June is Healthy Homes Month

June is Healthy Homes Month

By Hannah Wilkerson, Program Associate, Children’s Environmental Health Network

It’s Healthy Homes Month! To celebrate, take some time this June to improve the environmental health of your home or home-based child care. Healthy homes and child care sets children up to thrive. Children are especially vulnerable to environmental hazards in homes because of their developing bodies, underdeveloped immune system, and behaviors like mouthing items, crawling, sitting, and laying on the ground. 

Lead is a particularly dangerous threat to children’s health in homes. It can be found inside houses in paint, water, consumer products (e.g. toys and costume jewelry), and dust. It can also be found in contaminated outside soil.  Lead is a powerful neurotoxic heavy metal that can permanently alter a child’s life, leading to behavior and learning problems, and lowered IQ. Adult exposure can lead to reproductive issues, kidney problems, cardiovascular disease, and nerve disorders. While lead is dangerous to both adults and children, the people most at risk of exposure are those who are pregnant or breastfeeding and children under the age of six, because they are in a rapid state of development or nurturing a young child who is in a vulnerable state of development. 

Disparities in lead exposure exist for lower-income households and neighborhoods and Black, Latinx, and Indigenous children. These communities are more likely to live in housing that is of poor quality and near polluting industries putting them at greater risk of lead hazards.

Tips for maintaining a lead-safe home:

  • Maintain your home to minimize lead paint hazards like chipping, cracking, or peeling paint.
  • Renovate safely. If you are planning to paint, renovate or remodel a home built before 1978, use contractors certified by the EPA for lead-safe work practices
  • Test any bare soil in or around your home for lead by an EPA accredited lab. Cover bare soil with mulch or ground cover.
  • Go shoe-free inside to reduce lead-contaminated soil inside.
  • Frequently wash hands, especially after coming inside from working or playing in the yard and before eating
  • Use only cold water for drinking and cooking, especially when making baby formula, as cold water is less likely to leach lead from pipes or fixtures.
  • Test your water for lead and use water filtration devices that have been certified to remove lead (look for filters that have been tested by an accredited third-party certification body or bodies for lead reduction and particulate reduction (Class I) capabilities against both NSF/ANSI Standards 42 and 53, like ZeroWater’s 5-stage filtration water dispenser/pitcher or ExtremeLife™ Faucet Mount filter).

To learn more about protecting children’s (and adults) health from environmental hazards in the home or home-based child care, check out the Eco-Healthy Child Care® factsheets, the newly updated Protecting Children’s Environmental Health E-Course, or the Lead-Safe Toolkit for Home-Based Child Care.

During June, you can win a Healthy Homes Prize Package by joining the Children’s Environmental Health Network’s 30th Anniversary Fundraiser. Fundraisers who complete three activities that help make their homes healthier can enter to win one Short-Term Radon Test Kit from the American Lung Association and their choice of one ZeroWater 5-stage filtration water dispenser/pitcher or ExtremeLife Faucet Mount filter (both NSF/ANSI certified to reduce lead), plus 5% off coupon to ZeroWater store. Learn more and enter at https://bit.ly/CEHNfund30

Public Health Week and Lead Prevention in Child Care

Public Health Week & Lead Prevention in Child Care

By Kathy Attar, Program Manager, Eco-Healthy Child Care®

April 2022

National Public Health Week is April 6-12th and this year’s theme is “Public Health is Where You Are.” The field of public health acknowledges that where we live impacts health-especially for children, who are more vulnerable to environmental hazards like indoor and outdoor air pollution and lead poisoning.

Child Care and Children’s Health

The Eco-Healthy Child Care® program (EHCC), works to protect children and child care staff from environmental hazards found in child care settings. Millions of children spend 40+ hours a week in center-based and family child care settings–making child care critically important to children’s overall health and welfare. We know that for every $1 invested in child care, the return (in health savings, tax benefits, and other measures) is up to $12. Ensuring that child care staff have the education, training, and support to create safe and healthy child care facilities, free of environmental hazards, is essential. 

Lead and Child Care Settings

There is no safe level of lead for children. Lead can be found in the air, water, soil, and consumer products. Children are at high risk because their bodies are still developing, and their brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to lead’s harmful effects. These effects, including brain damage and loss of IQ, occur at low levels of exposure to lead sources often found in homes and child care facilities.

Recently, through private foundation funding, EHCC and its partners, the National Center for Healthy Housing and National Association for Family Child Care, established a network of family child care leaders the–Getting Ahead of Lead Leaders Network–to build leadership within the family child care field to tackle issues of lead poisoning in home-based child cares. 

The network is made up of racially and geographically diverse home-based child care providers, all of whom committed to an intensive series of virtual meetings and online and in-person training on environmental health.  

To learn more about how to keep children and child care staff safe from lead hazards in the home, visit the Lead-Safe ToolkitSign-up for Eco-Healthy Child Care®’s monthly eco-hot tips, to get science-based, low-cost best practices for eliminating environmental hazards like pesticides, unsafe plastics, and harmful chemicals found in many cleaning products.


