The Maryland Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics strongly supports a safe, healthy environment for Maryland children.
Environmental hazards pose a unique threat to children.
The special susceptibility of children to environmental hazards is well documented. Pound for pound of body weight, children breathe more air, drink more water and eat more food than adults. The systems of a child s body are still developing, making children less able to metabolize, detoxify and excrete toxic substances, than adults. Children s immune systems are less developed, making them less able to fight microbes and contaminants. Today s children live in a world different than the one in which today s adults were raised.