Children's
Environmental
Health 2005
A Summary of EPA Activities
The mission of the
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA)
is to protect human health
and the environment. After the
1993 publication of
Pesticides in the Diets of
Infants and Children by the
National Research Council,
EPA launched a major
Federal effort to address the
unique risks children face
from a multitude of environ-
mental agents.
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Children are different from adults
and may be more vulnerable to
environmental exposures.
Consider that:
children's neurological, immuno-
logical, digestive and other bodily
systems are still developing and
are more easily harmed;
children eat more food, drink
more fluids, and breathe more
air than adults in proportion to
their body masstheir food,
fluids, and air therefore must be
safe; and
children's behavior patterns-
such as crawling and placing
objects in their mouthsoften
result in greater exposure to
environmental contaminants.
Because of these characteristics,
children may not be sufficiently
protected by regulatory standards
that are set based on risks to
adults. EPA has forged partnerships
and taken increasingly more steps
to protect children's health from the
variety of contaminants and pollut-
ants that may affect them in the air
they breathe, the water they drink,
and the food they eat.
We direct our efforts toward ensur-
ing that their homes, schools, and
playgrounds provide the necessary
environmental conditions for nor-
mal growth and development. We
focus on preventing exposure as a
first-line defense against harmful
environmental pollutants and we
continue to work to improve envi-
ronmental protections and health
outcomes. This annual publication
highlights a variety of recent EPA
work.
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Children's Environmental
Health Awards
L
aunched in 2005, the
Children's Environmental
Health Awards serve to
increase awareness, stimulate
activity, and recognize efforts that
protect children from environmental
health risks at the local, regional,
national, and international levels. In
addition to the Excellence Award
winners, EPA recognized 113
organizations for their dedication
to protecting children's health.
2005
Children's Environmental Health
Excellence Award
Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry, Great Lakes Human
Health Effects Research Program,
Atlanta, Ga.
The American Legacy Foundation,
Truthฎ, Youth Advisory Panel,
Youth Speakers Bureau, and Youth
Empowerment Grants, Washington, D.C.
American Lung Association
of Washington, Master Home
Environmentalist Program,
Seattle, Wash.
The Association of Occupational
and Environmental Clinics, Pediatric
Environmental Health Specialty Unit
Program (PEHSU), Washington, D.C.
- The Rocky Mountain Region PEHSU,
Denver, Colo.
- The Southeast PEHSU, Atlanta, Ga
- The Southwest PEHSU, Tyler, Texas
Childhood Lead Action Project,
Providence, R.I.
Columbia Center for Children's
Environmental Health, IPM Interventions
and Healthy Homes Healthy Child
Community Education and Outreach
Project, New York, N.Y.
The Farmworker Justice Fund, Inc.,
Project Clean Environment for Healthy
Kids, Washington, D.C.
Meghan Pasricha, The Anti-Tobacco
Action Club, Hockessin, Del.
The National Nursing Centers
Consortium, Lead Safe Babies,
Philadelphia, Pa.
Public Health Seattle and King County,
The Healthy Homes Asthma Project,
Seattle, Wash.
Public Health Seattle and King County,
The Tacoma Smelter Plume Project,
Seattle, Wash.
The Real World Foundation, Asthma
Free School Zone, New York, N.Y.
City of St. Louis Department of Health,
Department of Public Safety, Lead Safe
St. Louis Task Force, St. Louis, Mo.
West Harlem Environmental Action (WE
ACT), Environmental Health Program,
New York, N.Y.
The Western North Carolina Regional
Air Quality Agency, Western North
Carolina School Bus Retrofit Project,
Asheville, N.C.
Visit www.epa.gov/children for 2006
awards information.
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Helping Children
Breathe Easier
Both indoor and outdoor air
pollution can adversely
affect children's health and
is a major threat to normal growth
and development. In the United
States, asthma is an epidemic,
affecting more than 6 million
children under 18 years
of age.
Controlling Asthma: EPA raises aware-
ness about managing environmental
asthma triggers so that asthmatics can
reduce the number and severity of
episodes, emergency room visits, hospi-
talizations, and missed school and work
days. Asthma prevalence and negative
health outcomes are more common
among African Americans, some
Hispanic children, and among families
with limited education and lower income.
