in India

Gore AC, Chappell VA, Fenton SE, et al. EDC-2: the endocrine society’s second scientific statement on endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Endocr Rev. 2015;36:E1–E150. doi: 10.1210/ER.2015-1010. PubMed DOI PMC

Hallegatte S, Bangalore M, Bonzanigo L, et al. Shock waves: managing the impacts of climate change on poverty. Washington, DC: World Bank; 2016.

Hass U, Christiansen S, Andersson A-M, et al (2019) Report on interpretation of knowledge on endocrine disrupting substances (EDs)—What is the risk ?

Islam MT, Huda N, Baumber A, et al. A global review of consumer behavior towards e-waste and implications for the circular economy. J Clean Prod. 2021 doi: 10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2021.128297. DOI

Jain S. Emergence, adherence and proliferation of industry level standards: a case study of Aligarh padlock industry, India. African J Sci Technol Innov Dev. 2020 doi: 10.1080/20421338.2020.1771670. DOI

James-Todd TM, Chiu Y-H, Zota AR. Racial/ethnic disparities in environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals and women’s reproductive health outcomes: epidemiological examples across the life course. Curr Epidemiol Reports. 2016;3:161–180. doi: 10.1007/S40471-016-0073-9. PubMed DOI PMC

Johansson HKL, Svingen T, Fowler PA, et al. Environmental influences on ovarian dysgenesis—developmental windows sensitive to chemical exposures. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2017;13:400–414. doi: 10.1038/nrendo.2017.36. PubMed DOI

Kahn LG, Philippat C, Nakayama SF, et al. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals: implications for human health. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2020;8:703–718. doi: 10.1016/S2213-8587(20)30129-7. PubMed DOI PMC

Kala K, Bolia NB. Waste management communication policy for effective citizen awareness. J Policy Model. 2020;42:661–678. doi: 10.1016/J.JPOLMOD.2020.01.012. DOI

Kassotis CD, Vandenberg LN, Demeneix BA, et al. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals: economic, regulatory, and policy implications. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2020;8:719–730. doi: 10.1016/S2213-8587(20)30128-5. PubMed DOI PMC

Katsikantami I, Sifakis S, Tzatzarakis MN, et al. A global assessment of phthalates burden and related links to health effects. Environ Int. 2016;97:212–236. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2016.09.013. PubMed DOI

Kaveeshwar SA, Cornwall J. The current state of diabetes mellitus in India. Australas Med J. 2014;7:45–48. doi: 10.4066/AMJ.2014.1979. PubMed DOI PMC

Khurana A, Kumar V (2020) State of organic and natural farming: challenges and possibilities. New Delhi

KPMG (2021) Indian food processing industry: growth opportunities post the Covid-19 pandemic

Kudtarkar SG. Resetting PPP in infrastructure model in india post-COVID-19 pandemic. Indian Econ J. 2020;68:365–382. doi: 10.1177/0019466220976678. DOI

Kumar S, Smith SR, Fowler G, et al. Challenges and opportunities associated with waste management in India. R. Soc. Open Sci. 2017;4:160764. doi: 10.1098/rsos.160764. PubMed DOI PMC

Kumar N (2016) Sensitivity of India’s agri-food exports to the european union: an institutional perspective. EconPapers

La Merrill MA, Vandenberg LN, Smith MT, et al. Consensus on the key characteristics of endocrine-disrupting chemicals as a basis for hazard identification. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2020;16:45–57. doi: 10.1038/s41574-019-0273-8. PubMed DOI PMC

Lee M, You M. Safety behaviors to reduce risk of using chemical household products: an application of the risk perception attitude framework. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 doi: 10.3390/ijerph17051528. PubMed DOI PMC

Lind PM, Lind L. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals and risk of diabetes: an evidence-based review. Diabetologia. 2018;61:1495–1502. doi: 10.1007/s00125-018-4621-3. PubMed DOI PMC

Mahamuni D, Shrinithivihahshini ND. Need for regulatory policies in India, on the use of bisphenol A in food contact plastic containers. Curr Sci. 2017;113:861–868. doi: 10.18520/cs/v113/i05/861-868. DOI

Majcen Š. Evidence based policy making in the European Union: the role of the scientific community. Environ Sci Pollut Res. 2017;24:7869–7871. doi: 10.1007/s11356-016-6247-7. PubMed DOI