Semana de la salud pública y prevención del plomo en el cuidado infantil

La Semana Nacional de la Salud Pública es del 6 al 12 de abril y el tema de este año es “La salud pública está donde usted se encuentre”. El campo de la salud pública reconoce que el lugar donde vivimos afecta la salud, especialmente para los niños, que son más vulnerables a los peligros ambientales como la contaminación del aire interior y exterior y el envenenamiento por plomo.

El Cuidado infantil y la salud infantil 

El programa Eco-Healthy Child Care® (EHCC), trabaja para proteger a los niños y al personal de cuidado infantil de los peligros ambientales que se encuentran en los entornos de cuidado infantil. Millones de niños pasan más de 40 horas a la semana en entornos de cuidado infantil familiar y en centros, lo que hace que el cuidado infantil sea de vital importancia para la salud y el bienestar general de los niños. Sabemos que por cada $1 invertido en cuidado infantil, el rendimiento (en ahorros de salud, beneficios fiscales y otras medidas) es de hasta $12. Es esencial garantizar que el personal de cuidado infantil tenga la educación, la capacitación y el apoyo para crear entornos de cuidado infantil seguras y saludables, libres de peligros ambientales. 

Plomo y entornos de cuidado infantil

No existe un nivel seguro de plomo para los niños. El plomo se puede encontrar en el aire, el agua, el suelo y los productos de consumo. Los niños corren un alto riesgo porque sus cuerpos aún se están desarrollando y sus cerebros y sistemas nerviosos son más sensibles a los efectos nocivos del plomo. Estos efectos, incluido el daño cerebral y la pérdida del coeficiente intelectual, ocurren con niveles bajos de exposición a las fuentes de plomo que a menudo se encuentran en los hogares y las guarderías.

Recientemente, a través del financiamiento de una fundación privada, EHCC y sus socios, el National Center for Healthy Housing (Centro Nacional para Viviendas Saludables) y la National Association for Family Child Care (Asociación Nacional para el Cuidado Infantil Familiar), establecieron una red de líderes de cuidado infantil familiar, el Getting Ahead of Lead Leaders Network (Red de Líderes Adelantándose al Plomo) para desarrollar liderazgo dentro del cuidado infantil familiar para abordar los problemas de envenenamiento por plomo en los centros de cuidado infantil en el hogar. 

La red está compuesta por proveedores de cuidado infantil en el hogar racial y geográficamente diversos, todos los cuales se comprometieron con una serie intensiva de reuniones virtuales y capacitación en línea y en persona sobre la salud ambiental.  

Para obtener más información sobre cómo mantener a los niños y al personal de cuidado infantil a salvo de los peligros del plomo en el hogar, visite el kit de herramientas sin plomo para el cuidado infantil en el hogar. Inscríbase en los consejos mensuales de Eco-Healthy Child Care® para obtener mejores prácticas de bajo costo y basadas en la ciencia para eliminar peligros ambientales como pesticidas, plásticos inseguros y químicos dañinos que se encuentran en muchos productos de limpieza.

North Carolina Children’s Environmental Health

North Carolina Children’s Environmental Health Profile


Did you know 13.9% of children under 18 in North Carolina have ADHD or ADD (compared to the National average of 8.9%) in 2019-2020? Or that 43% of children under age 18 live in counties that do not monitor ozone pollution? There are 2.3 million children in North Carolina, and approximately 20% of them live in poverty. Poverty is an important social determinant of health; poverty hurts children and their families. Children of color and young children are disproportionately poor and experience many issues that lead to adverse health outcomes. All children deserve a safe and healthy environment to grow and develop.

This profile highlights key North Carolina children’s environmental health indicators, federal support received by the state for environmental health, health equity and climate and health programs, and a spotlight feature in a children’s environmental health-related topical issues.

Continue reading to learn more about environmental hazards, children’s exposures, and children’s health outcomes in North Carolina, or click the blue button to download the profile as a PDF.

Key Children’s Environmental Health Indicators for North Carolina

What is a Children’s Environmental Health Indicator?

See Indicator References

Safe Drinking Water: 22% of public water utilities had drinking water violations (2020)
National average: 31%
Air Quality: 43% of children under age 18 live in the 68 (out of 100 total) counties that do not monitor ozone pollution (2021)
Warming Temperatures: 2.5 degrees F warmer in 2020 than in 1970.
National average 2.8 degrees F warmer
Toxic Chemical Releases: 55 million pounds of toxic chemicals were disposed of or released (2020).
United States 3.1 billion pounds
Asthma: 7.1% of children under age 18 have asthma (2018- 2019)
Nationwide: 7.7%
Pediatric Cancer: 172.8 cases of pediatric cancer per 1 million population (2005-2015)
Nationwide: 181.0 cases per 1 million
Blood lead levels: 1.2% of tested children under age 6 have elevated blood lead levels (2018).
Nationwide: 2.6%
Neurodevelopmental Disorders:13.9% of children age 3-17 have ADD or ADHD (2019-2020).
Nationwide: 8.9%.