EPA has developed Help Your Child Gain
Control Over Asthma to provide targeted
information to improve asthma out-
comes. To receive a copy of the booklet,
call 1 -800-438-4318 or visit
www.epa.gov/asthma.
Simple Things: EPA and the Ad Council
are sponsoring The Childhood Asthma
Public Service Campaign to increase
understanding about asthma, asthma
triggers, and ways to limit exposure to
environmental factors that can trigger
asthma attacks. This year, the campaign
messages focus on "simple things" that
parents can do to manage their child's
asthma. The materials are in
English and Spanish for television, radio,
and newspaper. As a result of this cam-
paign, more than 1 million different view-
ers have visited the Web site and 40,000
hotline calls have been received since
March 2001. Visit www.epa.gov/asthma.
National Environmental Leadership
Award in Asthma Management: EPA
recognizes health plans and health care
providers who have demonstrated lead-
ership in managing environmental trig-
gers as part of a comprehensive asthma
management program. The 2005 win-
ners are: Optima Health (Virginia Beach,
VA) and Children's Mercy Hospitals and
Clinics (Kansas City, MO). In addition,
the Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode
Island and the Connecticut Children's
Medical Center received honorable
mentions. Application information for
the 2006 Awards is available at
www.epa.gov/asthma.
Learning about Air Quality: Local air
quality affects how we live and breathe.
For children, whose lungs are still devel-
oping, the local air quality may be poor
enough to limit outdoor activities. The
AIRNow Web site was developed in
partnership with the National Weather
Service, National Parks Service, and
others to provide the public daily air
quality forecasts and real-time air quality
conditions for more than 3 million people
in 300 U.S. cities. Visit www.airnow.gov.
EnviroFlash: EnviroFlash provides free
information on ozone and particle pollution
forecasts through e-mail and mobile text
messaging. To join more than 5,000 sub-
scribers in 38 cities, visit www.airnow.gov
and click on the EnviroFlash logo.
EnviroFlash
Your Environmental News Flash
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Diesel School Buses: The Clean School
Bus USA initiative has created partner-
ships with community, industry, and
business leaders to improve the health
of school children across the country by
reducing diesel pollution on school buses.
Buses are being retrofitted with emissions
control technology, switched to cleaner
fuels, or replaced with new, cleaner
models. As of April 2005, the program
included 150 school districts, reducing
emissions on more than 20,000 school
buses for two million children.
Visit www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus.
Preventing Childhood
Exposure to Secondhand
Smoke
A recent EPA study
states that approximately
three million children ages
six and under are exposed to
environmental tobacco smoke,
especially in low-income,
low-education households.
Environmental tobacco smoke
increases the risks of asthma
episodes, middle ear and lower
respiratory tract infections, such
as pneumonia and bronchitis,
recurring colds, coughs, wheez-
ing, and decreases lung function.
Take the Smoke-free Home Pledge:
With more than 1,700 national, state, and
local organizations promoting the
Smoke-free Home Pledge Campaign,
EPA is helping parents, caregivers,
teachers, medical professionals, and oth-
ers protect children from environmental
tobacco smoke. The Campaign encour-
ages everyone to choose not to smoke in
the home, car, or anywhere children are
present. The pledge can be taken online
at www.epa.gov/smokefree.
Protecting Children from
too much Sun
Children must be protected
from overexposure to the
sun and its ultraviolet (UV)
rays. UV rays are classified as a
human carcinogen. Serious health
effects, including skin cancer, eye
damage and cataracts, and
immune system suppression can
be caused by overexposure to the
sun. Skin cancer is the most com-
mon, yet preventable, type of
cancer in the United States.
SunWise: Currently, more than 12,000
schools and informal learning centers
(up from 10,500 in 2004) are registered
in the SunWise Program, which started
in 2000 to teach children and their care-
givers how to protect themselves from
overexposure to the sun. SunWise
education materials have been shown to
be effective in children ages five to
twelve by reducing sunburns by 11 per-
cent and reducing the desire for a tan by
10 percent. Materials and information
are available in English and Spanish at
www.epa.gov/sunwise.
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Protecting Children from
Lead Poisoning
Lead is toxic and particularly
harmful to young children, but
lead poisoning is preventable.
