EPA Clean Power Plan Public Hearing Comments Samantha Ahdoot, MD, FAAP

On behalf of The American Academy of Pediatrics
Good morning everyone. My name is Dr. Samantha Ahdoot. I am a practicing pediatrician in Alexandria, Virginia, a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and a member of the AAP's Council on Environmental Health. I am speaking here today on behalf of the AAP, a non-profit professional organization of 62,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical sub-specialists, and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety, and well-being of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. I am here to express AAP's' support of the ) Y i EPA's effort to reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants and to urge EPA to enact the strongest possible standards to protect the health and development of children. Children are not little adults; they have unique physiologic, behavioral, and developmental differences that amplify their exposure to environmental contaminants. Children breathe at faster rate than adults, spend more time outside, and have proportionately greater skin surface exposed to the environment. AII of this contributes to children's disproportionate exposure to environmental contaminants. Additionally, as

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environmental exposures during specific developmental windows.

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~ 9 disproportionately bear the burden of the negative health effects of climate change. According to the World Health Organization, over 80 percent of the current health burden from the changing climate is on children younger than five years old. Climate change has broad ranging health_

~ ffects that are especially detrimental to vulnerable populations s46h--.as children. This includes weather disasters, increases and pole-ward migration of climate sensitive infections, increases in allergic and asthmatic diseases, food and water insecurity, and increased heat-related deaths. Adverse childh experiences in the

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### rt ive , ~ relationships with adults, including the effects of rr6tural disasters resulting from climate change, can contribute to

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~ Cic stress, with lifelong health effects. Power plants contribute approximately one-third of all U.S. greenhouse gas pollution, serving as a leading contributor to climate change. Reducing the carbon emissions of existing fossil fuel-fired power

f'~,~~ •V' ' plants represents a major step a `toward addressing a key component of climate change in the U.S and stemming the tide of climate change and its myriad attendant negative health.effeGts.

FaIn the near term, there are also extremely positive co-benefits to

reducing carbon pollution that have an immediate impact on child health, such as reducing emission of other pollutants and the resulting creation of harmful ozone. When fully implemented 1t+2030, EPA's proposal will result in 6,600 fewer premature deaths, 150,000 fewer child asthma attacks, 180,000 fewer missed school days, and 3,700 fewer cases of child bronchitis. The AAP applauds the EPA for considering the unique vulnerabilities of children in its development of this proposed rule. The AAP urges the EPA to adopt the strongest possible carbon pollution standards for existing power plants to ensure the rule provides the optimal possible child health benefit. Thank you for your time and for havin

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~~ y to provide comments on this pr-oposed rule.

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