TemaNord The cost of inaction

Exposure to endocrine disruptors (EDs) is suspected to lead to a number of negative effects on human health and for wildlife. In this report the costs for effects on male reproductive health (testicular cancer, hypospadias, cryptorchidism and infertility) are estimated. The model used is built on incidence of disease in the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) and cost per case based on cost per patient data from Sweden. Extrapolation to EU28 is made based on population size. Assuming that EDs constitute 2, 20 or 40% the total costs for the selected health effects are 3.6, 36.1 or 72.3 million Euros/year of exposure in the Nordic countries, this corresponds to 59, 592 and 1,184 million Euros/year at EU-level. As these costs only represent a fraction of the endocrine related diseases there are good reasons to continue the work to minimize exposure to EDs.