EPA and other Federal agencies
have been working to protect chil-
dren from these effects and are
committed to eliminating childhood
lead poisoning by 2010. The on-
going reduction in the number of
children with elevated blood lead
levels, from 1.4 million in the early
1980's to 310,000 in 2002, demon-
strates the success of Federal, State
and local efforts. To further these
reductions, EPA is launching a pro-
gram to ensure the use of lead-safe
work practices by the renovation,
repair, and painting industries.
Lead Education: Children in minority
populations, children from low income
families, and children who live in older
homes tend to have higher exposures
and higher blood-lead levels than the
national average. EPA and Head Start
educated teachers, parents, and chil-
dren in 75 Head Start centers in New
York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles,
Chicago, and Houston, reaching about
61,000 people about the dangers of
lead poisoning by distributing informa-
tional materials. Visit www.epa.gov/lead.
Lead Grants: EPA has established a
competitive grant program to reduce
incidences of childhood lead poisoning
in vulnerable populations, such as those
with higher-than-average blood-lead
levels. In addition, EPA provides grants
to Native American communities to
assist in assessing the extent of child-
hood lead poisoning and to implement
effective education programs.
Protecting Children from
Mercury in Fish
Some fish and shellfish contain
higher levels of mercury that
may harm an unborn baby
or young child's developing nervous
system. The risks from mercury in
fish and shellfish depend on the
amount eaten and the levels of mer-
cury present. Therefore, the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) and
EPA are advising women who are
pregnant or may become pregnant,
nursing mothers, and young chil-
dren to avoid some types of fish
and eat fish and shellfish that are
lower in mercury.
Fish Consumption and Health: Last
year, EPA and the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) began distributing
the brochure titled What You Need to
Know About Mercury in Fish and
Shellfish, targeting women of childbear-
ing age and physicians. Approximately
five million copies of this brochure, in
English and Spanish, have been distrib-
uted to more than 200,000 members of
United States medical and public health
organizations. EPA and FDA promoted
the fish advisory program at major medi-
cal and environmental health confer-
ences. EPA also continues to distribute
the brochure, Should I Eat the Fish I
Catch? (with versions in English,
Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, Hmong
and Cambodian), that discusses ways to
reduce health risks from eating fish
containing chemical pollutants.
Representatives from EPA distributed this
brochure at the 2005 National Boy Scout
Jamboree. Visit http://www.epa.gov/
waterscience/fish/.
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Keeping Pesticides Away
from Children
In regulating pesticides,
EPA considers children's
exposure to pesticides in
their diets, their drinking water,
and in their home and school.
These considerations include
examining a variety of adverse
health effects, such as acute poi-
soning, disruption of the hormone
and immune systems, neurological
damage, and cancer. EPA also has
outreach and education materials
aimed at teaching children and
adults how to use pesticides safely
to reduce children's exposure.
Poison Prevention: More than 70,000
cases of children exposed to pesticides
were reported to poison centers last
year. Many more cases go unreported.
EPA and the American Association of
Poison Control Centers are working to
raise awareness of pesticide poisoning
prevention. For example, information
from these organizations recently
appeared on Despierta America, a
television program that reaches over one
million Spanish-speaking households.
Outreach: Occupational exposure and
language barriers place many Hispanics
at high risk for pesticide exposure.
Pesticide product labels, which contain
important use and emergency care
information, are written in English, and
may not be easily understood by the 28
million Spanish speakers living in the
United States. In an effort to reach this
population, EPA participated in a series
of media interviews with more than
three million listeners.
EPA and the National Head Start
Association are raising awareness to
prevent pesticide poisonings in children
with a room-by-room poison
prevention checklist. Visit
www.epa.gov/pesticides.
Training Health Care
Providers to Address
Environmentally-Related
Illness
EPA recognizes that health
care providers can play a
key role in helping to pre-
vent, diagnose, and manage chil-
dren's health risks related to the
environment. Yet most health care
providers are not schooled in envi-
ronmental health. EPA is building a
cadre of children's environmental
health champions in North America
and throughout the world.
Pediatric Environmental Health
Specialty Units (PEHSUs): PEHSUs
provide consultation, information, train-
ing, and referrals to health care profes-
sionals, agencies, and the public on
pediatric environmental health issues.