Malik VS, Ravindra K, Rattan P, et al. Environmental exposure to urinary Bisphenol-A in North Indian children aged between 6 and 16 years and its association with body mass index. Environ Sci Pollut Res. 2021;28:29085–29095. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-12555-z. PubMed DOI

Mallath MK, Taylor DG, Badwe RA, et al. The growing burden of cancer in India: epidemiology and social context. Lancet Oncol. 2014;15:205. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(14)70115-9. PubMed DOI

Managi S, Jena PR. Environmental productivity and Kuznets curve in India. Ecol Econ. 2008;65:432–440. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2007.07.011. DOI

McKinsey Global Institute (2020) Climate risk and response: physical hazards and socioeconomic impacts

Melovic B, Cirovic D, Dudic B et al (2020) The analysis of marketing factors influencing consumers’ preferences and acceptance of organic food products—recommendations for the optimization of the offer in a developing market. Foods. 10.3390/FOODS9030259 PubMed PMC

Miljøstatus (2021) Forurenset grunn. https://miljostatus.miljodirektoratet.no/tema/forurensning/forurenset-grunn/. Accessed 22 Oct 2021

Ministry of Finance G of I India Budget (2021). https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/. Accessed 22 Jul 2021

Mukherjee Das A, Gogia A, Garg M, et al. Urinary concentration of endocrine-disrupting phthalates and breast cancer risk in Indian women: a case-control study with a focus on mutations in phthalate-responsive genes. Cancer Epidemiol. 2022;79:102188. doi: 10.1016/j.canep.2022.102188. PubMed DOI

Narain JP. Public health challenges in India: seizing the opportunities. Indian J Community Med. 2016;41:85. doi: 10.4103/0970-0218.177507. PubMed DOI PMC

Nesan D, Kurrasch DM. Gestational exposure to common endocrine disrupting chemicals and their impact on neurodevelopment and behavior. Annu Rev Physiol. 2020;82:177–202. doi: 10.1146/annurev-physiol-021119-034555. PubMed DOI

Ostad-Ali-Askari K. Management of risks substances and sustainable development. Appl Water Sci. 2022;12:65. doi: 10.1007/s13201-021-01562-7. DOI

Ostad-Ali-Askari K, Shayannejad M. Quantity and quality modelling of groundwater to manage water resources in Isfahan-Borkhar Aquifer. Environ Dev Sustain. 2021;23:15943–15959. doi: 10.1007/s10668-021-01323-1. DOI

Ostad-Ali-Askari K, Shayannejad M, Ghorbanizadeh-Kharazi H. Artificial neural network for modeling nitrate pollution of groundwater in marginal area of Zayandeh-rood River, Isfahan. Iran KSCE J Civ Eng. 2017;21:134–140. doi: 10.1007/s12205-016-0572-8. DOI

Pandey SK, Sharma V. World diabetes day 2018: battling the emerging epidemic of diabetic retinopathy. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2018;66:1652. doi: 10.4103/IJO.IJO_1681_18. PubMed DOI PMC

Pandey A, Brauer M, Cropper ML, et al. Health and economic impact of air pollution in the states of India: the global burden of disease study 2019. Lancet Planet Heal. 2021;5:e25–e38. doi: 10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30298-9. PubMed DOI PMC

Panwar V, Sen S. Fiscal repercussions of natural disasters: stylized facts and panel data evidences from India. Nat Hazards Rev. 2020;21:04020011. doi: 10.1061/(asce)nh.1527-6996.0000369. DOI

Pednekar P, Gajbhiye R, Patil A, et al. Estimation of plasma levels of bisphenol-A & phthalates in fertile & infertile women by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Indian J Med Res. 2018;148:734. doi: 10.4103/ijmr.IJMR_2077_16. PubMed DOI PMC

Pinupolu P, Kommineni H. Best method of municipal solid waste management through public-private partnership for Vijayawada city. Mater Today Proc. 2020;33:217–222. doi: 10.1016/J.MATPR.2020.03.816. DOI

Quirós-Alcalá L, Hansel NN, McCormack M, et al. Exposure to bisphenols and asthma morbidity among low-income urban children with asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2020 doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2020.05.031. PubMed DOI PMC

Rachoń D. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and female cancer: Informing the patients. Rev Endocr Metab Disord. 2015;16:359–364. doi: 10.1007/s11154-016-9332-9. PubMed DOI PMC

