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Children and Environmental Health

1. Children have not routinely been included in risk assessment and most environmental health regulations are based on studies of adult males. This is despite the fact that children's immature organ systems are especially sensitive to environmental hazards.
2. • Exposure to environmental toxicants may disrupt and cause permanent damage to the developing nervous, immune, and respiratory systems of young children.
   • The metabolic and physiological processes of children differ dramatically from those of adults. Their skin, respiratory, and gastrointestinal absorption of toxic materials is greater than that of adults.
   • Children's normal exploratory behavior (i.e. hand-to-mouth activity and crawling) increases opportunities to ingest toxicants such as lead-based paint.
   • Children's diet differ both qualitatively and quantitatively from adults in their exposure to residues on foods such as fruits.
3. Children borne today are cumulatively exposed to more hazardous substances throughout their lifetime.
4. • Toxicants of particular concern in children include the following.:
   • Indoor and outdoor air pollution , in particular environmental tobacco smoke
   • Pesticides through home and agriculture use
   • Lead from persistent, existing lead based paint
   • Household products used for cleaning, personal care and hobbies
   • Other populations that have special vulnerabilities include elderly, pregnant women, immune compromised, people with comorbidities, and developmentally disabled.