There is a network of 13 Units in North
America and several are being created
in other parts of the world. This year, the
World Health Organization, the
International Pediatric Association, and
the delegates to the Health and
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Environment Ministers of the Americas
met and endorsed the adaptation and
expansion of a PEHSU model for other
nations. PEHSUs are supported by the
Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry, and EPA and are
administered by the Association of
Occupational and Environmental Clinics.
They were awarded one of fifteen
Children's Environmental Health
Excellence Awards in 2005. For more
information, visit www.aoec.org and
www.atsdr.cdc.gov/child/ochchildhlth.html.
Training Materials for Developing
Countries: EPA supports the World
Health Organization effort to develop
comprehensive training materials for
health care providers internationally.
Materials are being tested in training
sessions in several countries and will
cover a plethora of children's environ-
mental health issues for formally and
informally trained providers and in sev-
eral different formats, including a book,
available electronically, and in pam-
phlets. Visit www.who.int/ceh.
Air Pollution Educational Materials:
EPA has created several resources for
health professionals to use when educat-
ing patients about the health effects of air
pollution. Visit www.airnow.gov and click
on "Health Providers" to download asth-
ma fact sheets and medical posters.
Ozone and Health: During the summer
months, millions of people in the United
States are exposed to ground-level
ozone (smog) at levels that can cause
uncomfortable and damaging respiratory
symptoms. Ozone and Your Patients'
Health is an online training course for
medical professionals that describes the
physiological mechanisms responsible
for the symptoms such as lung function
changes associated with exposure to
ground-level ozone. It also gives advice
to patients about exposure to ozone and
provides practical tools to help them
understand what triggers asthma symp-
toms and how to alleviate them. Visit
www.epa.gov/air/oaqps/eog/ozonehealth.
Mold and Health: Guidance for
Clinicians on the Recognition and
Management of Health Effects Related
to Mold Exposure and Moisture Indoors
was published last fall by the Center for
Indoor Environments and Health at the
University of Connecticut Health Center
with support from EPA. This free publi-
cation is available at
http://oehc.uchc.edu/clinser/indoor.htm.
Drinking Water: Tap into Prevention is a
continuing education video/DVD that
explains potential health risks from
exposure to microbial and chemical
contaminants in drinking water and
demonstrates actions health care
providers can take in their practices.
Visit www.epa.gov/safewater/
healthcare/index, htm I.
Pediatric Asthma Initiative: With EPA's
support, the National Environmental
Education Teaching Foundation and
the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences defined competencies
and developed environmental history
forms for environmental triggers of asth-
ma. These tools are built upon the best
current practices and existing resources.
Visit www.neetf.org/health/
asthma.htm.
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Studying Environmental
Exposures and Children's
Health
National Children's Study: This effort
will examine the effects of environmen-
tal influences on the health and devel-
opment of more than 100,000 children
across the United States, following them
from before birth until age 21. The goal
of the study is to improve the health and
well-being of children. The study defines
"environment" broadly and will take a
number of issues into account including:
- Natural and man-made
environmental factors
- Biological and chemical factors
- Physical surroundings
- Social factors
- Behavioral influences and outcomes
- Genetics
- Cultural and family influences and
differences
- Geographic locations
Researchers will analyze how these ele-
ments interact with each other and what
helpful and/or harmful effects they might
have on children's health. By studying
children through the different phases of
growth and development, researchers will
be better able to understand the role of
these factors on health and disease. The
study has designated more than 100 loca-
tions across the United States where it
will seek to recruit and enroll eligible fami-
lies for participation. The locations were
selected to ensure that children across
the nation are fairly represented.
The National Children's Study will be one
of the richest information resources avail-
able for answering questions related to
National Children's Study Locations
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children's health and development and
will form the basis of child health guid-
ance, interventions, and policy for genera-
tions to come. It is anticipated that the
preliminary results from the first years of
the study will be available in 2008-2009.
The study is authorized by the Child
Health Act of 2000 and awaits assured
funding. The study sponsors are the
National Institutes of Health and the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (both part of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human
Services) and the EPA. Visit www.
nationalchildrensstudy.gov and join the
study listserv at ncs@mail.nih.gov.