Raghuveer Singh, N.K. Jat, N. Ravisankar SK, Yadav TR and RS (2014) Present status and future prospects of organic farming in India. In: Handbook of sustainable development: Second Edition. pp 517–531

Randhawa P, Marshall F, Kushwaha PK, Desai P. Pathways for sustainable urban waste management and reduced environmental health risks in India: winners, losers, and alternatives to waste to energy in Delhi. Front Sustain Cities. 2020;2:14. doi: 10.3389/frsc.2020.00014. DOI

Ranjan R. Impact of COVID-19 on migrant labourers of India and China. Crit Sociol. 2021;47:721–726. doi: 10.1177/0896920520975074. DOI

Rankin M, Rizzo EGNPSNMC. Public–private partnerships for agribusiness development. South Med J. 2016;62:1556.

Ruan Y, Lalwani D, Kwok KY, et al. Assessing exposure to legacy and emerging per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances via hair—the first nationwide survey in India. Chemosphere. 2019;229:366–373. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.04.195. PubMed DOI

Ruiz D, Becerra M, Jagai JS, et al. Disparities in environmental exposures to endocrine-disrupting chemicals and diabetes risk in vulnerable populations. Diabetes Care. 2018;41:193–205. doi: 10.2337/DC16-2765. PubMed DOI PMC

Ruiz Sierra A, Zika E, Lange L, et al. The bio-based industries joint undertaking: a high impact initiative that is transforming the bio-based industries in Europe. N Biotechnol. 2021;60:105–112. doi: 10.1016/J.NBT.2020.09.003. PubMed DOI

Sahota A (2019) The global market for organic food & drink. In: Willer H, Lernoud J (eds) The world of organic agriculture: statistics & emerging trends

Sharma BM, Bharat GK, Tayal S, et al. Environment and human exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in India: a systematic review of recent and historical data. Environ Int. 2014;66:48–64. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2014.01.022. PubMed DOI

Sharma BM, Bharat GK, Tayal S, et al. The legal framework to manage chemical pollution in India and the lesson from the persistent organic pollutants (POPs) Sci Total Environ. 2014;490:733–747. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.05.043. PubMed DOI

Sharma R, Peshin R, Shankar U, et al. Impact evaluation indicators of an integrated pest management program in vegetable crops in the subtropical region of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Crop Prot. 2015;67:191–199. doi: 10.1016/J.CROPRO.2014.10.014. DOI

Sharma HB, Vanapalli KR, Cheela VS, et al. Challenges, opportunities, and innovations for effective solid waste management during and post COVID-19 pandemic. Resour Conserv Recycl. 2020;162:105052. doi: 10.1016/J.RESCONREC.2020.105052. PubMed DOI PMC

Sharma BM, Bharat GK, Chakraborty P, et al. A comprehensive assessment of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in an Indian food basket: levels, dietary intakes, and comparison with European data. Environ Pollut. 2021;288:117750. doi: 10.1016/J.ENVPOL.2021.117750. PubMed DOI

Shekhar S, Sood S, Showkat S, et al. Detection of phenolic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) from maternal blood plasma and amniotic fluid in Indian population. Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2017;241:100–107. doi: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2016.05.025. PubMed DOI

Snoj Tratnik J, Kosjek T, Heath E, et al. Urinary bisphenol A in children, mothers and fathers from Slovenia: overall results and determinants of exposure. Environ Res. 2019;168:32–40. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2018.09.004. PubMed DOI

Sondhi N. Assessing the organic potential of urban Indian consumers. Br Food J. 2014;116:1864–1878. doi: 10.1108/BFJ-04-2013-0098. DOI

Steindal EH, Grung M. Management of PFAS with the aid of chemical product registries—an indispensable tool for future control of hazardous substances. Integr Environ Assess Manag. 2021;17:835–851. doi: 10.1002/ieam.4380. PubMed DOI

Street ME, Angelini S, Bernasconi S, et al. Current knowledge on endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) from animal biology to humans, from pregnancy to adulthood: highlights from a national Italian meeting. Int J Mol Sci. 2018 doi: 10.3390/ijms19061647. PubMed DOI PMC

Sutar SA, Gawande SM. Solid waste management in rural areas emerging towards growth centre through GIS system-Mahalung, Solapur. Int J Sci Res. 2013;4:2319–7064.