3.2% of children age 3-17  have Autism Spectrum Disorder (2019- 2020)
Nationwide: 2.9%

North Carolina Spotlight: 

Research shows that children today will face around three times as many climate disasters as their grandparents did, including wildfires, storms, floods and droughts. Aggressive reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are needed to protect children and future generations from the health effects of these impacts. A 2018 North Carolina executive order established climate and clean energy goals to achieve by 2025, including reducing statewide greenhouse has emissions to 40% below 2005 levels. According to the U.S. Solar Market Insight Report, NC ranks 3rd in the nation for total solar power as  of the end of the first quarter of 2021.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)has listed impacts to children among the top priorities to be addressed in its statewide climate resilience strategy. The state has an Early Childhood Action Plan which outlies a cohesive vision, sets benchmarks for impact by the year 2025, and establishes shared stakeholder accountability to achieve statewide goals for young children from birth through age 8. As of March 2021, the NC DHHS has been working on an addendum to the Early Childhood Action Plan that would focus on assessing and addressing the impacts of climate change on young children through the lens of health equity.

Federal Support to North Carolina within the past 5 years

CDC-funded Climate-Ready States & Cities Initiative
CDC-Funded Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
ATSDR State Cooperative Agreement Program
CDC National Asthma Control Program
CDC-funded Environmental Public Health Tracking Program
CDC State Biomonitoring Cooperative Agreement Program

Children’s Environmental Health Indicators Selection Criteria
Children’s environmental health indicators (CEHIs) are measures that can be used to assess environmental hazards, exposures, and their resulting health outcomes in children. The below criteria are used when determining which indicators to utilize:

    • Relevance: Each headline indicator should be a clear, understandable indicator of children’s environmental health, with broad relevance for a range of audiences at the state level – with relevance to the national level.
    • Representativeness: The indicators as a package should provide a representative picture of children’s health and relation to the environment.
    • Traceability: Each indicator should be calculated using an agreed-upon (and published) method and accessible and verifiable data.
    • Timeliness: Each indicator should be calculated regularly (at least biennially), with a short lag between the end of the period and publication of the data.
    • Data adequacy: The available data needed for the indicator must be sufficiently robust, reliable and valid.
    • Universality: Indicators must be comparable across all or very nearly all 50 U.S. states. [/expand]

Indicator Notes and References

Safe Drinking Water

Air Quality

[/toggle]
[toggle title=”Warming Temperature”]

Toxic Chemicals

  • Indicator Note: EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) tracks the management of certain toxic chemicals that may pose a threat to human health and the environment. Certain industrial facilities in the U.S. must report annually how much of each chemical is disposed of or released on and off site. Many of these chemicals are known carcinogens, developmental toxicants, and neurotoxicants, such as arsenic, lead and mercury, that adversely impact children’s health.
  • Reference: Summary of 779 Toxic Release Inventory Facilities in North Carolina. Reporting Year 2020.

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Asthma

Pediatric Cancer

Blood Lead Levels

  • Indicator Note: Often the most vulnerable children are not tested, and not all who are tested get reported, so 1.2% is likely an underestimate of the true scope of children’s elevated blood lead in North Carolina. There is no safe level of lead exposure for children. A potent neurotoxicant, lead reduces IQ and impairs other cognitive, behavioral and developmental functions. In 2021, the CDC lowered the BLL reference value from 5 to 3.5 µg/dL.
  • Reference: National Childhood Blood Lead Surveillance Data. 2018. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention..

Poverty

Federal Support to North Carolina

North Carolina Spotlight


All children deserve and need a safe and healthy environment to grow and develop. They need clean air to breathe, safe water to drink, nutritious food to eat, and healthy places in which to live, learn, and play. Early exposure to harmful agents can lead to acute and chronic adverse outcomes. Infants and children are especially vulnerable to environmental exposures because they breathe, eat and drink more, in proportion to their body size, than do adults, and because their bodies and brains are still developing.

A blueprint for Protecting Children’s Environmental Health Network set out to identify a set of CEHIs that can be used to provide an understanding of children’s environmental health at the state level. Through this process, CEHN found that robust, valid, and regularly updated state level data–that are comparable across most states–were not readily accessible. States need adequate funding and capacity to collect and make accessible reliable CEHI data in order to set goals and track progress towards improving children’s health.

Children are our future – society has a moral obligation to protect them. Exposure to environmental hazards can and must be prevented. Prevention requires strong environmental regulations, fully funded and supportive public and environmental health programs and a robust workforce.

