EPA Weighs in on Children's Health Month

The Environmental Protection Agency has released its seventh annual Children's Environmental Health: 2007 Highlights report today in honor of Children's Health Month. The report is published to underscore and highlight the EPA's work to protect children from environmental risks and dangers.

2007 is also the tenth anniversary of the EPA's work following the 1997 Executive Order signed by then-President Clinton entitled Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks. The main targets for the executive order were asthma and lead poisoning. The report states that the EPA has concentrated their efforts into three areas: outreach and education, science and research, and regulatory action.

The EPA's press release credits the Agency with funding research, promoting education of health-care providers, and as an assembler of data to access the extent of such environmental concerns as they affect children. The EPA points out two programs in particular that have demonstrated the Agency's commitment to alleviating health risks for children.

The first such program is the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSUs) which is a partnership with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and the Association of Occupation and Environmental Clinics to provide education and advice to parents and the healthcare industry on items of environmental concern. Over 100,000 healthcare professionals have been trained under the PEHSUs in the last ten years. The program has been so successful it has been replicated in other countries around the world.

Another program that has been highlighted in the press release are the Children's Research Centers. The Centers are a partnership with the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences and the Centers' main directive is to advance the understanding of how the environment impacts children's health. There are 21 centers that study " the effects of pesticide exposures, air pollution and asthma, chemicals in water, genetic and environmental interactions, and early indicators of environmentally related diseases."

There are several reasons that children are of such concern to the EPA. Children's physical systems, such as the immune, respiratory, digestive, and neurological systems, are still developing and therefore are that much more sensitive to environmental hazards. Also, kids drink and eat much more than adults in comparison to body weight, so they have more opportunity to ingest higher proportions of dangerous substances.

Other areas of concern for the EPA in regards to children include secondhand smoke exposure, as well as pesticides in low-income housing. The EPA is also monitoring food, in particular seafood, for mercury levels, as well as lead in drinking water.

In addition to the report, the EPA is also posting a tip each day to reduce your child's exposure to harmful substances, as well as other tips for parents. See http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/calendar.htm for the calendar of tips.

Source: Environmental Protection Agency