The mission of the United States 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to 

protect human health and the environment. 

Recently, the World Health Organization 

estimated that as much as 24 percent of 

global disease is caused by avoidable 

environmental exposures, and that the 

environment significantly affects more than 

80 percent of major diseases. More than 

33 percent of disease in children under 

the age of five is caused by environmental 

exposures (WHO, 2006). EPA is taking action in 

response to the clear evidence that children 

face unique risks for these reasons:

• The neurological, immunological, respiratory, 

digestive and other body systems in children 

are still developing and are more easily 

harmed by environmental exposures;

• Children eat more food, drink more fluids, and 

breathe more air than adults in proportion 

to their body mass—their food, water, and 

air must therefore be especially safe;

• Children play and learn by crawling and placing 

hands and objects in their mouths—increasing 

their potential exposure to environmental 

contaminants. They do not understand risk 

until they get older and are more mature, 

again enhancing exposure potential;

• There are unique exposure pathways such as 

through the placenta and through breast milk;

• Children have a long life expectancy 

during which the consequences of 

exposures might become evident; and

• Children are limited in their capacity to 

communicate and urge action about their 

environmental health risks, so others 

must speak and act on their behalf.

Children’s Environmental 

Health: 2006 Report

Environment, Health, and a 

Focus on Children

Children’s Environmental Health: 2006 Report
2 Children’s Environmental Health: 2006 Report

This annual publication 

highlights a variety of efforts 

across EPA undertaken 

explicitly to improve the environments 

where children live, learn and play. 

We discuss recent projects to improve 

school environments, address indoor and 

outdoor air quality, and reduce exposures 

to chemicals and pesticides. We also 

highlight research, regulatory, and data 

development work, as well as efforts to 

protect children from overexposure to 

the sun, to train healthcare providers and 

to provide international leadership. 

Protecting Children 

in Schools

In order to learn, children must have safe 

and healthy schools and they must be able 

to concentrate, free from environmentallyrelated conditions that may precede illness. 

Asthma, lead poisoning, inadequate ventilation, 

moisture and mold problems, improper use 

of pesticides, and inadequate chemical 

management are all environmental issues 

in schools. EPA is taking an integrated 

and coordinated approach to improve the 

health, productivity and performance of 53 

million children and 6 million staff in the 

nation’s 120,000 public and private schools 

while saving energy, resources and money. 

HealthySEAT: Efforts to help school administrators 

ensure that students and staff have safe and healthy 

environments in which to learn and work were 

accelerated in 2006 with the release of the Healthy 

School Environments Assessment Tool (HealthySEAT). 

The new HealthySEAT software developed by 

EPA allows school systems to establish and 

manage voluntary, comprehensive, environmental 

management systems for all of their school 

facility environmental health and safety issues. 

HealthySEAT is a free software tool that comes 

pre-loaded with approximately 400 assessment 

actions covering the major elements of all of EPA’s 

regulatory and voluntary programs for schools, 

and many from other Federal agencies as well. 

HealthySEAT is designed to be customized to reflect 

the school district’s own issues and priorities, 

and to track the status of facility conditions and 

improvements school by school. Based on a 

model created by the Los Angeles Unified School 

District and developed in collaboration with 

several states and school districts across the 

country, HealthySEAT provides a truly integrated 

approach to protecting children’s health in 

schools. For more infor dmation and to download 

HealthySEAT, visit www.epa.gov/schools/. 
Children’s Environmental Health: 2006 Report 3

Indoor Air Quality: In 2006, EPA is recruiting 

1,200 schools to implement indoor air quality 

management practices, bringing the total over 

ten years to 35,000 schools. These practices 

have reduced exposure to indoor pollutants and 

improved the indoor environment and health of 

approximately 18 million students, faculty, and 

staff. EPA’s Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools

Program (IAQ TfS) has been supporting schools for 

over a decade with the goal to reduce exposures to 

indoor environmental contaminants in 35 percent of 

America’s schools by 2012 through the promotion of 

voluntary adoption of IAQ management practices. 

Key elements of the program include outreach and 

education, training, technical tool development, 

and awards. Visit www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/.

Chemical Cleanout and Prevention Program:

EPA continues to encourage safe chemical 

management and to help state, local, and tribal 

programs remove dangerous chemicals from schools. 

EPA encourages school districts and communities 

to promote a safer learning environment through 

use of its informational material and Web site with 

valuable resources for teachers, administrators, and 

community partners. Visit www.epa.gov/sc3/.

Chemical and Waste Management—

the Lansing, Michigan Pilot: Throughout the 

United States, school districts struggle to find 

cost-effective and comprehensive solutions to their 

chemical and waste management challenges. EPA 

recently supported a revolutionary pilot to improve 

chemical and waste management in schools. 

Rather than placing additional burden on teachers 

and other school personnel, the school district’s 

supply chain was transformed from product sellers 

to product service providers, using their expertise 

to comprehensively improve chemical and waste 

management without additional cost to the school 

district. General Motors, Chemical Strategies 

Partnership, Michigan Department of Environmental 

Quality, and EPA partnered to make this pilot a 

success. A step-by-step workbook based on the 

Lansing Public School District Pilot is being created 

to assist interested organizations. See www.epa.

gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/minimize/cms.htm.

Reducing Lead in Drinking Water: EPA 

developed a suite of new tools and guidance 

documents to encourage schools and child care 

facilities to implement the 3T’s (Training, Testing, 

Telling)—a voluntary lead in drinking water 

reduction program. Exposure to lead is a significant 

health concern, especially for young children and 

infants, whose growing bodies tend to absorb more 

lead than the average adult. EPA’s objective is to 

provide school officials and child care providers 

with the tools they need to understand and 

address lead in drinking water in their facilities. 

Visit www.epa.gov/safewater/schools. 

Clean School Bus USA: EPA launched its Clean 

School Bus USA program in 2003 to reduce children’s 

exposure to diesel exhaust from school buses. 

When inhaled, pollutants in diesel exhaust may 

aggravate asthma and allergies or cause other 

serious health problems for children. At least 80 

communities in 40 states have lowered pollution 

from their local school buses as a direct result of 

almost $18 million in Clean School Bus grants. As 

a result, over 2 million children are riding cleaner 

school buses. Over 20,000 school buses have been 

involved in Clean School Bus projects and nearly 

1000 tons of soot will be reduced at their conclusion. 

The benefits to children and communities are less 

exposure to particulate matter in diesel exhaust 

and fewer asthma episodes and emergency room 

visits. Visit www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus/.

