Children's Safety - Crucial for Every Parent
Vulnerability of Children
"We are conducting a vast toxicologic experiment in our society, in which our children and our children's children are the experimental subjects," stated pediatrician Herbert L. Needleman. Little information on possible toxic potential is available for the 80,000 chemicals registered today with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Of the 3,000 chemicals produced or imported at over 1 million pounds a year, only 43% have received even minimal toxicologic assessment, and a mere 23% have been
tested to determine whether they have the potential to cause developmental damage. Source: Landrigan, P.J. & Weiss, B. (2000). Environmental Health Perspectives Supplements, v107 supplement 3, June.
Children are highly vulnerable to chemical toxicants. Pound for pound of body weight children drink more water, eat more food and breathe more air than adults. The implication of this is that children will have substantially heavier exposures than adults to any toxicants that are present in water, food or air. Source: Landrigan, P.J. & Garg, A. (2002). Chronic effects of toxic environmental exposures on children's health. Journal of Toxicology: Clinical Toxicology, 40(4), 449-456.
Why are children a sensitive subpopulation? Children's metabolic pathways, especially in the first months after birth, are immature. Their ability to metabolize, detoxify and excrete many chemicals differs from adults. Source: Landrigan, P.J., et al, (1998). Children's Health and the Environment: A New Agenda for Prevention Research, Environmental Health Perspectives 106, Supplement 3, June.
The National Academy of Sciences has recommended that infants and children be considered more vulnerable to chemicals than adults in the absences of evidence to the contrary. Source: National Research Council (1993). Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children; National Academy Press: Washington, DC.
Carcinogenic and toxic exposures sustained early in life including prenatal exposures appear more likely to lead to disease than similar exposures encountered later. Source: Landrigan, P.J. & Garg, A. (2002). Chronic effects of toxic environmental exposures on children's health. Journal of Toxicology: Clinical Toxicology, 40(4), 449-456.
Faster metabolisms in children speed up their absorption of contaminants. Children absorb a greater proportion of many substances from the intestinal tract or lung, says pediatrician Dr. Philip Landrigan. For example, children take up approximately half of the lead that they swallow while adults absorb only about one-tenth. Source: PBS.org, Trade Secrets: A Moyers Report (2001).
Children spend a considerable amount of time putting things in their mouths. In 1998, scientists at Rutgers University discovered that pesticides sprayed in a home evaporate from floors and carpets, and then re-condense on plastic and foam objects such as pillows and plush toys. By observing how frequently a group of pre-schoolers put clean toys in their mouths, the researchers calculated that contaminated toys are likely to give young children much higher doses of poison than adults would get in the same environment. Source: PBS.org, Trade Secrets: A Moyers Report (2001).
Children have more time to develop chronic diseases triggered by early exposures. Many diseases that are caused by toxicants in the environment require decades to develop. Source: Landrigan, P.J. & Garg, A. (2002). Chronic effects of toxic environmental exposures on children's health. Journal of Toxicology: Clinical Toxicology, 40(4), 449-456.
Babies don't excrete contaminants or store them away in fat in the same ways that adults do, making the poisons more available to affect rapidly growing bodies. Furthermore, because a baby's immune system is not fully functional, a baby's body cannot counteract toxic effects as well as an adult can. In an adult, a blood-brain barrier insulates the brain from many of the potentially harmful chemicals circulating through the body. But in a human child, that barrier isn't fully developed until six months after birth. Source: PBS.org, Trade Secrets: A Moyers Report (2001).
Many contaminants such as dioxins and PCBs have an affinity for fatty tissue. During pregnancy, women mobilize their amassed stores of body fat to provide nourishment for their growing babies; the contaminants in the fat are then passed to their children. Nursing mothers also transfer a good portion of their lifetime accumulation of chemicals to their babies. Source: PBS.org, Trade Secrets: A Moyers Report (2001).
Children exposed in the womb are at greatest risk of all. Because cellular structures change so rapidly during embryonic and fetal growth, a toxic exposure at the wrong moment can permanently alter further development. According to Dr. Landrigan, the central nervous system is especially vulnerable. To function properly, the developing brain must lay down an intricate web of interconnecting neurons. Small doses of neurotoxins during critical periods of brain development can alter those crucial neural pathways one mistake early on, and the brain may be forever changed in subtle or serious ways. Government and university scientists are currently investigating the possibility of a connection between fetal exposures to toxins and developmental disabilities such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Source: PBS.org, Trade Secrets: A
Moyers Report (2001).
Children's metabolic pathways, especially in the first months after birth, are immature. Their ability to metabolize, detoxify and excrete many chemicals differs from adults. Source: Landrigan, P.J. & Garg, A. (2002). Chronic effects of toxic environmental exposures on children's health. Journal of Toxicology: Clinical Toxicology, 40(4), 449-456.
Health Issues
Asthma Population Statistics
Overall Asthma Statistics
Approximately 20 million Americans have asthma.
