Developed by:
the Children's Environmental Health Network and
the Coalition For America's Children
If you are going to distribute or reproduce this
product you must do so in full in order to retain the
integrity of the document. Thank you.
Children today live in an environment that is vastly
different from that of previous generations. Man-made
chemicals are found everywhere in our environment, and
traces of some of these chemical compounds are found in
all animals and humans. The impact on human health from
environmental exposure is evident in damage to the
nervous system and the brain caused by lead and PCBs,
asthma and bronchitis exacerbated by air pollution, and
possible effects to hormone and reproductive systems
caused by chemicals that mimic hormones (endocrine
disrupters). Children are even more vulnerable than
adults to health effects from exposures to certain
chemicals.
The key to protecting our children is preventing
environmental exposures to toxic substances before they
happen. Parents, families, and communities all must be
involved in prevention. A large responsibility also lies
with our elected officials who must join the effort and
take a leadership role in protecting the health of our
children.
The American people strongly support tough environmental
standards that protect children's health. In a 1995 poll
conducted by the Coalition for America's Children, 915 of
voters agreed that "federal environmental standards
should be set at levels strong enough to protect
children's health."
Policymakers need to take a stand on the issue of
children's environmental health. Here are important facts
and some questions to help citizens and candidates
determine where they stand on these issues. FACTS
Children at Risk
Do you know that children are more vulnerable to
environmental exposures than adults? Here's why:
Children are in a dynamic state of growth with many vital
systems (nervous, reproductive, immune, and respiratory)
not yet fully developed at birth. For this reason,
exposure to environmental toxicants can disrupt normal
development and cause permanent damage.
Children often cannot metabolize, detoxify, or excrete
toxins as well as adults.1, 2
Children consume more of certain foods, drink more fluid,
and breathe more air per pound of body weight than
adults, thus increasing their potential exposure to
pesticides and other toxicants.
Children crawl on the ground and put their hands,
fingers, and objects in their mouths. This normal
behavior greatly increases the possibility of exposures
through ingestion and contact with dusts and toxicants.3
All children are affected, but children living in
racial/ethnic communities or children living in poverty
are often disproportionately impacted.4,
5
Exposures to Children
Do you know that most American children are exposed
to chemicals that may affect their health and
development?
A wide variety of chemicals and agents can cross the
placenta and permanently damage the developing fetus.
Among them are: metals such as lead6
and methylmercury7; ethanol; nicotine from
environmental tobacco smoke8;
and chemicals that stay in the environment such as
polychlorinated biphenyls9.
Children are exposed to indoor and outdoor air pollutants
including air particulates, ozone, carbon monoxide,
formaldehyde, and environmental tobacco smoke.10,
11
During 1991-93, ozone levels exceeded the National
Ambient Air Quality Standard in 104 cities or counties
affecting 24% of children under age 13.12
Almost 2 million pre-school children in the U.S. are at
risk for exposure to lead.13
Children are exposed to pesticides through food and
water, household and garden use, and school and building
maintenance.
Health Effects to Children
Do you know that exposures to certain toxicants at
particularly vulnerable times in a child's development
can cause permanent, irreversible damage?
Ozone, air particulates, and environmental tobacco smoke
are known to worsen asthma, bronchitis, and cause a
reduction in lung function.10
There has been a 40% increase in childhood asthma since
1980. Currently, over 4 million children in the United
States have asthma.14
Lead is a potent neurotoxin known to cause a decrease in
IQ, permanent damage to the nervous system, and
hyperactivity.15
Pesticides represent a wide range of chemicals that have
been associated with cancer, hormone disruption,
reproductive and immune system dysfunction, and
neurobehavioral impairment.16
Toxicants
Do you know that children are not adequately
protected?
Most current federal regulations do not adequately
protect children because they are based on data from
adults.
Of the more than 70,000 chemicals allowed for use in the
U.S. today, few have been tested for their health effects
on children.17
Scientists are concerned about chronic low-level
exposures as well as multiple and cumulative exposures
for children.18
Parents, grandparents, and interested citizens can
do their part to help candidates frame a children's
platform by asking specific questions about how their
positions would meet the needs of children. Here are some
questions you can ask to find out who's for kids and
who's just kidding when it comes to children's
environmental health. Make sure every candidate for
public office, at every level of government, takes a
stand on the children's environmental health issues
facing your region, county, city, or state!
Questions
Protecting Children's Health
How should environmental legislation specifically
address the unique vulnerabilities of children?
Do you intend to advocate for stronger protection of
children or do you believe current regulations are
sufficient?
What are government's responsibilities in funding
research in children's environmental health?
Should a specific share of environmental research funding
be devoted to issues unique to children?
What is the responsibility of private industry in funding
research in children's environmental health?
Clean Air
Do you believe there is a need to lower levels of
ozone and air particulates so that children are better
protected?
If so, how will you accomplish this?
Do you support or oppose strengthening the EPA standards
on ozone and air particulates?
Would you support the use of alternative fuels and how
would you do so?