Energy Efficiency and Children’s Health:

EPA’s ENERGY STAR program helps improve the 

school environment for our children by providing 

better lighting, reducing indoor and outdoor air 

contaminants, and regulating temperature and 

humidity to prevent mold and dust mites. School 

districts spend more than $5 billion annually on 

energy. Typically, 30 percent of the energy used in 

a school is wasted. Energy efficiency reduces costs 

and provides a cleaner living environment. Of the 

9,000 school buildings tested, more than 470 have 

earned the ENERGY STAR logo. Buildings that have 

earned the logo use about 40 percent less energy 

than average buildings. See www.energystar.gov/.
4 Children’s Environmental Health: 2006 Report

SunWise Program: Ultraviolet (UV) rays from the 

sun are classified as a human carcinogen. Serious 

health effects, including skin cancer, eye damage, 

cataracts, and immune system suppression can 

be caused by overexposure to the sun. SunWise 

teaches children and their caregivers how to protect 

themselves from overexposure to the sun, and has 

been shown to be effective at increasing sun safety 

knowledge and awareness in children ages 5 to 12. 

More than 14,000 schools and informal learning 

centers are signed up for the SunWise Program 

(up from 12,000 in 2005), making SunWise the 

most widely used public health education program 

in the country. Visit www.epa.gov/sunwise.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM): An IPM 

program employs common sense strategies to reduce 

sources of food, water and shelter for pests. IPM 

programs take advantage of all pest management 

strategies, including careful use of pesticides when 

necessary. Integrated pest management provides an 

opportunity to create a safer learning environment—

to reduce children’s exposure to pesticides as well as 

eliminate pests. EPA is encouraging school officials 

to adopt IPM practices to reduce children’s exposure 

to pesticides. The IPM Institute of North America’s 

IPM STAR school certification program ensures IPM 

is practiced in schools. The Monroe Model, from 

Monroe County, Indiana, is known for its ability to 

engage staff at all levels in pest management and 

has been widely adopted. Both of the models are 

being demonstrated throughout many parts of the 

United States. These two models have positively 

affected more than 3 million students and staff in 

our nation’s schools. The measure of their success 

is the exposure reduction achieved. On average, 

schools show a 71 percent reduction in pesticide 

applications and a 78 percent reduction in pest 

complaints. See www.epa.gov/pesticides/ipm/.

Children and the Air 

They Breathe 

Air pollution, whether indoors or 

out, affects the health of children 

in countries all over the world. 

While playing or at rest, children 

breathe more rapidly and inhale 

more pollutants per pound of 

body weight than adults. The 

airway passages in children are 

narrower than those in adults, and 

irritation caused by air pollution can result in 

proportionately greater airway obstruction 

(American Academy of Pediatrics Committee 

on Environmental Health, 2003). In addition 

to associations between air pollution and 

respiratory symptoms, asthma exacerbations, 

and asthma hospitalizations, recent studies 

also find links between air pollution and 

preterm birth, infant mortality, deficits in 

lung growth, and possibly, development 

of asthma (PEDIATRICS Vol. 114 No. 6).

Asthma: While health effects of exposure to 

polluted air vary by type of pollutants inhaled and 

the exposure level, a look at recent asthma research 

findings and statistics illustrates the importance of 

clean air for children. Research has shown that: 

• Exposure to dust mites, molds, 

cockroaches, pet dander, and secondhand 

smoke trigger asthma attacks;

• Exposure to secondhand smoke can cause 

asthma in pre-school aged children;
Children’s Environmental Health: 2006 Report 5

• Exposure to dust mites can cause asthma;

• Ozone and particle pollution can 

cause asthma attacks;

• Exposure to particulate matter 

can reduce lung function;

• When ozone levels are high, more 

people with asthma have attacks that 

require a doctor’s attention; and

• Ozone makes people more sensitive 

to asthma triggers such as pet dander, 

pollen, dust mites, and mold.

In the United States, 20 million people, including 

6.1 million children, have asthma, which accounts 

for more than 14 million outpatient clinic visits and 

nearly 2 million emergency department visits each 

year. African Americans continue to have higher 

rates of asthma emergency department visits 

(380 percent higher), hospitalizations (225 percent 

higher), and deaths (200 percent higher) than 

Caucasians. Approximately 2 million Hispanics in 

the United States have asthma and Puerto Ricans 

are disproportionately affected. Asthma is the 

most common serious chronic disease of childhood, 

costing society annual expenditures for health and 

lost productivity estimated at $16 billion. More 

information is available at www.epa.gov/asthma. 

Controlling Asthma: EPA launched a new effort 

to support communities in delivering quality asthma 

care. The Communities in Action for Asthma 

Friendly Environments Network links communitybased asthma programs committed to improving 

health outcomes and sharing knowledge, resources 

and tools. Network participants pursue strategies 

to achieve positive health outcomes, including 

cultivating strong program leaders, establishing 

sound community relationships, maximizing 

cooperative opportunities, providing integrated 

healthcare services, and implementing tailored 

environmental interventions. The network is 

supported through an interactive Web site which 

provides the platform for real-time education, 

communication, resource sharing, and recognition. 

See www.asthmacommunitynetwork.org.

Innovative Asthma Programs: EPA’s National 

Environmental Leadership Award in Asthma 

Management recognizes health plans and 

healthcare providers who have demonstrated 

leadership in managing environmental triggers 

as part of a comprehensive asthma management 

program. Award winners serve as mentors and 

models for best practices in asthma care. This 

year EPA recognized two organizations: 

IMPACT DC: With comprehensive asthma 

management for children, IMPACT DC, a 

program of the Children’s Research Institute 

at Children’s National Medical Center in 

Washington, D.C., reduces emergency room 

visits and decreases asthma severity. The 

program’s unique approach uses the emergency 

department to identify and educate asthma 

patients, link them to primary care physicians 

or Medicaid managed care organizations, and 

follow them to ensure they receive effective 

long-term care. IMPACT DC’s educational 

activities resulted in increased behaviors to 

reduce exposure to environmental triggers. The 

proportion of families using a mattress pad or 

pillow cover on a child’s bed after receiving the 

program’s asthma counseling was 75 percent 

compared with 23 percent in the control group. 
6 Children’s Environmental Health: 2006 Report

Blue Cross of California, SSB: This managed 

care system demonstrates leading-edge 

approaches to asthma care by providing multilingual pharmacist consultations, home visits 

to assess environmental risks for high risk 

members, and incentives for physicians who 

follow the program’s guidelines. As a result 

of its asthma education program, Blue Cross 

of California, SSB decreased hospitalizations 

by 60 percent and emergency room visits by 

46 percent for continually-enrolled members. 