International Interest and the National
Children's Study: The National Children's
Study has sparked interest in many
other countries about improving
research on children's environmental
health. The study has therefore teamed
with the World Health Organization to
promote research in developing and
developed countries. This research can
be integrated with the research ques-
tions of the study for everyone's benefit.
International cooperation on children's
environmental health research extends the
reach and scope of the study and pres-
ents opportunities for different approaches
in study design. Common measures in all
longitudinal cohort studies of the environ-
ment and children's health strengthen all
the studies and builds the global pediatric
environmental health infrastructures.
Around the world, researchers are better
able to study rare but important childhood
diseases, such as cancer and birth defects.
Asthma Research Results Highlights
Report: Asthma research by EPA and
collaborators on the causes, triggers
and best practices for management is
providing critical scientific information to
address this growing public health
threat. EPA's Asthma Research Results
Highlights Report summarizes accom-
plishments in asthma research over the
last five years and outlines future direc-
tions in asthma research. For more
information on this report, visit
www.epa.gov/ord/asthma.
Children's Health Research Centers:
Many chronic childhood diseases, such
as asthma, autism and learning defi-
ciencies have consistently been linked
to environmental factors. In 1998 EPA
and the National Institute of
Environmental Health Science (NIEHS)
initiated a unique program to fund
Children's Environmental Health
Research Centers to investigate the role
of environmental exposures in burden-
some childhood disorders. Each center
is a university-community partnership
conducting basic science, exposure,
epidemiological, and/or intervention
research.
A mini-monograph, including an overview
and six "Lessons Learned" papers by the
centers, is available at:
www.ehp.niehs.nih.gov
University of California, Berkeley
Agricultural pesticide exposures and
effects on pregnant women and children
www.cham acos. org
University of Southern California
The effects of traffic-related air pollution
on asthma in an urban population
Johns Hopkins University
Urban air pollutants and allergens
effects on the development of asthma
Columbia University
Cumulative impact of household pes-
ticides, air pollutants, environmental
tobacco smoke and heavy metal expo-
sures on growth, asthma and cancer risk
www.ccceh.org
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Mt. Sinai Medical School
The effects of pesticides, RGBs,
endocrine disrupting chemicals and the
built environment on growth and
development
University of Washington
Exposure pathways and health effects
of agricultural pesticides
http://depts.washington.edu/chc/
University of California Davis
Environmental factors in childhood
autism
www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/cceh/
Children's Hospital Cincinnati
Lead and tobacco effects on
neurodevelopment
www.cincinnatichildrens.org/research/
project/enviro/default.htm
University of Med/Dentistry New Jersey
Environmental chemicals and autism
development
www.eohsi.rutgers.edu/childhood/
index.shtml
University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign
The effects of mixtures of RGBs and
mercury on neurodevelopment and
hearing loss
www.cvm.uiuc.ed u/vb/friends_center/
Harvard University
Metal mixtures in mining wastes and
children's growth and neurodevelopment
www.hsph.harvard.edu/niehs/children/
index.html
Protecting Children
Beyond Our Borders
Children's environmental
health issues span the
globe. EPA works with
international organizations,
nongovernmental organizations,
and other countries to highlight
issues, share tools, and build the
political will needed to
protect children everywhere.
Global Indicators: Protecting children
from exposure to environmental hazards
requires that we better understand the
relationship between environmental con-
ditions and health outcomes. With EPA's
support, the World Health Organization is
leading the partnership effort that started
at the World Summit on Sustainable
Development to create global children's
environmental health indicators. In 2005,
the Commission on Environmental
Cooperation will publish children envi-
ronmental health indicators for North
America. For more information, visit
www.who.int/ceh/indicators/en/.
International Law: EPA supported a
new publication from the Physicians for
Social Responsibility and the Center for
International Environmental Law that
provides individuals, institutions, and
countries with a logical way to address
environmental health threats. To read
Using International Law and Institutions
mul Institutions
to Protect Children's
Eiivirouuieiit.nl Health
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to Protect Children's Environmental
Health, visit www.envirohealthaction.org/
children/articles.cfm?article_ID=219.