Minnesota Children’s Environmental Health

Minnesota  Children’s Environmental Health Profile


Did you know 48% of Minnesota’s children live in counties that do not monitor ozone pollution levels?  Or that while the national average temperature increase since 1970 is 2.8 degrees F, Minnesota’s temperature increase is 3.3 degrees F? There are 1.3 million children in Minnesota, and approximately 11% of them live in poverty. Poverty is an important social determinant of health; poverty hurts children and their families. Children of color and young children are disproportionately poor and experience many issues that lead to adverse health outcomes. All children deserve a safe and healthy environment to grow and develop.

This profile highlights key Minnesota children’s environmental health indicators, federal support received by the state for environmental health, health equity, and climate and health programs, and a spotlight feature on a children’s environmental health-related topical issue.

Continue reading to learn more about environmental hazards, children’s exposures, and children’s health outcomes in Minnesota, or click the blue button to download the profile as a PDF.

Key Children’s Environmental Health Indicators for Minnesota

What is a Children’s Environmental Health Indicator?

See Indicator References

Safe Drinking Water: 3% of public water utilities had drinking water violations (2020).
National average: 31%
Air Quality: 48% of children under age 18 live in the 72 (out of 87 total) counties that do not monitor ozone pollution (2021).
Warming Temperatures: 3.3 degrees F warmer in 2020 than in 1970.
National average 2.8 degrees F warmer
Toxic Chemical Releases: 20.4 million pounds of toxic chemicals were disposed of or released (2020).
United States 3.1 billion pounds
Asthma: 7% of children under age 18 have asthma (2018- 2019)
Nationwide: 7.7%
Pediatric Cancer: 185.7 cases of pediatric cancer per 1 million population (2005-2015)
Nationwide: 181.0 cases per 1 million
Blood lead levels: 1.4% of tested children under age 6 have elevated blood lead levels (2018)
Nationwide: 2.6%
Neurodevelopmental Disorders:6.8% of children age 3-17 have ADD or ADHD (2019-2020).
Nationwide: 8.9%.

2.7% of children age 3-17  have Autism Spectrum Disorder (2019- 2020)
Nationwide: 2.9%

Minnesota Spotlight: Minnesota Department of Health Drinking Water Guidance

Minnesota is one of only a few states that develops its own drinking water guidance in addition to existing EPA standards. State law specifies that the guidance must adequately protect the health of infants and children. To this end, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has developed drinking water guidance that considers developmental “windows of sensitivity” to toxicants as well as periods of high exposure.

The state is particularly aggressive in its monitoring of per and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class of persistent chemicals that pose significant health risks. MDH toxicologists uniquely consider placental transfer and transfer through formula-feeding and breastmilk in their risk assessment of PFAS in water sources.

MDH has a long-term goal of sampling all community water systems in the state for PFAS. Under this goal, MDH aims to cover 90% of CWS customers under its PFAS monitoring program by 2025. They will also sample noncommunity water systems in areas that are most vulnerable to PFAS contamination to address the highest potential public health risks.

Federal Support to Minnesota within the past 5 years

CDC-Funded Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
ATSDR State Cooperative Agreement Program
CDC National Asthma Control Program
CDC-funded Environmental Public Health Tracking Program
CDC State Biomonitoring Cooperative Agreement Program

Children’s Environmental Health Indicators Selection Criteria
Children’s environmental health indicators (CEHIs) are measures that can be used to assess environmental hazards, exposures, and their resulting health outcomes in children.  The below criteria are used when determining which indicators to utilize:

    • Relevance: Each headline indicator should be a clear, understandable indicator of children’s environmental health, with broad relevance for a range of audiences at the state level – with relevance to the national level.
    • Representativeness: The indicators as a package should provide a representative picture of children’s health and relation to the environment.
    • Traceability: Each indicator should be calculated using an agreed-upon (and published) method and accessible and verifiable data.
    • Timeliness: Each indicator should be calculated regularly (at least biennially), with a short lag between the end of the period and publication of the data.
    • Data adequacy: The available data needed for the indicator must be sufficiently robust, reliable and valid.
    • Universality: Indicators must be comparable across all or very nearly all 50 U.S. states. [/expand]

Indicator Notes and References

Safe Drinking Water

Air Quality

Warming Temperature

  • Indicator Note: EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) tracks the management of certain toxic chemicals that may pose a threat to human health and the environment. Certain industrial facilities in the U.S. must report annually how much of each chemical is disposed of or released on and off site. Many of these chemicals are known carcinogens, developmental toxicants, and neurotoxicants, such as arsenic, lead and mercury, that adversely impact children’s health.
  • Reference: Summary of 509 Toxic Release Inventory Facilities in Minnesota. Reporting Year 2020.