In addition, Blue Cross of California, SSB 

contributes to education and research efforts 

addressing air quality and its effect on asthma 

through a community-wide coalition it founded.

Emission Standards: In March, EPA announced 

proposed new emission standards to reduce toxic 

fumes and associated health risks from gasoline, 

vehicles, and gas containers. By 2030, these 

proposed Mobile Source Air Toxic regulations and 

fuel and vehicle standards should reduce toxic 

emissions from passenger vehicles to 80 percent 

below 1999 emissions. The proposed standards 

would take effect in 2011 for fuel requirements, 

2010 for passenger vehicles, and 2009 for fuel 

containers. The proposal, supporting documentation, 

and information about submitting comments are 

online at www.epa.gov/otaq/toxics.htm#mobile.

Air Toxics and Dry Cleaners: On July 13th, 

EPA announced a new rule to reduce emissions 

of perchloroethylene (perc) from all dry cleaners, 

including a phase-out of the chemical in existing 

dry cleaners located in residential buildings. The 

rule prohibits the use of perc in any new coresidential dry cleaner. About 28,000 dry cleaners 

across the country, many in major cities such 

as New York and Washington D.C., use perc in 

the wash cycle to clean clothes. Of the total, 

1,300 operate in residential buildings. Because 

apartments in these buildings are located very 

close to dry cleaners, residents’ exposures and 

their estimated cancer risks can be much higher 

than for typical area source dry cleaners. Perc has 

been shown in animal studies to cause cancer. In 

addition, recent studies on residential exposures to 

perchloroethylene have found neurological effects 

in residents living near dry cleaning facilities. Perc 

can cross the placenta and effects on developing 

nervous systems could pose a special concern for 

fetuses and young children. For more information, 

visit www.epa.gov/air/drycleaningrule.

Children and Secondhand Smoke: Exposure to 

secondhand smoke increases the risks of asthma 

episodes, middle ear, and lower respiratory tract 

infections, such as pneumonia and bronchitis. A 

recent EPA survey showed that approximately 20 

percent of children with asthma are exposed to 

secondhand smoke in their homes. Asthma and 

secondhand smoke exposure rates are higher in 

low-income and low education households, with 

parents accounting for a majority of the exposure. 

By 2005, more than 120,000 parents and caregivers 

committed to keep smoke-free homes and cars for 

children by taking EPA’s Smoke-free Home and Car 

Pledge. To take the Pledge and to find out more 

about how to protect children from secondhand 

smoke, visit www.epa.gov/smokefree. 

Teaching Students about Air Pollution:

Air Pollution: What’s the Solution? is an online 

educational curriculum that uses real-time data to 

help students in grades 6 through 12 discover the 

science behind the causes and effects of outdoor 

air pollution. Students use scientific data and 

animated maps to monitor the presence of pollution 

and gain a better understanding of air pollution 

and the associated health effects. Visit www.

k12science.org/curriculum/airproj/index.html. 

EPA and the Weather Channel sponsored a twenty 

minute program to show how air quality can affect 

people and their health and to explain actions to 

reduce air pollution. The segment offers valuable 

information about the dangers of air pollution and 

stresses the effects it has on the environment 

and human health. The video is available free 

online at www.epa.gov/apti/broadcast.

html in the section titled “Forecast Earth.” 
Children’s Environmental Health: 2006 Report 7

Protecting Children from 

Chemical Exposures

There are up to 80,000 chemicals registered 

for manufacture in the United States, and only 

a fraction of these have been tested for their 

effects on human health. Children are exposed 

to chemicals every day, as they are ubiquitous: 

in schools, child care centers, farms, fields, 

grocery stores, homes, lawns, and dry cleaners. 

Chemicals are also found in thousands of 

consumer products, including children’s toys. 

Toxicity and Exposure Assessment for 

Children’s Health (TEACH): TEACH consolidates 

children’s health and related developmental 

toxicology information from the scientific literature 

and improves access to that information through an 

interactive Web site. TEACH complements existing 

informational tools on health risks to children from 

exposure to chemicals in the environment. The 

TEACH Web site includes two main components: 

a searchable database and chemical summaries. 

The TEACH Database contains summaries of 

research articles from peer-reviewed journals 

that pertain to early life and childhood exposure 

and health effects for the TEACH chemicals of 

concern. The TEACH Chemical Summaries highlight 

information from the TEACH Database and other 

federal resources in a standardized format for each 

TEACH chemical of concern. The site includes a 

database of research articles from peer-reviewed 

journals that pertain to early life and childhood 

exposure and health effects for each chemical. 

Eighteen chemicals or chemical groups are currently 

in TEACH, chosen because of their potential 

effects on children’s health. They are: arsenic, 

benzo(a)pyrene, benzene, formaldehyde, manganese, 

alkyl mercury, elemental mercury, inorganic mercury, 

nitrates/nitrites, phthalates, polychlorinated 

biphenyls (PCBs), trichloroethylene (TCE), vinyl 

chloride, and five pesticides: atrazine, 2,4-

dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), diethyltoluamide 

(DEET), dichlorvos, and pyrethroids (permethrin 

and resmethrin). Visit www.epa.gov/teach/.

2010/15 PFOA Stewardship: In January of 2006, 

EPA invited the eight fluoropolymer and telomer 

manufacturers to participate in a global stewardship 

program on PFOA and related chemicals. PFOA, 

also known as C8 or Ammonium Perfluorooctanoate 

(APFO), is used in the manufacturing process of 

fluoropolymers which impart desirable properties, 

including fire resistance and oil, stain, grease, and 

water repellency. They are used to provide non-stick 

surfaces on cookware and waterproof, breathable 

membranes for clothing. PFOA is persistent in 

the environment. It has been detected in low 

levels in wildlife and humans, and animal studies 

have indicated developmental and other effects 

of concern. Companies were asked to commit 

to reducing PFOA from emissions and product 

content by 95 percent no later than 2010, and to 

work toward eliminating PFOA from emissions 

and product content no later than 2015. Eight 

companies made commitments to participate in 

this program: Arkema, Asahi, Ciba, Clariant, Daikin, 

DuPont, 3M/Dyneon, and Solvay Solexis. For more 

information, see www.epa.gov/oppt/pfoa/.
8 Children’s Environmental Health: 2006 Report

Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs):

EPA released a PBDE project plan to summarize 

relevant information on this group of brominated 

flame retardant chemicals. EPA is working with all 

parties to ensure that fire safety, environmental 

concerns, and public health are all considered 

for these chemicals, which are widely used in 

a variety of manufactured products. Concerns 

about liver toxicity, thyroid toxicity, developmental 

toxicity and developmental neurotoxicity are 

particularly important for children. The plan outlines 

EPA’s overall approach to activities for these 

chemicals, which includes pentabromodiphenyl 

ether (pentaBDE), octabromodiphenyl ether 

(octaBDE), and decabromodiphenyl ether 

(decaBDE). Visit www.epa.gov/oppt/pbde/.