Mercury Partnership: The United
Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) agreed to develop and imple-
ment partnerships as one approach to
reduce the risks to human health and
the environment from mercury. EPA is
working with other Federal agencies,
UNEP, countries, states, industry, envi-
ronmental groups, and intergovernmental
organizations to develop global
partnerships in the sectors that repre-
sent the majority of all global atmo-
spheric mercury emissions: artisanal and
small-scale gold mining; chlor-alkali
manufacturing; coal combustion; and
products containing mercury; and to
research mercury fate and transport.
These partnerships are expected to help
countries characterize and reduce mer-
cury uses, releases, and exposure. For
additional information, reports, and dis-
cussion papers visit www.chem.unep.ch/
mercury/partnerships/.
Indoor Cooking Smoke: Solid fuels
used for indoor cooking threaten the
health of children in more than 75 per-
cent of homes in many parts of Africa
and Asia. Throughout the world, 1.6 mil-
lion people, mainly women and children,
die each year from breathing the dense
smoke from traditional indoor cooking
and heating fires. Indoor smoke also
makes children under five highly sus-
ceptible to respiratory infections in the
homes of almost three billion people
worldwide where firewood, coal, crop
residues, and dung are burned. More
than 100 public and private organiza-
tions are working together through the
EPA-sponsored Partnership for Clean
Indoor Air to reduce exposure to indoor
air pollution from household energy use
for five million people by 2010. To learn
more, visit www.PCIAonline.org.
Partnership for Clean Fuels and
Vehicles: Motor vehicles account for a
significant portion of urban air pollution
around the world. EPA is a key partner
in the Partnership for Clean Fuels and
Vehicles, with the goal to eliminate lead
in gasoline and reduce sulfur in diesel
fuels while adopting cleaner vehicle
technologies. For more information, visit
www.unep.org/PCFV.
Using Guidance and
Regulations to
Protect Children
EPA's 1995 policy ensures
that we "consistently and
explicitly evaluate environ-
mental health risks of infants and
children in all risk assessment, risk
characterizations and environmen-
tal and public health standards
that we set for the nation." (EPA,
October 20, 1995)
Cancer Guidelines: Guidelines for
Carcinogen Risk and Supplemental
Guidance for Assessing Susceptibility
from Early-Life Exposure to Carcinogens
were issued in March 2005 to assist
EPA in assessing the cancer risks result-
ing from exposure to chemicals or other
agents in the environment. The
Supplemental Guidance describes pos-
sible approaches that EPA could use in
assessing cancer risks of exposures to
children from 0 to 16 years of age, and
includes a review of existing scientific
literature on chemical effects in animals
and humans. Documents and additional
information are available at
www.epa.gov/cancerguidelines.
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Clean Air Interstate Rule: This rule is
designed to reduce air pollution that
moves across state boundaries in 28
eastern states. EPA estimates that by
2015 this rule will provide health and
environmental benefits valued at over
25 times the cost of compliance. When
fully implemented, it will reduce 862
emissions by over 70 percent and NOX
emissions by over 60 percent from
2003 levels in the affected areas, preventing
millions of lost work and school days.
Lead in Drinking Water: EPA is initiat-
ing the Drinking Water Lead Reduction
Plan to strengthen, update, and clarify
existing requirements for water utilities
and states to test for and reduce lead in
drinking water. This action, which follows
extensive analysis and assessment of
current implementation of these regula-
tions, will tighten requirements related to
monitoring, treatment, lead service line
management, and customer awareness.
The plan also addresses lead in tap
water in schools and child care centers.
Coke Oven Residual Risk Rule: EPA
issued the first in a series of emission
reductions requirements known as resid-
ual risk standards, requiring further
reductions in emissions of toxic air pol-
lutants from coke ovens. With this
action, EPA amended the maximum
achievable control technology (MACT)
standards to include more stringent
requirements to address health risks
remaining after implementing EPA's
October 1993 air toxic emission stan-
dards. The risk assessment conducted
for this rule is the first to apply the new
Cancer Guidelines and Supplemental
Guidance on Early Life Exposures.
Making Schools Healthier
More than 53 million chil-
dren and almost 3 million
adults spend a significant
portion of their days in approxi-
mately 112,000 public and private
school buildings; many of these
buildings have environmental
conditions that may inhibit learning
and pose substantial risks to the
health of children and staff.
