It has long been understood that there are health consequences of environmental hazards. A growing body of evidence also indicates that children are at elevated or special risk from environmental toxins. But the full extent to which children are at risk is not fully known at the moment, for a number of reasons. One reason is that many of the health problems that children suffer related to environmental exposures are subtle, or invisible, at least initially, and may not be detectable for many, many years. As a result, it can be difficult to actually trace exposure to a later health problem. The second problem as you pointed out, Mr. Chairman, is that not nearly enough research has been conducted on the relationship between children and the environment in children's health problems. The bulk of the research that has been conducted thus far has primarily looked at the implications of environmental toxins on adults, a group which face facing very, very different threats than children. Despite these limitations to our current knowledge, we do know a number of things about special risk to children. There are at least four reasons why children are at particularly grave risk. Children are vulnerable for physiological and physical reasons. Because children's bodies are still developing, they are more sensitive to substances that can interfere with the developmental process. Fetuses and newborns are particularly sensitive to chemicals and other toxins. Additionally, since children are smaller than adults, the same amount of exposure to a toxin can lead to a higher concentration in their smaller bodies. And those two factors can exaggerate for children the implications of an exposure. Secondly children's curiosity and other unique behaviors can place them at risk. It is natural, and important for children to play outdoors, to run and jump, and to explore. And yet, those very activities can place them at risk for environmental problems. For example, because children spend a great deal of their time outdoors playing, they can breathe more air per body weight than an adult does. And that behavior itself can place them at greater risk from air pollution. Playing outdoors can also place children at greater risk from the harmful effects of sun exposure, which can have implications for eyes and skin. The third factor is lack of judgment that children display. Children, particularly younger children and babies, simply do not have the judgment to avoid danger. They cannot comprehend the notion of danger. For example, children are unable to understand a potential harm that can result from placing objects in their mouth. And yet young children, toddlers and babies, commonly will put paint chips in their mouth, laden with lead, which is one of the major ways in which children can be exposed to lead. Finally, children have many more years ahead of them than adults do. So if a child is exposed to a toxic substance with a delayed effect, such as a cancer-causing material, the child can have as long as 70 or 80 years to develop a disease in response to the exposure. And yet, an adult exposed to the same substance might have died of other causes before that toxic substance could take effect. I want to emphasize that while all children are at risk for these problems because of the peculiar characteristics of children, it is poor children who are at greatest risk. And there are a number of reasons for this. Poor children are more likely to be exposed to toxins because they are more likely to live in neighborhoods, and attend schools, where hazards are present. Poor families simply lack the financial resources to avoid hazards that might exist, either by removing them or by buying alternative products like organic vegetables and fruits. Third, when a poor child is affected by an environmental hazard and develops a health problem, they are less likely to have the problem detected and treated due to poor children's greater likelihood of being uninsured. Finally, poor children face greater risk because their families simply lack the political influence to insist that toxins in their neighborhoods be eliminated. For the purpose of our report, we categorized the risks to children in terms of the context in which they are exposed to them. Because we are short on time, I will refer you to the report for the details of the kinds of exposures. You will have a chance later on to hear from persons much more expert than myself about what those are. In general, children's exposure can be described in terms of what they eat, where children live, where children learn, and where children play. I would like to conclude by just emphasizing that the health threat that environmental toxins present to children, while extremely serious, are not insurmountable. The general public can play an important role by removing hazards in our immediate surroundings: in our homes, in our backyards, in our garages. As individuals, we can have influence through the choices we make in the products we buy, and whether or not we take public transportation. Those are important steps. And yet, we also must remember that individual action alone is not going to eliminate the health threat to children from environmental exposures. To achieve lasting and far-reaching solutions, we must place responsibility on institutions, both public and private, that make decisions which affect us all and insist that they make the needs of children a priority. Among the immediate challenges at hand that we would like to stress is, one, the need to acknowledge that children face an additional risk, and to begin to take steps to remove those hazards. Secondly, we have to ensure that all children receive needed health care to ensure that children who are exposed to environmental toxins have the opportunity to have their problems detected and treated. Third, we have to ensure that we no longer pollute the environment and expose children to new environmental threats. And finally, we have to take steps to ensure that a priority is placed on research that looks at the special contribution, or the special problems that children face from environmental toxins. Thank you very much. [Prepared statement of Dana Hughes and James Steyer follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT of DanA HUGHES, M.P.H., M.S., POLICY CONSULTANT, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to present testimony on environmental toxins and children. This hearing is critical at a time of growing awareness about the need to protect and preserve the environment. While most Americans grasp the long-term implications of carelessness and indifference towards the environment, far fewer understand that our actions have critical and immediate consequences for the health and safety of the planet's most vulnerable and least culpable inhabitants: children. Children Now, a non-partisan organization devoted to educating the public about the needs of children and developing effective responses to them, prepared a report for the public and policy makers on children's special vulnerabilities to environmental toxins and pollutants. This report, entitled, "What's Gotten Into Our Children?" is a synthesis of the scientific literature examining the effects of environmental exposures on children. The report is designed to inform policy makers and parents alike on the risks to children and identify steps we can take to protect them. The major findings from this report are presented below. Why Children Are at Elevated Risk: It has been long understood that some chemicals and pollutants can cause health problems in people of all ages. A growing body of evidence indicates that children are especially sensitive to a number of substances found in the environment. However, the full extent to which children are at risk is not yet known, in part because the effects of environmental toxins are frequently subtle if not altogether invisible, at least initially. For example, the effects of cancer-causing agents, such as radon, may be undetectable for several years after exposure, making it difficult to trace the onset of the disease to the original source. In addition, not nearly enough research as has been conducted on the effects of environmental toxins on children. Instead, the bulk of research thus far has focused on adult populations, a group facing very different risks than children. Despite these limitations to our current knowledge, there exists a substantial body of evidence about the health hazards that all humans face, as well as information about the special risks to children. There are at least four reasons why children are at particularly grave risk. First, children are more vulnerable for physical reasons. Because children's bodies are still developing, they are more sensitive to substances that can interfere with the developmental process. Fetuses and newborns are especially vulnerable to damage caused by chemicals and other toxins, such as lead (Florini et al, 1990). For example, children retain as much as twice the amount of lead that they are exposed to as adults. Additionally, since children are smaller than adults, the same amount of exposure to toxins may lead to higher concentration in the smaller bodies of children. Yet most government standards are based on an average adult. Second, children's curiosity and behavior place them at risk. It is natural and important for children to play and explore. However, such activities can place them at greater risk of exposure to environmental hazards. For example, because children spend more time outdoors playing, they breathe more air for their body weight, compared to adults. This places them at greater risk from the harmful effects of air pollution. Children are also at greater risk because they tend to eat proportionally large amounts of foods produced using pesticides, such as apples and apple juice. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) found that the average child is exposed to four times as much of eight widely-used cancer-causing pesticides in foods as the average adult (Natural Resources Defense Council, 1989). Third, children lack the judgement to avoid danger. Unlike adults, babies and young children cannot comprehend the notion of danger. For example, young children are unable to understand the potential harm that comes from placing objects in their mouths. One of the ways in which babies |