Integrated Pest Management in Public 

Housing: Over 2.5 million people live in public 

housing, and many are families with young children. 

Controlling common pests like cockroaches and 

rodents is an enduring challenge for low-income 

families. Research has shown that cockroaches and 

rodents are common asthma triggers for children 

living in urban environments. In collaboration 

with the National Centers for Disease Control 

and Prevention, the Department of Housing and 

Urban Development, and the National Center for 

Healthy Housing, EPA is providing integrated pest 

management training for public health and housing 

officials as well as for residents of subsidized 

housing to control pests and minimize exposure 

to pesticides. EPA is also sponsoring two projects 

with the Providence Housing Authority and the 

Housing Authority of the District of Columbia in 

an effort to transform pest management practices 

and evaluate health outcomes for residents. 

Hispanic Outreach and Pesticide Safety: EPA 

reached out to over 3 million Latinos through national 

and local TV, radio, and print to promote pesticide 

safety for Spanish-speaking farmworker families 

during National Poison Prevention Week. During 

the campaign, the Agency made special efforts to 

convey the need to protect children of farmworkers 

from exposure to pesticide residues where they live 

and play. An estimated 84 percent of the farmworker 

labor force is Spanish-speaking and many rely on 

Spanish language media for their health information. 

Lead-Based Paint: EPA proposed new 

requirements for contractors and construction 

professionals when working in homes that contain 

lead-based paint. The goal of these requirements 

is to reduce lead exposure to children. EPA is 

proposing that contractors be trained in the use 

of lead-safe work practices, renovators and firms 

be certified, providers of renovation training be 

accredited, and renovators follow protective work 

practice standards. For more information visit 

www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm. 

Children and Toxics: A report by the Commission 

for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) profiles 

children’s health and the relative risk of industrial 

chemicals. Using pollution data from Canada 

and the United States, the report highlights 

our need to better understand exposures to 

industrial chemicals as well as chemicals used 

in residential and school settings, and the 

association of these chemicals with potential 

health effects in children. This report is available 

on the CEC Web site www.cec.org/pubs_.
Children’s Environmental Health: 2006 Report 9

Indicators of Children’s 

Environmental Health

To guide and improve environmental, health, 

and development policy in the United 

States and throughout the world, EPA has 

spearheaded efforts to fill information and 

data gaps on environmental conditions 

and health outcomes in children.

America’s Children and the Environment:

This series of reports on measures helps 

track and understand the potential impacts of 

environmental contaminants on children’s health 

and, ultimately help to identify and evaluate 

ways to minimize environmental impacts on 

children. The reports bring together quantitative 

information from a variety of sources to show 

trends in levels of environmental contaminants 

in air, water, food, and soil; concentrations of 

contaminants measured in the bodies of children 

and women; and highlight childhood illnesses that 

may be influenced by exposure to environmental 

contaminants. In 2006, new data are available 

at www.epa.gov/envirohealth/children. 

Global Indicators: EPA launched a partnership 

to develop global indicators for children’s 

environmental health at the World Summit on 

Sustainable Development in 2002. The partnership 

is working to increase understanding and improve 

the quality of information about the linkages 

between environmental conditions and human 

health outcomes and will enable us to measure 

progress toward improving environments for 

children. The partnership includes governments, 

non-governmental organizations, and international 

organizations and is managed by the World Health 

Organization. Progress on indicator development 

is being made in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, 

and in North America. Visit www.who.int/ceh/.

North American Indicators: Thirteen children’s 

environmental health indicators for Mexico, the 

United States, and Canada were developed under 

the auspices of the Commission for Environmental 

Cooperation in partnership with the International 

Joint Commission, the Pan-American Health 

Organization, the World Health Organization, and the 

governments of the three countries. Indicators cover 

asthma and respiratory disease, exposure to lead and 

other toxic substances, and waterborne diseases. 

See results and data at www.cec.org/pubs.
10 Children’s Environmental Health: 2006 Report

Promoting Pediatric 

Environmental 

Health Expertise

Environmental health is currently an 

insignificant part of health professional 

education. Yet the public relies on doctors and 

nurses for their health information, including 

that related to environmental exposures. 

Healthcare providers receive little or no 

training about the health problems related to 

the environment, yet they are recognized by 

the public as the most authoritative source 

of health information. In response, EPA has 

undertaken a variety of efforts to provide 

recognized centers of children’s environmental 

health expertise, promote learning about 

the environmental causes of diseases in the 

healthcare community, and to create training 

materials for healthcare providers. EPA is 

better able to safeguard human health when 

healthcare providers are able to address 

pediatric environmental health concerns. 

Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty 

Units (PEHSU): EPA and the Agency for Toxic 

Substances and Disease Registry support a program 

that enables experts to educate other healthcare 

providers, consult on diagnosis and treatment of 

environmentally-related illness, and educate the 

public about children’s environmental health. The 

program has been recognized by other countries 

and international organizations as effective and 

worth emulating. See www.aoec.org/pehsu.

Katrina Response: Recent hurricanes along 

the Gulf Coast and flooding in New Orleans 

presented environmental and health problems 

for the entire population, and EPA worked with 

the PEHSUs to address the unique needs and 

vulnerabilities of children. For example:

• children get dehydrated more quickly than adults;

• children suffer the effects of unclean 

drinking water before adults; and

• children with asthma may be affected by 

pollutants in flooded homes and outdoor air.

See www.epa.gov/katrina/faqs.htm#13

for information addressing:

• how to provide clean water to children 

in disaster-affected areas;

• how to clean up after a flood in a manner 

that is protective of children; 

• what to do with toys that were in flood waters; 

• how to protect children from 

exposure to mold; and

• whether to allow older children 

to help in clean up work. 

