Theo Colborn was a visionary who worked tirelessly to protect the public from chemicals with hormone disrupting properties.
She desperately tried to alert the world to the problems associated with exposure of the unborn child to countless hormone disrupting chemicals in every day household products. Her brilliance was in piecing together the evidence to portray the big picture. By bringing key academics together from different branches of the scientific world, she was able to let these scientists themselves also grasp the big picture, so that they too could carry the message forward.
She was a communicator par excellence, and did much to help shape EU policy on hormone disrupting chemicals. Her book “Our Stolen Future”, which she co-authored with John Peterson (Pete) Myers and Dianne Dumanoski, was one of the driving forces behind EU action. Listening to her give a talk was compelling and spellbinding. She noted that as a species man could travel to outer space, but we needed to wake-up to the need to protect ‘inner space’ – the in-utero environment.
She was an inspiration and a motivator. Anyone who ever worked with Theo will no doubt have fond memories of sessions going on late into the evening, with Theo still shining brightly. Her work inspired countless scientists and environmentalists, who now must try their best to carry on the work that she started.
CHEM Trust will miss her. Theo Colborn was a truly great lady.
You can find out more about Theo at The Endocrine Disrupter Exchange.