Healthy School Environments
Assessment Tool: EPA has developed
a comprehensive software tool that will
help school districts manage self-
assessment programs for all of their
school facility environmental, health,
and safety issues. The Healthy School
Environments Assessment Tool
(HealthySEAT) can be customized to
reflect state and local requirements,
policies, and priorities, and includes a
built-in checklist that reflects the critical
elements of every EPA regulatory and
voluntary program affecting schools.
Using HealthySEAT, school districts will
be able to track the status of a virtually
unlimited number of school facility condi-
tions, generate a wide range of reports
on those conditions, and better manage
their resources. For more information
visit www.epa.gov/schools.
Chemical Cleanout and Prevention
Program: In 2004, EPA launched the
Schools Chemical Cleanout Campaign
to promote removal of existing stocks of
dangerous chemicals from schools and
encourage safe chemical management.
Ten pilot projects removed over 75,000
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pounds of dangerous chemicals and
created a safer learning environment for
over 400,000 students. In Tennessee,
more than 14,000 pounds of dangerous
chemicals from 46 schools were
removed. Visit www.epa.gov/osw/
conserve/clusters/schools.htm.
' PEHSU Schools Manual: The Pediatric
Environmental Health Specialty Unit
(PEHSU) in Region 4 just released Safe
and Healthy School Environments, a
resource book that applies the methods
and perspectives of environmental
health to school settings. Visit
www.sph.emory.edu/PEHSU/.
' School Siting: EPA worked with the
Council of Education Facility Planners
International to develop Schools for
Successful Communities: An Element of
Smart Growth to explain why and how
communities should use smart growth
principles to build schools. This publica-
tion helps communities invest in schools
that will give children the best possible
learning environment, use taxpayer dol-
lars wisely, and express the values and
vision of the community. For more
information, visit www.cefpi.org.
' Improving the Air in Schools: Twenty-
two percent of our nation's schools have
addressed indoor air issues using guid-
ance consistent with the Indoor Air
Quality Tools for Schools (IAQ TfS) pro-
gram. This program has been supporting
schools for nearly a decade to reduce
exposures to indoor environmental
contaminants. The core of the program
is the IAQ TfS Kit which provides best
practices, industry guidelines, and prac-
tical management actions in a format
designed to help school personnel iden-
tify, solve, and prevent indoor air quality
problems. For more information, visit
www.epa.gov/iaq/schools.
Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools
Mentor Network: The IAQ TfS Mentor
Network started in 2003 to provide a
collaborative forum for school profes-
sionals and advocates for healthy indoor
school environments to exchange ideas
and discuss indoor air quality issues.
The Network is a resource for school
districts beginning new indoor air man-
agement programs. To join the over 50
current members, email
guarneiri.michele@epa.gov.
Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools
Awards: The IAQ TfS Awards program
provides incentives and public recogni-
tion to schools and school districts that
consistently implement effective IAQ
management practices. More than 250
school districts and school-affiliated
organizations have been recognized for
outstanding achievement and leader-
ship in improving indoor air quality. Visit
www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/awardsfor
information and applications.
Asbestos: The Asbestos Hazard
Emergency Response Act (AHERA)
requires schools to inspect for asbestos
and submit publicly-available manage-
ment plans to states. EPA has begun to
re-educate local education authorities
on the Federal requirements for
asbestos in schools and AHERA by
partnering with the National Parent
Teacher Association, the National
Education Association, the American
Association of School Administrators,
and the Department of Education. The
Agency is distributing updated outreach
materials on asbestos in schools and
AHERA compliance and working with
other Federal agencies, such as the
Bureau of Indian Affairs to distribute
information to tribes.
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Smart Growth and
Children's Health
Urban development that
incorporates smart growth
principles can provide clear
health benefits to children, includ-
ing improved air and water quality,
walkable cities, and preservation of
green spaces.
Smart Growth Grants: EPA funded five
programs to protect children's health
from environmental risks by implement-
ing smart growth principles. These grants
included a walkability audit, a safe-
routes-to-school program, smart growth
and children's health curriculum devel-
opment, creation of a multi-use path
connecting schools and an initiative to
eradicate lead hazards from homes. The
grants emphasize projects that feature
innovative and replicable ideas on smart
growth and children's environmental
health. Visit www.epa.gov/
smartgrowth/grants.