PEHSU Research: The investigators of the 

MidAmerica Pediatric Environmental Health 

Specialty Unit are doing a pilot study to assess the 

effect of exposure to diesel bus emissions in the 

schoolyard on pediatric respiratory health. This is 

an observational risk assessment study to test two 

hypotheses: 1) There is a direct relationship between 

concentration of particulate matter and severity 

of respiratory symptoms experienced by students 

exposed to school bus emissions; and 2) The 

amount of particulate matter that children breathe 

at school is partially determined by the combined 

action of three variables: a) the number of buses 

that service the school; b) whether the buses leave 

their motors running while parked at the school; 

and c) whether the students stand in the vicinity 

of the buses during drop-off and pick-up times. 
Children’s Environmental Health: 2006 Report 11

Capacity Building for 

Health Professionals

EPA awarded seven grants (totaling $1,042,152) 

to help increase the number of physicians, 

nurses and public health workers able to 

address the broad spectrum of children’s 

environmental health issues, whether in their 

private practices, in the institutions where they 

work, in academia, or in their communities. 

Canadian Institute of Child Health (Institut 

Canadien de la sante infantile) is training 

as many as 37,000 healthcare professionals in 

Canada, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Chile to 

recognize, assess and initiate protocols to prevent 

environmentally-related diseases in children. 

Master Trainers have been identified in four South 

American countries and Canada for the August 

2006 workshops in Buenos Aires and Canada. 

Visit www.cich.ca/projects/epa/Index.htm.

University of Massachusetts Lowell focuses 

on health professionals who serve low-income, 

immigrant/refugee, and minority children in 

small cities and rural areas in New England. This 

population is generally underserved by children’s 

environmental health capacity building efforts 

although it suffers disproportionately from the 

impacts of environmental contaminants. Workshops 

for nurses and other public health professionals are 

being conducted in all six New England states. 

National Center for Healthy Housing is 

delivering training to public health nurses in 

residential environmental health and safety hazards. 

Substandard housing is a key determinant of health 

and has been linked to childhood lead poisoning, 

asthma and respiratory disease, and unintentional 

injuries. Training is being offered through NCHH’s 

National Healthy Homes Training Center and 

Network, a national training program funded by 

the CDC, HUD, and EPA. The training is delivered 

through a network of five university partners. 

Visit www.centerforhealthyhousing.org. 

Greater Boston Physicians for Social 

Responsibility (GBPSR) is coordinating the 

Pediatric Environmental Health Toolkit Training 

Program in five states (Massachusetts, California, 

Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington) adapting 

their new clinical tool, the Pediatric Environmental 

Health Toolkit as the core curriculum. The program 

is directly training 250 health professionals who 

care for children and an additional 1250 providers 

through peer training. Training programs are 

conducted in collaboration with PSR chapters, 

local American Academy of Pediatric chapters, 

and medical schools with whom GBPSR previously 

conducted their In Harm’s Way Continuing Medical 

Education courses. The Toolkit was developed by 

GBPSR and the San Francisco Bay Area chapters of 

Physicians for Social Responsibility in partnership 

with the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty 

Unit at the University of California, San Francisco, 

and a team of pediatricians from around the country. 

Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics 

endorsed the Toolkit. See www.igc.org/psr.
12 Children’s Environmental Health: 2006 Report

Northeastern Ohio Universities - College of 

Medicine (NEOUCOM) is offering post-graduate 

training in pediatric environmental health to 

pediatricians in five countries in Central and Eastern 

Europe (Romania, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, 

and Croatia). Lectures and didactic exercises 

are delivered via the internet using two-way 

synchronous audio with graphics to be followed 

by a final workshop in Bratislava, Slovakia.

International Pediatric Association is launching 

a virtual International Pediatric Environmental 

Health Leadership Institute that could train up to 

500,000 pediatricians about children’s environmental 

health and improve their capacities for leadership 

in the recognition, diagnosis, prevention, and 

management of pediatric diseases linked to 

the environment. Eighty-eight participants from 

African countries attended the first workshop in 

Nairobi, Kenya including 60 medical professionals 

from 21 African countries. An outcome of the 

Nairobi workshop was a statement on children’s 

environmental health. The second workshop will 

be in Cochin, India. IPA will evaluate the training 

by certifying pediatricians in environmental 

health through written and oral exams.

National Environmental Education and Training 

Foundation is creating children’s environmental 

health faculty champions at medical and nursing 

schools throughout the country. Twenty-eight 

faculty champions selected from academic centers 

will take a leadership role in integrating children’s 

environmental health into their institutions in a 

sustainable fashion, lend expertise and support in 

their institutions and surrounding communities, teach 

courses, integrate competencies into curriculum, and 

serve as a model for how to integrate environmental 

health into health professional education. The 

faculty champions will train an additional 300 plus 

health professionals at academic institutions who 

can incorporate children’s environmental health 

into their teachings and clinical practices. The 

training tools will also be disseminated through 

these cosponsors: American Academy of Pediatrics, 

Ambulatory Pediatric Association, American 

Association of Colleges of Nursing, Association 

of Academic Health Centers, and the National 

Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. 

Studying Environmental 

Exposures and 

Children’s Health

Scientists, environmental and health 

managers, healthcare professionals, and 

policy makers need to know more about 

environmental factors and whether they are 

harmful, harmless or helpful to children’s 

health and development. Studies conducted 

with adults often have unknown application 

for characterizing risk to children. Recent 

research has contributed greatly to our 

understanding of how environmental 

exposures early in life may lead to childhood 

diseases or diseases later in life. 

Research Findings: EPA and the National Institute 

for Environmental Health Sciences support eleven 

Centers for Children’s Environmental Health 

and Disease Prevention Research. The Centers 

use community-based participatory research to 

understand and prevent children’s exposure to 

environmental hazards. The research centers are 

developing innovative ways to investigate the role 

of environmental stressors in important childhood 

disorders such as asthma, autism, and learning 

disabilities and finding effective strategies to reduce 

the risks from these exposures. Highlights include:

Air Pollution Exposure and Respiratory Health 

• Disadvantaged asthmatic children in urban 

areas appear to be at an increased risk for 

higher residential allergen and elevated 

air pollution exposure. This combination 

of asthma triggers in the home appears to 

contribute to a disparity in asthma burden 

between inner city and non-inner city children. 

(Breysse et al., 2005. Indoor exposure to air 
Children’s Environmental Health: 2006 Report 13

pollutants and allergens in the homes of 

asthmatic children in inner-city Baltimore. 

