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Health Background
Environmental Health
The environment has a major impact on human health and development. This is particularly true for our children, who breathe more air, eat more food, and drink more liquids in proportion to their body weight than adults. And children's developing respiratory, immunological, and digestive systems may be more susceptible to environmental hazards than those of adults.
The President's Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children has made it a top priority to identify, assess and cut children's environmental health and safety risks. Among the Task Force's concerns are asthma, developmental disorders (including lead poisoning), environmental health in schools, and cancer.
Asthma
Asthma affects approximately 15 million people in the U. S. Nearly one-third are under the age of 18, and the number of children with asthma is rising. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 1980 and 1996 asthma in children increased by about 4.3% per year Asthma is one of the leading causes of school absenteeism, responsible for over 10 million missed school days each year. Low-income populations, minorities, and children living in inner cities are more likely to become ill and to die due to asthma.
Airborne allergens — house dust mites, cockroaches, mold, and animal dander — along with environmental tobacco smoke, affect the development of asthma in children. Elevated levels of outdoor air pollutants, including ozone and allergens such as pollens and molds, are also associated with increased symptoms of asthma and an increased risk for emergency room visits.
Developmental Disorders
Lead poisoning resulting from exposure to lead in paint, gasoline, food cans, and other products, can cause developmental disorders that impair a child's ability to think, learn, and concentrate. Although lead has been removed from most products over the past two decades, children continue to be exposed to lead. Low income and minority children are disproportionately more likely to develop lead poisoning.
Childhood Cancer
Although childhood cancer is rare, only injuries cause more deaths among children. The causes of childhood cancer are not well understood; however, epidemiological studies suggest that pesticides and certain chemicals, in addition to radiation, may contribute to an increased frequency of some childhood cancers. Some studies have found that children born to parents who work with or use such chemicals are more likely to have cancer in childhood. These chemicals may cause mutations in parents' cells that increase the risk of their children developing certain cancers, or the parental exposure during pregnancy may be passed on to the embryo, affecting the child directly. A child's direct exposure to such chemicals also may contribute to cancer.
Environmental Health of Schools
School environmental health addresses the impact of indoor and outdoor air pollutants, such as asbestos and pesticides, in school buildings.. Unhealthy school buildings affect teachers, as well as students. The Healthy School Environments Web Portal
(www.epa.gov/schools) provides access to resources from the Environmental Protection Agency, other federal government agencies, states, local governments, and non-governmental organizations that address school environmental health issues.
Children's Health Month
October is Children's Health Month, an effort coordinated by the President's Task Force. The Children's Health Month Web site (Childrens Health) directs visitors to a wide range of environmental health information and resources. These resources include the Environmental Health Science Education Web page (www.niehs.nih.gov/science-education/home.htm with materials and activities for students, teachers, and scientists from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
References
The President's Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children: Activities and Accomplishments, April 14, 2003
Cancer Statistics
National Asthma Education and Prevention Program
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