Growing children, and the developing fetus, are the most vulnerable among us to contaminants. Exposures that have little detectable effects on adults can produce life-long disabilities, or death, if exposure occurs in the earliest stages of life.
Indications abound that contamination extracts a large toll on the health and vitality of children.
Lead poisoning dulls intellect in major urban centers around the world. Air pollution provokes asthma, which has increased dramatically in the industrial world over the past several decades. Birth defects linked plausibly to contaminants are becoming more frequent. The foundation supports work to reduce childhood and developmental risks to pesticides and related compounds that interfere with the development of healthy individuals. Projects supported include local organizations reducing school use of pesticides, national reform of pesticide regulations, and international efforts.