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Asthma

Pediatric Cancer

Blood Lead Levels

  • Indicator Note: In 2017, 21.9% of Minnesota children under age 6 were tested for blood lead levels (BLLs). Of those tested, 0.6% had a BLL>= 5 µg/dL. Often the most vulnerable children are not tested, and not all who are tested get reported, so 0.6% is likely an underestimate of the true scope of children’s elevated blood lead in Minnesota. There is no safe level of lead exposure for children. A potent neurotoxicant, lead reduces IQ and impairs other cognitive, behavioral and developmental functions. In 2021, the CDC lowered the BLL reference value from 5 to 3.5 µg/dL.
  • Reference: National Childhood Blood Lead Surveillance Data. Minnesota (2018). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Poverty

Federal Support to Minnesota

Minnesota Spotlight


All children deserve and need a safe and healthy environment to grow and develop. They need clean air to breathe, safe water to drink, nutritious food to eat, and healthy places in which to live, learn, and play. Early exposure to harmful agents can lead to acute and chronic adverse outcomes. Infants and children are especially vulnerable to environmental exposures because they breathe, eat and drink more, in proportion to their body size, than do adults, and because their bodies and brains are still developing.

A blueprint for Protecting Children’s Environmental Health Network set out to identify a set of CEHIs that can be used to provide an understanding of children’s environmental health at the state level. Through this process, CEHN found that robust, valid, and regularly updated state level data–that are comparable across most states–were not readily accessible. States need adequate funding and capacity to collect and make accessible reliable CEHI data in order to set goals and track progress towards improving children’s health.

Children are our future – society has a moral obligation to protect them. Exposure to environmental hazards can and must be prevented. Prevention requires strong environmental regulations, fully funded and supportive public and environmental health programs and a robust workforce.

Michigan Children’s Environmental Health

Michigan Children’s Environmental Health Profile


Did you know 50% of children under 18 in Michigan live in counties with unhealthy levels of ozone pollution? Or that 9.1% of children under age 18 had asthma (compared to the National average of 7.7%) in 2018-2019? There are 2.1 million children in Michigan, and approximately 18% of them live in poverty. Poverty is an important social determinant of health; poverty hurts children and their families. Children of color and young children are disproportionately poor and experience many issues that lead to adverse health outcomes. All children deserve a safe and healthy environment to grow and develop.

This profile highlights key Michigan children’s environmental health indicators, federal support received by the state for environmental health, health equity and climate and health programs, and a spotlight feature in a children’s environmental health-related topical issues.

Continue reading to learn more about environmental hazards, children’s exposures, and children’s health outcomes in Michigan, or click the blue button to download the profile as a PDF.

Key Children’s Environmental Health Indicators for Michigan

What is a Children’s Environmental Health Indicator?

See Indicator References

Safe Drinking Water: 24% of public water utilities had drinking water violations (2020)
National average: 31%
Air Quality: 50% of children under age 18 live in counties with unhealthy ozone pollution (2021)
Warming Temperatures: 2.9 degrees F warmer in 2020 than in 1970.
National average 2.8 degrees F warmer
Toxic Chemical Releases: 61.9 million pounds of toxic chemicals were disposed of or released (2020).
United States 3.1 billion pounds
Asthma: 9.1% of children under age 18 have asthma (2018- 2019)
Nationwide: 7.7%
Pediatric Cancer: 184.8 cases of pediatric cancer per 1 million population (2005-2015)
Nationwide: 181.0 cases per 1 million
Blood lead levels: 4% of tested children under age 6 have elevated blood lead levels (2016).
Nationwide: 3.8%
Neurodevelopmental Disorders:9.7% of children age 3-17 have ADD or ADHD (2019-2020).
Nationwide: 8.9%.

2.6% of children age 3-17  have Autism Spectrum Disorder (2019- 2020)
Nationwide: 2.9%

Michigan Spotlight: Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART)

Contamination of drinking water by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFA) has been a high-visibility issue in Michigan and across the country over the past few years. PFAS are a group of highly toxic persistent chemicals and a significant public health concern. Although the EPA anticipates issuing PFAS regulation in Fall 2023, there are currently no federal regulations in place for PFAS in drinking water. A 2021 report found that Michigan has among the most PFAS-contaminated water sites in the country. However, the high number of confirmed sites is at least partly attributed to MI’s aggressive search for PFAS contamination.

Since 2017, the state has acted to protect its drinking water via the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART), a multi-agency collaboration. MPART actions that have successfully reduced statewide exposure include the provisioning of alternative water sources and the regulation of PFAS discharges into drinking water supplies, While the state drinking water standards only apply to public water supplies, MPART actions that have successfully reduced statewide exposure include the provisioning of alternative water sources and the regulation of PFAS discharges into drinking water supplies. While the state drinking water standards only apply to public water supplies, MPART investigators also assist private well owners by testing wells in areas with known PFAS contamination, providing educational information about PFAS, and helping those with tainted well water to consider solutions. Michigan is one of only 16 states to set enforceable standards for certain PFAS substances in drinking water. These standards are stricter than the EPA’s for current unenforceable health advisory levels.