Environmental Research 98: 167–176)

• Children two years or younger living 

adjacent to major roadways have an 

increased risk of developing asthma. This 

is particularly the case for children without

family history of asthma. This “roadside 

effect” was more pronounced in girls. 

(McConnell et al., 2006. Traffic, Susceptibility, 

and Childhood Asthma. Environmental 

Health Perspectives. 114:766–772)

• Early life exposures to traffic-related pollutants 

in urban environments appear to affect 

the immune system by increasing allergic 

responses, leading to respiratory symptoms in 

children as young as two years old. (Al-alem et 

al., 2006. Association of mouse, cockroach and 

dust mite IgE levels at age 2 with traffic-related 

exposure and respiratory symptoms in an innercity birth cohort. Journal of Allergy Clinical 

Immunology 117(2): Supplement 1, S178)

• Genetic variations in immune response to 

air pollutants may offer protection or confer 

susceptibility to the incidence of asthma. 

Some of these genetic differences appear 

to vary significantly between ethnic groups, 

potentially contributing to health disparities. 

(Yu-Fen et al., 2006. Association of Tumor 

Necrosis Factor G-308A with Childhood 

Asthma and Wheezing. American Journal of 

Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 173: 

970–976 and Donohue et al., 2006. Ethnic 

Differences in Frequencies of Single Nucleotide 

Polymorphisms from Glutathione S-Transferase 

(GST) and IL13. Journal of Allergy Clinical 

Immunology 117(2): Supplement 1, S162)

Pesticide Exposure and Genetic 

Susceptibility to Effects

• Newborns in farmworker communities exposed 

to several organophosphate pesticides (OPs) 

display broad variability in sensitivity to OPs 

due to variations in a particular gene called 

PON1. This gene produces enzymes which 

metabolize many OPs but these enzymes 

vary in both serum levels and detoxification 

efficiencies depending on the version of 

the gene. This is far greater variability 

than previously predicted. (Furlong et al., 

2005. Role of Paraoxonase (PON1) Status in 

Pesticide Sensitivity: Genetic and Temporal 

Determinants. Neurotoxicology 26: 651-

659 and Furlong et al., 2006. PON1 status 

of farmworker mothers and children as a 

predictor of organophosphate sensitivity. 

Pharmacogenetics & Genomics. 16(3):183–190)

• Toddlers in farmworking communities gather 

twice the amount of multiple pesticide residues 

on their clothing compared to crawlers. This 

disparity in pesticide loading was consistent 

with urine samples collected from the children 

in the study. (Bradman et al., 2006. Pesticides 

and their metabolites in the homes and urine 

of farmworker children living in the Salinas 

Valley, CA. Journal of Exposure Sciences 

and Environmental Epidemiology (In press))

• Prenatal exposures to pesticides were 

ubiquitous in one urban cohort of pregnant 

women whose exposure to chlorpyrifos 
14 Children’s Environmental Health: 2006 Report

and diazinon was associated with adverse 

birth outcomes, however, researchers found 

that the recent EPA ban on these two 

residential pesticides reduced exposure 

within their study population and improved 

public health by significantly increasing 

healthy births within a year of the regulation. 

(Whyatt et al., 2004. Prenatal insecticide 

exposures, birth weight and length among 

an urban minority cohort. Environmental 

Health Perspectives 112: 1125–32) 

Complex Chemical Exposure and 

Neurodevelopment Outcomes

• Prenatal exposure to environmental tobacco 

smoke and postpartum social stresses 

experienced by mothers act separately and 

synergistically on cognitive development at 

age two. (Rauh et al., 2004. Developmental 

effects of exposure to environmental tobacco 

smoke and material hardship among inner-city 

children. Neurotoxicology and Teratology 

26: 373–85)

• High prenatal exposure to air pollutants is 

associated with three times greater risk of 

cognitive development delay at age three. 

(Perera et al., 2006. Effect of prenatal 

exposure to airborne polycyclic aromatic 

hydrocarbons on neurodevelopment in the first 

three years of life among inner-city children. 

Environmental Health Perspectives (In press))

Each of the Centers supports a Community Outreach 

and Translation Core to take basic research findings 

into intervention and prevention methods, enhancing 

awareness among communities, healthcare 

professionals, and policy makers.. For example, 

the University of Washington has developed a 

partnership with their Pediatric Environmental Health 

Specialty Unit to conduct continuing education 

courses for healthcare professionals who work 

with children and parents. The Columbia Center 

applied its research findings to an integrated pest 

management intervention in New York City lowincome public housing, convincing city officials 

to replace traditional extermination methods in 

public housing with less toxic techniques. 

The EPA/NIEHS Children’s Environmental Health 

Centers were featured in the October, 2005 issue 

of Environmental Health Perspectives. The issue 

contains a mini-monograph of seven collaborative 

“lessons learned” papers from the Centers. See 

www.ehponline.org/docs/2005/113-10/toc. 

National Children’s Study: The National Children’s 

Study, mandated by Congress in 2000, plans to 

follow 100,000 children from before birth to age 21. 

By working with pregnant women and couples, the 

Study will gather data about how environmental 

factors alone, or interacting with genetic factors, 

affect childhood health. Examining a wide range 

of environmental factors—from air, water, and 

dust to what children eat and how often they see 

a doctor—will help scientists develop prevention 

strategies and cures for a wide range of childhood 

diseases. By collecting data nationwide—before 

diseases arise—this study can test unproven 

theories and generate hypotheses that would 

inform spin-off studies for years to come. 

This interagency effort, led by the National 

Institute of Child Health and Human 

Development in collaboration with EPA, the 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 

and the National Institute of Health Sciences, 

announced the first Vanguard Centers to 

launch and carry out the study in late 2005.
Children’s Environmental Health: 2006 Report 15

The Vanguard Centers are:

• University of California, Irvine with 

Children’s Hospital of Orange County 

for Orange County, California

• Mt. Sinai School of Medicine with Columbia 

University Mailman School of Public Health, 

New York City Dept. of Health and Mental 

Hygiene, University of Medicine and Dentistry 

of New Jersey, and Columbia University 

Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology for 

New York City (Queens), New York 

• University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill 

with Battelle Memorial Institute, and Duke 

University for Duplin County, North Carolina 

• Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and 

Drexel University School of Public Health 

with University of Pennsylvania for 

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 

• University of Utah for Salt Lake County, Utah 

• University of Wisconsin-Madison and Medical 

College of Wisconsin with National Opinion 

Research Center, Marquette University, UWMilwaukee Center for Urban Initiatives Research, 

UW Marine and Freshwater Biomedical 

Sciences Center/Institute for Environmental 

Health, and Children’s Service Center of 

Wisconsin for Waukesha County, Wisconsin

• South Dakota State University with Children’s 

Medical Center of Cincinnati and the 

University of Cincinnati for Brookings County, 

South Dakota and Lincoln, Pipestone, and 

Yellow Medicine Counties, Minnesota

National Children’s 

Study Locations

Vanguard locations labeled
16 Children’s Environmental Health: 2006 Report

The National Children’s Study is developing the 

Study Protocol, a roadmap to guide researchers’ 

sampling, recruitment, and data collection activities. 

