Annual Report Captures Efforts to Protect Children

Release date: 10/09/2008

Contact Information: Enesta Jones, (202) 564-4355 / jones.enesta@epa.gov

(10/9/08) A new publication outlines national efforts to protect children from environmental risks over the last year. EPA's Children's Environmental Health: 2008 Highlights is the eighth in an annual series on work done in its programs, labs and regions.

EPA has funded research on how the environment affects children's health, promoted the education of health care providers, published information about how climate change affects children's health, and assembled data to quantify the extent of children's health issues. EPA is addressing environmental health disparities, issues during pregnancy, the rebuilding of communities with children's needs in mind and the health of children in our nation's schools.

Issues in the report include childhood asthma, lead poisoning, exposure to the sun, children and chemicals, integrated pest management, Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units and research findings.

This year marks the 11th year of explicit attention to the health of children following the Executive Order of 1997, Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks.

More information on Children's Environmental Health: 2008 Highlights: http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/2008_highlights.htm/$file/OCHP_2008_Highlights_508.pdf