1978 National DES Task Force created by the U.S. Secretary of the Department of Health, Education & Welfare. It was charged with reviewing all aspects of the DES problem and with making recommendations for research and health care of the people exposed. DES Action USA was founded and incorporated, as a national non-profit consumer group for individuals exposed to DES.
1979 First “Estrogens in the Environment” symposium at NIEHS, organized by Dr. John McLachlan. The objectives were to “determine what an estrogen is, how it works, and what effect estrogenic substances might have on human health.”
1979 Manufacture of PCBs banned and uses curtailed in U.S.
EPA Bans PCB Manufacture; Phases Out Uses (EPA Press Release)
1979 Yucheng Rice Oil Contamination. In Taiwan, PCBs and PCDFs leaked into rice oil and intoxicated 2000 people who had consumed the oil, leading to numerous health effects.
Guo, Y. L., Lambert, G. H., Hsu, C. C., & Hsu, M. M. (2004). Yucheng: health effects of prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and dibenzofurans. International archives of occupational and environmental health, 77(3), 153–158.