Safe Water
How will you ensure that all children have a safe
drinking water supply?
What specific steps will you take to ensure that the
public water supply is free from pesticides, solvents and
other chemicals, and harmful microorganisms?
How should funds be secured to support the states for
infrastructure maintenance and improvements?
Pesticides
Do you believe that current pesticide regulations
sufficiently protect children?
Do you believe we need to reduce our use of pesticides?
What research should government or industry support to
lessen our reliance on pesticides?
Should pesticides be used in schools? If yes, how should
workers be trained or certified? Should parents be
notified when spraying occurs?
If you support reducing pesticide use in schools, how
would you accomplish this?
How will you promote agricultural practices that rely on
reduced use of pesticides?
Public Health
What steps will you take to ensure the funding and
maintenance of local health infrastructures such as
county public health and environmental health departments
that protect the public's health (e.g., county health
departments screen children for lead exposure)?
Note: The Children's Environmental Health Network is a
non-partisan project that does not endorse candidates for
public office and no support for individual candidates
should be inferred from the above questions. The
Children's Environmental Health Network is a member of
the Coalition for America's Children, a non-profit
alliance of 350 organizations working together to raise
public awareness about the importance of children's
issues. This publication is an extension of the
Coalition's campaign, Who's for Kids and Who's Just
Kidding, that helps citizens secure children's platforms
from all candidates. Additional materials are available
from the Coalition for America's Children, 1634 Eye
Street, 12th Floor, Washington DC 20006 or on the
Internet at http://www.kidscampaigns.org.
Funds from the Ruth Mott Fund and the W. Alton Jones
Foundation have made this document possible.
©1996, Children's Environmental Health
Network/California Public Health Foundation
References
1. Echobichon DJ and Stevens DD.
Perinatal Development of Human Blood Esterases. Clinical
Pharmacology and Therapeutics. 1973;14:41-47.
2. Snodgrass, WR. Physiological and
Biochemical Differences Between Children and Adults as
Determinants of Toxic Response to Environmental
Pollutants. In Guzeliam PS, Henry CJ, Olin SS, eds.
Similarities and Differences Between Children and Adults.
Washington, DC: International Life Sciences Institute
Press, 1992;35-42.
3. Needleman HL and Landrigan PJ. Raising
Children Toxic Free - How To Keep Your Child Safe from
Lead, Asbestos, Pesticides, and Other Environmental
Hazards. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1994.
4. Cole SW. Empowerment as the Key to
Environmental Protection: The Need for Environmental
Poverty Law. Ecology Law Quarterly. 1992;19:620-657.
5. Commission for Racial Justice United
Church of Christ. Toxic Wastes and Race in the US: A
National Report on the Racial and Socioeconomic
Characteristics of Communities with Hazardous Waste
Sites. New York, NY: Public Data Access, 1987.
6. Rabinowitz MB and Needleman HL.
Temporal Changes in the Lead Concentrations of Umbilical
Cord Blood. Science. 1982;216:1429-1431.
7. Gilbert SG and Grant-Webster KS.
Neurobehavioral Effects of Developmental Methylmercury
Exposure. Environmental Health Perspectives. September
1995;103(6):135-142.
8. Bearer CF. Environmental Health
Hazards: How Children Are Different From Adults. Future
of Children. Summer/Fall 1995;5(2):11-26.
9. Guo YL, Lambert G, and Hsu C.
Endocrine Effects of Prenatal Exposures to PCBs, Dioxins,
and Other Xenobiotics. Environmental Health Perspectives.
September 1995;103(6):117-121.
10. Bates DV. The Effects of Air
Pollution on Children. Environmental Health Perspectives.
September 1995;103(6):49-53.
11. White M, Etzel R, Wallace W and
Lloyd C. Exacerbations of Childhood Asthma and Ozone
Pollution in Atlanta. Environmental Research.
.1994;65:56-68.
12. CDC. Children at Risk from Ozone
Pollution - US 1991. MMWR. 1995;44:309-312.
13. Pirkle JL, Brody DJ and Gunter EW.
The Decline in Blood Lead Levels in the United States:
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys
(NHANES). Journal of American Medical Association.
1994;272:284-291.
14. American Lung Association. Danger
Zones: Ozone Air Pollution and Our Children. 1995.
15. Needleman HL and Gastonis CA.
Low-Level Lead Exposure and the IQ of Children - A
Meta-Analysis of Modern Studies. Journal of the American
Medical Association. February 2, 1990;263(5):673-78.
16. National Research Council.
Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children.
Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1993.
17. Schaefer M. Children and Toxic
Substances: Confronting a Major Public Health Challenge.
Environmental Health Perspectives. 1994;102(Supp
2):155-156.
18. Arnold SF, Klotz DM, Collins BM,
Vonier PM, Guilette Jr. LJ, and McLachlan JA. Synergistic
Activation of Estrogen Receptor with Combinations of
Environmental Chemicals. Science. June 7
1996;272:1489-1492.
|