Source: American Lung Association, (2005). Epidemiology & Statistics Unit, Research and Program Services. Trends in Asthma Morbidity and Mortality
The prevalence of asthma increased 75% from 1980-1994. Source: Centers for Disease Control. Surveillance for Asthma, United States, 1960-1995, MMWR. 1998; 47 (SS-1).
Children
Nine million U.S. children under 18 have been diagnosed with asthma. Source: Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Children: National Health Interview Survey, 2002. Series 10, Number 221.2004-1549
Asthma is the most common serious chronic disease of childhood. Source: Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Asthma Facts and Figures.
Asthma rates in children under the age of five have increased more than 160% from 1980-1994. Source: Centers for Disease Control. Surveillance for Asthma, United States, 1960-1995, MMWR. 1998; 47 (SS-1).
An average of one out of every 13 school-aged children has asthma. Source: EPA Asthma Facts.
Asthma is the third-ranking cause of hospitalization among children under 15. Source: EPA Asthma Facts.
References:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (2004). Retrieved Feb 2007 from the World Wide Web: Toxicological Profile for Ammonia;
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (1999). Retrieved Feb 2007 from the World Wide Web: Toxicological Profile for Formaldehyde.
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Managing Hazardous Materials Incidents. Volume III Medical Management Guidelines for Acute Chemical Exposures. Retrieved Feb 2007 from the World Wide Web: Hydrogen Chloride.
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (2005). Retrieved Feb 2007 from the World Wide Web: Toxicological Profile for Naphthalene, 1-Methylnaphthalene, and 2-Methylnaphthalene
American Lung Association (2005). Epidemiology & Statistics Unit, Research and Program Services. Trends in Asthma Morbidity and Mortality.
Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers' National Poisoning and Exposure Database (2005). Retrieved Feb 2007 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.aapcc.org/Annual%20Reports/05report2005%20Publsihed.pdf
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Asthma Facts and Figures. Retrieved Feb 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.aafa.org/display.cfm?id=8⊂=42
Atmospheric Sciences Department, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, (2006). Indoor Air, 16(3), 179-191.
California Environmental Protection Agency, Air Resources Board, Chlorinated Chemicals in Your Home, (2001).
Centers for Disease Control. Surveillance for Asthma, United States, 1960-1995, MMWR. 1998; 47 (SS-1).
Environmental Health Perspectives Supplements, June 2000 v107 supplement 3.
EnviroSense Fact Sheet. Safe Substitutes at Home: Non-toxic Household Products. Retrieved Feb 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://es.epa.gov/techinfo/facts/safe-fs.html
EPA Asthma Facts. Retrieved Feb 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.epa.gov/asthma/pdfs/asthma_fact_sheet_en.pdf
Landrigan, P.J., et al, (1998). Children's Health and the Environment: A New Agenda for Prevention Research, Environmental Health Perspectives 106, Supplement 3, June.
Landrigan, P.J., et al, (2006). The national children's study: a 21-year prospective study of 100,000 American children. Pediatrics, 118(5), 2173-2186.
Landrigan, P.J. & Garg, A. (2002). Chronic effects of toxic environmental exposures on children's health. Journal of Toxicology: Clinical Toxicology, 40(4), 449-456.
Landrigan, P.J. & Weiss, B. (2000). Environmental Health Perspectives Supplements, v107 supplement 3, June. Retrieved Feb 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2000/suppl-3/intro.html
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Retrieved Feb 2007 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/poisonweek.htm
National Health Interview Survey, (2006). National Center for Health Statistics, CDC.
National Research Council (1993). Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children; National Academy Press: Washington, DC.
News-Medical.Net. Retrieved Feb 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.news-medical.net/?id=18127
Office of Environmental Health & Safety, Boston University. Retrieved Feb 2007 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.bu.edu/es/labsafety/ESMSDSs/MSPhosphoricAcid.html
PBS.org, Trade Secrets: A Moyers Report (2001). Retrieved Feb 2007 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.pbs.org/tradesecrets/problem/children.html
Revenga, C. & Mock, G. (2000). Dirty Water: Pollution Problems Persist. World Resources Institute.
Rumchev, K. et al. (2004). Thorax, 59(9), 746-751.
Scorecard (2007). Retrieved Feb 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.scorecard.org/healtheffects/
explanation.tcl?short_hazard_name=devel
ScienceLab.com. Retrieved Feb 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.sciencelab.com/xMSDS-Sulfamic_acid-9927286
Singer, B.C., et al (2006). Cleaning products and air fresheners: emissions and resulting concentrations of glycol ethers and terpenoids. Indoor Air, 16(3), 179-191.
Sterling, T. D., et al (1991). Relative cancer risk of homemakers. Proc. Interface.
Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Children: National Health Interview Survey, 2002. Series 10, Number 221.2004-1549
Thorax, Nov 2003 58(11), 950-954.
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www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2006/05/22_householdchemicals.shtml
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service. Retrieved Feb 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts126.pdf
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service. Retrieved Feb 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts117.html
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U.S. EPA. Retrieved Feb 2007 from the World Wide Web: www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html
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http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/newchems/pubs/invntory.htmData Related to Typical Household Cleaners
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