Federal Support to Michigan within the past 5 years

CDC-funded Climate-Ready States & Cities Initiative
CDC-Funded Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
ATSDR State Cooperative Agreement Program
CDC National Asthma Control Program
CDC-funded Environmental Public Health Tracking Program
CDC State Biomonitoring Cooperative Agreement Program

Children’s Environmental Health Indicators Selection Criteria (click to expand):”]
Children’s environmental health indicators (CEHIs) are measures that can be used to assess environmental hazards, exposures, and their resulting health outcomes in children.  The below criteria are used when determining which indicators to utilize:

    • Relevance: Each headline indicator should be a clear, understandable indicator of children’s environmental health, with broad relevance for a range of audiences at the state level – with relevance to the national level.
    • Representativeness: The indicators as a package should provide a representative picture of children’s health and relation to the environment.
    • Traceability: Each indicator should be calculated using an agreed-upon (and published) method and accessible and verifiable data.
    • Timeliness: Each indicator should be calculated regularly (at least biennially), with a short lag between the end of the period and publication of the data.
    • Data adequacy: The available data needed for the indicator must be sufficiently robust, reliable and valid.
    • Universality: Indicators must be comparable across all or very nearly all 50 U.S. states. [/expand]

Indicator Notes and References

Safe Drinking Water

Air Quality

Warming Temperature

Toxic Chemicals

  • Indicator Note: EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) tracks the management of certain toxic chemicals that may pose a threat to human health and the environment. Certain industrial facilities in the U.S. must report annually how much of each chemical is disposed of or released on and off site. Many of these chemicals are known carcinogens, developmental toxicants, and neurotoxicants, such as arsenic, lead and mercury, that adversely impact children’s health.
  • Reference: Summary of 759 Toxic Release Inventory Facilities in Michigan. Reporting Year 2020.

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Asthma

Pediatric Cancer

Blood Lead Levels

Poverty

Federal Support to Michigan

Michigan Spotlight


All children deserve and need a safe and healthy environment to grow and develop. They need clean air to breathe, safe water to drink, nutritious food to eat, and healthy places in which to live, learn, and play. Early exposure to harmful agents can lead to acute and chronic adverse outcomes. Infants and children are especially vulnerable to environmental exposures because they breathe, eat and drink more, in proportion to their body size, than do adults, and because their bodies and brains are still developing.

A blueprint for Protecting Children’s Environmental Health Network set out to identify a set of CEHIs that can be used to provide an understanding of children’s environmental health at the state level. Through this process, CEHN found that robust, valid, and regularly updated state level data–that are comparable across most states–were not readily accessible. States need adequate funding and capacity to collect and make accessible reliable CEHI data in order to set goals and track progress towards improving children’s health.

Children are our future – society has a moral obligation to protect them. Exposure to environmental hazards can and must be prevented. Prevention requires strong environmental regulations, fully funded and supportive public and environmental health programs and a robust workforce.

Colorado Children’s Environmental Health

Colorado Children’s Environmental Health Profile


Did you know 71% of children under 18 in Colorado live in counties with unhealthy levels of ozone pollution? Or that 9.1% of children under age 18 had asthma (compared to the National average of 7.7%) in 2018-2019? There are 1.3 million children in Colorado, and approximately 12% of them live in poverty. Poverty is an important social determinant of health; poverty hurts children and their families. Children of color and young children are disproportionately poor and experience many issues that lead to adverse health outcomes. All children deserve a safe and healthy environment to grow and develop.

This report details key Colorado children’s environmental health indicators, federal support received by the state, and the work the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART) are doing to protect children’s health.

Continue reading to learn more about how children living in Colorado are experiencing adverse health outcomes due to environmental exposures in their air, water, and food, or click the blue button to download the factsheet.

Key Children’s Environmental Health Indicators for Colorado

What is a Children’s Environmental Health Indicator?

See Indicator References

Safe Drinking Water: 40% of public water utilities had drinking water violations (2019).
National average: 32%
Air Quality: 71% of children under age 18 live in counties with unhealthy ozone pollution (2020)
Warming Temperatures: 2.9 degrees F warmer in 2018 than in 1970.
National average 2.5 degrees F warmer
Toxic Chemical Releases: 24.5 million pounds of toxic chemicals were disposed of or released (2018).
United States 3.8 billion pounds
Asthma: 6.5% of children under age 18 have asthma (2017)
Nationwide: 7.6%
Pediatric Cancer: 174 cases of pediatric cancer per 1 million population (2005-2015) Nationwide: 181.0 cases per 1 million
Blood lead levels: 1.0% of tested children under age 6 have elevated blood lead levels (2016)
Nationwide: 3.0%
Neurodevelopmental Disorders:8.8% of children age 3-17 have ADD or ADHD (2017-2018).
Nationwide: 8.7%.

2.9% of children age 3-17  have Autism Spectrum Disorder (2017)
Nationwide: 2.9%

Colorado Spotlight: 

Exposure to lead can seriously harm a child’s health, including damage to the brain and nervous system, reduced IQ, and learning disabilities. A common source of lead in drinking water are lead service lines (LSLs) which bring municipal water into homes. Full LSL, replacement is imperative to reduce the risk of lead exposure to millions of families, especially those in under-resourced communities and communities of color

In 2020 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule -the rule that is responsible for drinking water infrastructure and contaminants. There are several problems with the proposed revisions, including a lowered rate for required LSL replacements, With the proposed new rate, it could take more than 33 years for all LSLs in a poorly performing water system to be replaced.