Tandon N, Anjana RM, Mohan V, et al. The increasing burden of diabetes and variations among the states of India: the global burden of disease study 1990–2016. Lancet Glob Heal. 2018;6:e1352–e1362. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(18)30387-5. PubMed DOI PMC

Tarannum F, Kansal A, Sharma P. Understanding public perception, knowledge and behaviour for water quality management of the river Yamuna in India. Water Policy. 2018;20:266–281. doi: 10.2166/WP.2018.134. DOI

The Global Statistics (2022) Poverty Rate in India Statistics 2022 | Poorest State in India. https://www.theglobalstatistics.com/poverty-in-india-statistics-2021/#:~:text=According to World Poverty Clock in 2022%2C roughly 6%25 or,population are living in poverty. Accessed 6 Sep 2022

The World Bank (2013) Diagnostic assessment of select environmental challenges: valuation of biodiversity and ecosystem services in India

Toxics Link (2018a) Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in India: country situation report.

Toxics Link (2018b) Endocrine disruptor: review of Indian research.

Toxics Link (2018c) Lead in paints in India: concerns and challanges. New Delhi

Toxics Link (2019a) Study on lead in paints in India 2019a. New Delhi

Toxics Link (2019b) Bottles can be toxic: an investigative study on migration of Bisphenol A (BPA) in baby feeding bottles and sippy cups in India. New Delhi

UNDP, OPHI (2020) Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2021: unmasking disparities by ethnicity, caste and gender

UNEP (2012) Global chemicals outlook: towards sound management of chemicals

UNEP (2017) Overview Report II: an overview of current scientific knowledge on the life cycles, environmental exposures, and environmental effects of select endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and potential EDCs

UNEP (2019) Global chemicals outlook II

United Nations Environment Programme (2020) Covid-19, the environment, and food systems: Contain, cope, and rebuild better. Geneva

US Department of Trade (2022) India—Country Commercial Guide—Chemical Industry

Vaccher V, Ingenbleek L, Adegboye A, et al. Levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in foods from the first regional Sub-Saharan Africa total diet study. Environ Int. 2020;135:105413. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.105413. PubMed DOI

van den Berg M, Kypke K, Kotz A, et al. WHO/UNEP global surveys of PCDDs, PCDFs, PCBs and DDTs in human milk and benefit–risk evaluation of breastfeeding. Arch Toxicol. 2017;91:83–96. doi: 10.1007/s00204-016-1802-z. PubMed DOI PMC

Vandenberg LN, Colborn T, Hayes TB, et al. Hormones and endocrine-disrupting chemicals: low-dose effects and nonmonotonic dose responses. Endocr Rev. 2012;33:378–455. doi: 10.1210/er.2011-1050. PubMed DOI PMC

Vandenberg LN, Ågerstrand M, Beronius A, et al. A proposed framework for the systematic review and integrated assessment (SYRINA) of endocrine disrupting chemicals. Environ Heal. 2016;15:74. doi: 10.1186/s12940-016-0156-6. PubMed DOI PMC

Vandenberg LN, Blumberg B, Antoniou MN, et al. Is it time to reassess current safety standards for glyphosate-based herbicides? J Epidemiol Community Health. 2017;71:613–618. doi: 10.1136/jech-2016-208463. PubMed DOI PMC

Water.org (2021) Water in India—India’s water crisis & sanitation issues. https://water.org/our-impact/where-we-work/india/. Accessed 4 Apr 2022

WHO (2016) The public health impact of chemicals: knowns and unknowns. Geneva

Wong KH, Durrani TS. Exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals in consumer products—a guide for pediatricians. Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care. 2017;47:107–118. doi: 10.1016/j.cppeds.2017.04.002. PubMed DOI

Xue J, Wu Q, Sakthivel S, et al. Urinary levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including bisphenols, bisphenol A diglycidyl ethers, benzophenones, parabens, and triclosan in obese and non-obese Indian children. Environ Res. 2015;137:120–128. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2014.12.007. PubMed DOI

Yadav IC, Devi NL, Syed JH, et al. Current status of persistent organic pesticides residues in air, water, and soil, and their possible effect on neighboring countries: a comprehensive review of India. Sci Total Environ. 2015;511:123–137. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.12.041. PubMed DOI

Yeboah-Assiamah E, Asamoah K, Kyeremeh TA. Decades of public-private partnership in solid waste management: a literature analysis of key lessons drawn from Ghana and India. Manag Environ Qual an Int J. 2017;28:78–93. doi: 10.1108/MEQ-05-2015-0098. DOI

Complementing global chemicals management through shaping consumer behavior