EPA is planning a pilot study to test the feasibility 

of household-based recruitment in North Carolina. 

Visit www.nationalchildrensstudy.gov.

International Research Activities: To encourage 

a wider exchange of information on children’s 

environmental research in other countries, 

an International Interest Group has attracted 

investigators worldwide who are currently working 

on or are interested in establishing longitudinal 

cohort studies. The International Interest Group 

complements the National Children’s Study and 

seeks to facilitate communication and sharing 

of ideas. More information is available at 

www.nationalchildrensstudy.gov/about/

organization/program_office/iig/index.cfm. 

International Cancer Research: Around the 

world, several large infant/child prospective studies 

have been launched to examine environmental 

and biological determinants of common diseases. 

A workshop in September, 2005 established an 

International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium—

a global alliance of longitudinal studies of children 

to enable investigations of the role of various 

environmental exposures in the etiology of childhood 

cancer. Because of its longitudinal design and large 

sample size, it will be easier to see associations 

considered statistically meaningful. Initially, this 

effort may provide valuable insights about the causes 

of childhood leukemia, and later may be helpful for 

studying other types of cancer as well as other rare 

childhood diseases. More information is available 

at www.nationalchildrensstudy.gov/about/

organization/program_office/iig/index.cfm. 

Age Groups for Children’s Exposure 

Assessment: Guidance on Selecting Age 

Groups for Monitoring and Assessing Childhood 

Exposures to Environmental Contaminants

helps researchers assess childhood exposure to 

environmental contaminants and the resultant 

potential dose. A consistent set of childhood age 

groups, supported by an underlying scientific 

understanding of differences in behavior and 

physiology that may affect exposures and internal 

dose in children, improves EPA’s exposure and risk 

assessments for children and assists the Agency 

in implementing various regulatory initiatives. 

These age groups will guide future analyses of 

exposure factors data and new research and 

data collection efforts. Documents and additional 

information are available at http://cfpub.epa.

gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=146583. 

Exposure Factors for Children: The 2002 

interim final report on the Child-Specific Exposure 

Factors Handbook is being updated. The document 

provides a summary of the available and up-to-date 

statistical data on factors to use when assessing 

childhood exposures. These include: drinking water 

consumption; soil ingestion; inhalation rates; dermal 

factors such as skin area and soil adherence factors; 

consumption of fruits and vegetables, fish, meats, 

dairy products, homegrown foods, and breast milk; 

activity patterns; body weight; use of consumer 

products; and life expectancy. Documents and 

additional information are available at http://cfpub.

epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=55145. 

Children’s Health Risk Assessment: The 

draft Framework for Assessing Health Risks of 

Environmental Exposure to Children outlines the EPA 

risk assessment process with a focus on childhood 

exposures, identifies sources for more detailed 

information on life stage-specific considerations, 

and includes web links to on-line publications. The 

document emphasizes the need to take into account 

the potential exposures to environmental agents 

during preconception and all stages of development 

and focuses on the relevant adverse health outcomes 
Children’s Environmental Health: 2006 Report 17

that may occur during childhood or later in life as 

a result of such exposures. Visit http://cfpub.epa.

gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=150263. 

A complementary document by the World Health 

Organization’s International Programme on Chemical 

Safety, Principles for Evaluating Health Risks in 

Children Associated with Exposure to Chemicals, 

was supported by EPA and other organizations. See 

www.who.int/ipcs/features/ehc/en/index.html. 

Life Stage Pharmacokinetics: Age-related 

physiological changes in the body may cause 

differences in the way the body handles chemical 

exposures. Models can be used to predict internal 

doses by taking into account the rate of absorption, 

distribution among target organs and tissues, 

metabolism, and elimination from the body. A 

draft report of Approaches for the Application 

of Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic (PBPK) 

Models and Supporting Data in Risk Assessment

addresses the application and evaluation of these 

PBPK models for risk assessment applications. 

The draft document and additional information 

are available at http://cfpub.epa.gov/si/osp_

sciencedisplay.cfm?dirEntryID=135427. A 

final report is expected in November, 2006. 

Research Protections for Children: A rule 

announced in January banned all third-party 

intentional dosing research on pesticides involving 

children and pregnant women intended for 

submission to EPA. EPA will neither conduct nor 

support any intentional dosing studies that involve 

pregnant women or children for all substances EPA 

regulates. Visit www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPAGENERAL/2006/February/Day-06/g1045.htm.

Children’s Inhalation Dosimetry and Health 

Effects for Risk Assessment Workshop: EPA 

hosted this workshop to review existing and 

emerging information on children’s inhalation 

dosimetry, health effects, and risk assessment, 

and to explore and discuss new approaches for 

children’s inhalation risk assessment practice. 

Physiological and behavioral factors distinguish 

children from adults in many ways that affect 

inhalation dosimetry and assessment of health 

effects upon exposure to environmental agents. 

Epidemiology studies suggest that children may be 

more sensitive than adults to a variety of criteria 

air pollutants and air toxics, yet this information 

has been incorporated in risk assessment to only 

a limited extent. The workshop explored key areas 

of children’s inhalation dosimetry, as well as the 

use of biomarkers of exposure and mode-of-action 

information to address children’s health outcomes 

in risk assessment. The summary of the workshop is 

planned for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Protecting All the 

Children of the World

Each year, more than three million children 

under age five die due to environmentallyrelated causes, often from the effects of a basic 

lack of clean air to breathe and clean water to 

drink. Morbidity from chronic overexposure to 

harmful chemicals and pesticides compromises 

the normal growth and development and ability 

to learn for millions more children each year. 
18 Children’s Environmental Health: 2006 Report

Lead Phase-out in Africa: The Partnership for 

Clean Fuels and Vehicles was launched by EPA, the 

United Nations Environment Programme, and dozens 

of other partners more than three years ago at the 

World Summit on Sustainable Development. In 2002, 

leaded gasoline was used in all but one country in 

Sub-Saharan Africa. By January of 2006, with the 

assistance of the Partnership and the World Bank, 

all 49 Sub-Saharan African countries had stopped 

refining and importing leaded gasoline. When the 

remaining supply is exhausted, Sub-Saharan Africa 

will have eliminated the use of leaded gasoline. 