However, cities and states are stepping up to protect their residents’ health. Denver Water’s Lead Reduction Program is undertaking aggressive action to fully replace all of the estimated 64,000-84,000 LSLs in its service area within 15 years. Vulnerable neighborhoods and properties that service large numbers of at-risk individuals, such as child care facilities will be prioritized in the replacement effort.

Federal Support to Colorado within the past 5 years

CDC-Funded Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
ATSDR State Cooperative Agreement Program
CDC National Asthma Control Program
CDC-funded Environmental Public Health Tracking Program
CDC State Biomonitoring Cooperative Agreement Program

Children’s Environmental Health Indicators Selection Criteria 
Children’s environmental health indicators (CEHIs) are measures that can be used to assess environmental hazards, exposures, and their resulting health outcomes in children. The below criteria are used when determining which indicators to utilize:

    • Relevance: Each headline indicator should be a clear, understandable indicator of children’s environmental health, with broad relevance for a range of audiences at the state level – with relevance to the national level.
    • Representativeness: The indicators as a package should provide a representative picture of children’s health and relation to the environment.
    • Traceability: Each indicator should be calculated using an agreed-upon (and published) method and accessible and verifiable data.
    • Timeliness: Each indicator should be calculated regularly (at least biennially), with a short lag between the end of the period and publication of the data.
    • Data adequacy: The available data needed for the indicator must be sufficiently robust, reliable and valid.
    • Universality: Indicators must be comparable across all or very nearly all 50 U.S. states. [/expand]

Indicator Notes and References

Safe Drinking Water

Air Quality

Warming Temperature

Toxic Chemicals

  • Indicator Note: EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) tracks the management of certain toxic chemicals that may pose a threat to human health and the environment. Certain industrial facilities in the U.S. must report annually how much of each chemical is disposed of or released on and off site. Many of these chemicals are known carcinogens, developmental toxicants, and neurotoxicants, such as arsenic, lead and mercury, that adversely impact children’s health.
  • Reference: Summary of 241 Toxic Release Inventory Facilities in Colorado. Reporting Year 2018. Accessed on April 28, 2020.

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Asthma

Pediatric Cancer

Indicator Note: Although cancer in children is rare, the rate of pediatric cancer has been increasing since the 1970s. It is the leading disease related cause of death past infancy in U.S. children, Neither genetics nor improved diagnostic techniques can explain the increased rate. According to the President’s Cancer Panel’s 2008-2009 Annual Report, “the true burden of environmentally induced cancer has been grossly underestimated”

Blood Lead Levels

  • Indicator Note: In 2016, 6.6% of Colorado children under age 6 were tested for blood lead levels (BLLs). Of those tested, 1% had a BLL>= 5 µg/dL. Often the most vulnerable children are not tested, and not all who are tested get reported, so 1% is likely an underestimate of the true scope of children’s elevated blood lead in Colorado. There is no safe level of lead exposure for children. A potent neurotoxicant, lead reduces IQ and impairs other cognitive, behavioral and developmental functions. In 2021, the CDC lowered the BLL reference value from 5 to 3.5 µg/dL.
  • Reference: National Childhood Blood Lead Surveillance Data. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed on March 25, 2020 

Poverty

Support to Colorado

Colorado Spotlight


All children deserve and need a safe and healthy environment to grow and develop. They need clean air to breathe, safe water to drink, nutritious food to eat, and healthy places in which to live, learn, and play. Early exposure to harmful agents can lead to acute and chronic adverse outcomes. Infants and children are especially vulnerable to environmental exposures because they breathe, eat and drink more, in proportion to their body size, than do adults, and because their bodies and brains are still developing.

A blueprint for Protecting Children’s Environmental Health Network set out to identify a set of CEHIs that can be used to provide an understanding of children’s environmental health at the state level. Through this process, CEHN found that robust, valid, and regularly updated state level data–that are comparable across most states–were not readily accessible. States need adequate funding and capacity to collect and make accessible reliable CEHI data in order to set goals and track progress towards improving children’s health.

Children are our future – society has a moral obligation to protect them. Exposure to environmental hazards can and must be prevented. Prevention requires strong environmental regulations, fully funded and supportive public and environmental health programs and a robust workforce.

Florida Children’s Environmental Health

Florida Children’s Environmental Health Profile


Did you know 50% of children under 18 in Florida live in counties with unhealthy levels of ozone pollution? Or that 9.1% of children under age 18 had asthma (compared to the National average of 7.7%) in 2018-2019? There are 4.3 million children in Florida, and approximately 20% of them live in poverty. Poverty is an important social determinant of health; poverty hurts children and their families. Children of color and young children are disproportionately poor and experience many issues that lead to adverse health outcomes. All children deserve a safe and healthy environment to grow and develop.