State and Community
Actions to Protect
Children
EPA works with states in many
creative and innovative ways
to bolster environmental
protections for children's health.
In EPA Region 10, the Northwest
Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty
Unit (PEHSU) brought together over 150
health care professionals for an accredited
course on Controversies and Advances
in Pediatric Environmental Health. In
2006, the focus will be on children and
pesticides. See the Region 10 PEHSU
site at http://depts.washington.edu/
pehsu/index.html.
EPA Region 8, the Rocky Mountain
PEHSU, states, universities, medical
centers, and local agencies conducted
three children's environmental health
summits, resulting in many actions. For
example, Montana has created a chil-
dren's environmental health network;
Montana and Utah have developed
excellent informational web pages; the
Utah governor declared October 2004
Children's Health Month; and Colorado,
Utah and Wyoming public health and
environmental health associations have
included children's environmental health
issues in their annual conferences. Visit
the Rocky Mountain PEHSU site at
http://rmrpehsu.org/ and www.epa.gov/
regionS/humanhealth/children.
EPA Region 4, and the U.S. Department
of Agriculture Cooperative State
Research, Education, and Extension
Service, and the 1890 Traditional Black
Land Grant Colleges and Universities
increased awareness of children's envi-
ronmental health hazards, reaching over
80 percent of the counties in the
Southeast Region and over 17 million
people via conferences, health fairs, and
media programming. A children's health
working group has been established in
each of the Region 4 states.
The Environmental Council of the
States and the Association of State and
Territorial Health Officials, with support
from EPA and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, are implement-
ing a national action agenda to reduce
environmental triggers of childhood
asthma. See Catching Your Breath:
Strategies to Reduce Environmental
Factors that Contribute to Asthma in
Children at www.astho.org/pubs/
CatchingYourBreathReport. pdf.
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Teaching Children
Children are eager to learn
about their environment
and their bodies. EPA has
materials and programs in place
to educate kids about children's
environmental health.
Resource Booklet for Youth: Live,
Learn, Play, Tune-In to Your Environment
is a new resource booklet for children
from ages 10 to 16. It contains informa-
tion, illustrations, activities, and music
on children's environmental health
issues. The booklet is available free at
www.epa.gov/ncepihom/ordering.htm
Reaching Youth Groups: EPA Region 4
and the Northwest Georgia Girl Scout
Council hosted the Environmental
Awareness Day for the last 3 years.
More that 50 EPA volunteers developed
and ran activities to help more than 700
scouts earn their Eco-Action and
Environmental Health Badges. Region 4
has also developed a toolkit to enable
others to replicate these activities. EPA's
Region 8 and their local Girl Scout
Council also sponsor a children's envi-
ronmental health badge day for girls
from 3^ grade to high school.
Air Quality Information: EPA's Air
Quality Kits-To-Go educate children
about air pollution topics. The kits were
originally created for agency employees
to provide air pollution lessons to local
school districts; their popularity drove
EPA to develop a national program. Visit
www.epa.gov/apti.
"In The Air": EPA and the Missouri
Botanical Garden's Earth Ways Center
developed materials to help K-12 stu-
dents understand how individual and
collective behaviors result in airborne
toxics and how these pollutants affect
their health. In The Air received EPA's
2005 Children's Environmental Health
recognition award. To download free
materials, visit www.intheair.org.
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Protect Children,
Protect Our Future
Protecting the environments where children live, grow, and learn enables them to thrive and
develop into healthy and productive adults. Environmental illnesses are largely preventable,
expensive to treat, and often irreversible in their health effects. Children are different from
adults, their bodies are developing, they interact with the environment differently and they play
closer to many harmful pollutants.
The health of children depends on the quality of their environment. All their environments need to
be safe: from the womb to the crib, from home to school, from local communities to global villages.
For more information, visit EPA's Office of Children's Health Protection Web site:
www.epa.gov/children.
&EFK
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Children's
Health Protection
October 2005
EPA100-F-05-041
Recycled/Recyclable
Printed with Vegetable Oil-Based Inks on
Recycled Paper (Minimum 50% Postconsumer)
Process Chlorine Free
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