Abstract |
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created in 1970 to protect human health and the environment. The year 2007 marks 10 years of concerted Federal effort to address children's environmental health risks as mandated by Executive Order 13045, Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks. We have tagged asthma and lead poisoning as priorities in our work--they pose particular dangers to children, and EPA can be especially effective in fighting them. Strategies designed to address asthma and lead poisoning can be instructive as we tackle emerging issues of concern to child health and development. Much of our work is done in partnership with others and falls generally into three categories: outreach and education, science and research, and regulatory action. Through outreach and education, we work to train health care providers on the environmental causes or contributors to ill health in children, and we educate parents on how to protect their children from harmful exposures. Research in the last decade has documented many nuances about the effects of physical, chemical, and biological exposures on children's health. We strive to write policies and regulations that protect all children from exposure to harmful substances. This report captures much of our work. |