This action to reduce exposure to lead affects 

millions of people and is particularly important 

to Africa’s children, who represent 44 percent 

of the population. The partnership aims to realize 

a global phase-out of leaded gas by the end of 

2008. Learn more at www.unep.org/pcfv. 

Central Asia and Children’s Environmental 

Health: In April of 2005 and June, 2006, scientists 

and policy makers attended the Children’s 

Environmental Health Conference for Central 

Asia, held outside of Almaty, Kazakhstan with 

support from EPA. The focus of the conference 

was on children’s environmental health issues in 

Central Asia, with participants from Kazakhstan, 

Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Armenia, 

Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Palestine, Pakistan, 

Jordan, the United States, Canada, Italy and 

Japan. As a result, participants formed a nonprofit 

organization to discuss and find solutions to their 

common children’s environmental health problems. 

Their Web site is www.cehca-2005.org/.

Global Protections from Mercury: EPA is 

leading the implementation of four partnerships 

to reduce global mercury use and emissions in 

artisanal and small-scale gold mining, chlor-alkali 

manufacturing, coal combustion, and in consumer 

products containing mercury. Mercury released in 

these sectors affects children disproportionately, 

as mercury is a powerful neurotoxin. Many children 

work with their families to mine and refine gold, 

and are directly exposed to mercury and mercury 

vapors. In addition, artisanal gold mining may 

release up to 1000 tons per year of mercury 

globally. A large portion of these releases are 

atmospheric, affecting children through deposition 

in areas far from the release site. EPA is working 

with other countries to reduce mercury exposures 

in artisanal gold mining, and is developing public 

information materials for global distribution. Visit 

www.chem.unep.ch/mercury/partnerships/. 
Children’s Environmental Health: 2006 Report 19

Children’s Environmental 

Health Awards

Developing a new generation of pediatricians 

with environmental health expertise; 

studying the effect of on-road emissions 

in asthmatic children to prevent the health 

impacts of air pollution; and starting a 

“green cleaning” program to reduce 

exposures to environmental hazards in 

schools. These programs are 3 of 14 that 

were recognized by the EPA at the second 

Children’s Environmental Health Excellence 

Awards ceremony in April 2006. 

Children’s Environmental Health Champion: 

The 2006 Children’s Environmental Health 

Champion Award was presented to Dr. Philip 

J. Landrigan—a pioneer and leader in the 

field of children’s environmental health who 

is recognized for his many accomplishments, 

including his work with the Center for Children’s 

Health and the Environment, and the Pediatric 

Environmental Health Specialty Unit at Mt. Sinai. 

The 2006 Excellence Award Winners are:

• Ambulatory Pediatric Association 

(APA), Fellowship Program in Pediatric 

Environmental Health, Bronx, NY 

• The Ashkin Group, LLC, Bloomington, IN 

• Coalition for a Smoke-Free Valley (The 

Coalition is part of the Community 

Health Department of Lehigh Valley 

Hospital and Health Network), Keep Us 

Healthy Collaborative, Allentown, PA 

• Community Asthma Prevention Program 

(CAPP), Community Asthma Prevention 

Program of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 

• Department of Development, Cuyahoga 

County, Cuyahoga Lead Hazard 

Reduction Program, Cleveland, OH 

• Emory University School of Medicine, EVA 

(Emisiones Vehiculares y Asthma) or Vehicular 

Emissions and Asthma, Atlanta, GA 

• Get the Lead Out! Collaborative, Grand Rapids, MI 

• Loyola University Chicago Civitas Child Law 

Center, Lead Safe Chicago, Chicago, IL 

• National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) 

Enterprise Community Partners, The Home-Based 

Child Care Lead Safety Program, Columbia, MD 

• National Environmental Education & 

Training Foundation (NEETF), Integrating 

Environmental Health into Pediatric 

Healthcare, Washington, D.C. 

• Oregon Environmental Council, 

Providing Caregivers Tools to Protect 

Children’s Health, Portland, OR 

• The University of Georgia College of 

Family and Consumer Sciences, Georgia 

Radon Education Program, Athens, GA 

• University of Medicine and Dentistry of New 

Jersey (UMDNJ) - School of Public Health, Center 

for School and Community Health Education, 

ToxRAPTM Education Program (Toxicology, Risk 

Assessment, and Pollution), Piscataway, NJ 

• West Virginia Division of Tobacco 

Prevention, West Virginia Clean Indoor 

Air Program, Charleston, WV 

The Children’s Environmental Health Awards are 

designed to recognize ongoing and sustainable 

dedication to, and notable leadership in, protecting 

children from environmental health risks at the local, 

regional, national and international level. Twentynine additional organizations received Recognition 

Awards for their demonstrated commitment to 

protecting children from environmental health risks. 

To view a list of the Excellence and Recognition 

Award recipients and learn more about their 

programs, go to www.epa.gov/children. 
Child and Aging 

Health Protection Division

October 2006

EPA 100-F-06-011

United States

Environmental Protection

Agency

Recycled/Recyclable

Printed with Vegetable Oil-Based Inks on 

Recycled Paper (Minimum 50 percent Postconsumer) 

Process Chlorine Free

For more information, visit EPA’s Child and 

Aging Health Protection Division at:

www.epa.gov/children

EPA’s Mission to Protect Children 

In 1995, EPA made it a priority to explicitly 

and consistently take into account 

environmental health risks to infants and 

children in all studies and public health 

standards set for the United States. 

The President’s Executive Order on 

Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks 

to Children requires all federal agencies to 

address health and safety risks to children, 

coordinate research priorities on children’s 

health, and ensure that their standards take 

into account special risks to children.

EPA established the Office of Children’s Health 

Protection to catalyze, support, and facilitate 

Agency efforts to protect children’s health 

from environmental risks. The mission of the 

Office is to make the protection of children’s 

health a fundamental goal of public health and 

environmental protection. Protecting children 

where they live, learn, and play is essential 

to ensuring that our environment is safe and 

healthy, now and for future generations. 

In 2006, the Office of Children’s Health 

Protection was reorganized and became the 

Child and Aging Health Protection Division.