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  Hey Kids

Hey Kids!

 

Calling All Students 

 Calling All Students

 

  Medical Bag  

 Medical Questions

 

Insure Kids Now     

Children's Health Insurance Program: Insure Kids Now! Exiting ATSDR

 
Household Detective
Household Detective for Toxics Exiting ATSDR
 

ATSDR Child Health Partners

ATSDR Child Health Partners

 
       Child Health

Child Health

 
Children and Parents
     The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has put special emphasis on children in conducting its health studies and other activities.  Children are especially at risk of being exposed to hazardous substances from waste sites or accidental spills and of suffering adverse health effects from their exposure.   They typically play in mud, splash in creeks, crawl on floors, roll in dirt-activities that put them at higher risk of exposure to hazardous substances that may be in water or soil.  Their height puts them at a level where they are  more likely to be exposed to breathing dust and heavy vapors that are close to the ground.  They may ingest hazardous substances if they put their hands in their mouths, or eat food in a contaminated area.    

    Their small body size and developing systems also place them at greater risk than adults.  Because they are smaller they receive higher doses of toxicants per pound of body weight.  Pound for pound of body weight, children drink more water, eat more food, and breathe more air than adults do.  Many organ systems in young children, such as the nervous system and the lungs, are undergoing rapid growth and development in the first years of life.  These systems are especially vulnerable to injury during these periods of development.  And, of special concern is exposure of the fetus, whose organ and body systems are still developing.

    Even teenagers can be at risk, as some may ignore warning signs and venture into contaminated areas.  For example and exposure investigation conducted in FY 1998 found that 30 teenagers in Texarkana, Arkansas, had elevated levels of mercury after being exposed to elemental mercury taken from an abandoned factory.

    ATSDR estimates about 3 million children younger than 18 years old live within 1 mile of a National Priorities List (NPL) hazardous waste site.  ATSDR has conducted numerous health studies and other activities that have sought to learn more about the potential health effects children who live near hazardous waste sites may experience, how they may be exposed, and effective ways to prevent their exposure.  

   ATSDR has conducted studies that have assessed whether the infants of mothers who live near hazardous waste sites face a higher risk of having various birth defects or adverse health outcomes such as small for gestational age.  While some of these studies have assessed single sites, where populations were small, several have looked at larger studies in California, New York, and New Jersey.  These large health studies have found an increased risk for neural tube defects.  Some studies also showed an increased risk for musculoskeletal defects and heart defects. 



  These pages last updated on November 12, 2003

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