Children today live in an environment that is vastly different from that of previous generations. Explosions in technology, information, population and material goods mark the end of the 20th century. Some of these changes, especially man-made chemicals, can impact not only the environment around us, but also our health and our children's health. Environmental health issues encompass the built environment, the biological environment and the chemical environment to which we and our children are exposed.

Children are especially vulnerable to environmental health issues because, beginning at the fetal stage and continuing through adolescence, they are physiologically very different from adults. They are in a dynamic state of growth, with cells multiplying and organ systems developing at a rapid rate. At birth their nervous, respiratory, reproductive and immune systems are not yet fully developed. Young children breathe more rapidly and take in more air in proportion to their body weight than do adults. They also have higher metabolic rates and a higher proportionate intake of food and liquid than do adults. Children also have different behavior patterns than adults.

All children are affected by environmental hazards. Pollution and environmental degradation know no county, state, regional, or national border. Contaminants are transported through many media including air, water, soil and food throughout the world. However, children living in poverty and children in racial or ethnic communities are at disproportionate risk for exposure to environmental hazards.

The US has experienced worrisome increases in certain childhood diseases, disorders, and health problems (e.g. asthma, autism, obesity, cancer). Researchers are working hard to determine to what degree these increases are linked to environmental exposures. The key to protection is prevention through research, education and policy.

For more background information, see our An Introduction to Children's Environmental Health factsheet.

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