This profile highlights key Florida children’s environmental health indicators, federal support received by the state for environmental health, health equity and climate and health programs, and a spotlight feature in a children’s environmental health-related topical issues.

Continue reading to learn more about environmental hazards, children’s exposures, and children’s health outcomes in Florida, or click the blue button to download the profile as a PDF.

Key Children’s Environmental Health Indicators for Florida

What is a Children’s Environmental Health Indicator?

See Indicator References

Safe Drinking Water: 30% of public water utilities had drinking water violations (2019)
National average: 31%
Air Quality: 21% of children under age 18 live in counties with unhealthy ozone pollution (2020)
Warming Temperatures: 2 degrees F warmer in 2018 than in 1970.
National average 2.5 degrees F warmer
Toxic Chemical Releases: 61.4 million pounds of toxic chemicals were disposed of or released (2018).
United States 3.8 billion pounds
Asthma: 9.5% of children under age 18 have asthma (2017- 2018)
Nationwide: 7.6%
Pediatric Cancer: 189.4 cases of pediatric cancer per 1 million population (2005-2015)
Nationwide: 181.0 cases per 1 million
Blood lead levels: 1.7% of tested children under age 6 have elevated blood lead levels (2012).
Nationwide: 2.4%
Neurodevelopmental Disorders:9.8% of children age 3-17 have ADD or ADHD (2017-2018).
Nationwide: 8.9%. 

1.2% of children age 3-17  have Autism Spectrum Disorder (2017- 2018)
Nationwide: 2.9%

Florida Spotlight

Climate change is one of the greatest threats to public health and to the safety of future generations. State and local governments are increasingly leading the way and taking urgent climate action into their own hands. Florida shoulders significant risks from climate change–form sea level rise and loss of critical coastline, to an increase in extreme heat days and more severe weather events. One example of Florida-driven innovation is the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact, developed in 2010 by Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach Counties. Through this compact, the counties have been working cooperatively across county lines to develop annual legislative programs and create a Southeast Florida Regional Climate Action Plan.

The plan provides a set of recommendations, guidelines for implementation, and shared best practices for local entities to act in-line with the regional agenda. In addition to providing recommendations in areas including agriculture, transportation, water, and energy and fuel, the plan explicitly addresses public health, public outreach and engagement, and social equity. Local entities can opt to create personalized plans based on their priority focus areas.

Federal Support to Florida within the past 5 years

CDC-Funded Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
ATSDR State Cooperative Agreement Program
CDC National Asthma Control Program
CDC-funded Environmental Public Health Tracking Program
CDC State Biomonitoring Cooperative Agreement Program

Children’s Environmental Health Indicators Selection Criteria
Children’s environmental health indicators (CEHIs) are measures that can be used to assess environmental hazards, exposures, and their resulting health outcomes in children.  The below criteria are used when determining which indicators to utilize:

    • Relevance: Each headline indicator should be a clear, understandable indicator of children’s environmental health, with broad relevance for a range of audiences at the state level – with relevance to the national level.
    • Representativeness: The indicators as a package should provide a representative picture of children’s health and relation to the environment.
    • Traceability: Each indicator should be calculated using an agreed-upon (and published) method and accessible and verifiable data.
    • Timeliness: Each indicator should be calculated regularly (at least biennially), with a short lag between the end of the period and publication of the data.
    • Data adequacy: The available data needed for the indicator must be sufficiently robust, reliable and valid.
    • Universality: Indicators must be comparable across all or very nearly all 50 U.S. states. [/expand]

Indicator Notes and References

Safe Drinking Water

Air Quality

Warming Temperature

Toxic Chemicals

  • Indicator Note: EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) tracks the management of certain toxic chemicals that may pose a threat to human health and the environment. Certain industrial facilities in the U.S. must report annually how much of each chemical is disposed of or released on and off site. Many of these chemicals are known carcinogens, developmental toxicants, and neurotoxicants, such as arsenic, lead and mercury, that adversely impact children’s health.
  • Reference: Summary of 686 Toxic Release Inventory Facilities in Florida. Reporting Year 2018. Accessed April 28, 2020.

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Asthma

Pediatric Cancer

Blood Lead Levels

Poverty

Federal Support to Florida

Florida Spotlight


All children deserve and need a safe and healthy environment to grow and develop. They need clean air to breathe, safe water to drink, nutritious food to eat, and healthy places in which to live, learn, and play. Early exposure to harmful agents can lead to acute and chronic adverse outcomes. Infants and children are especially vulnerable to environmental exposures because they breathe, eat and drink more, in proportion to their body size, than do adults, and because their bodies and brains are still developing.

A blueprint for Protecting Children’s Environmental Health Network set out to identify a set of CEHIs that can be used to provide an understanding of children’s environmental health at the state level. Through this process, CEHN found that robust, valid, and regularly updated state level data–that are comparable across most states–were not readily accessible. States need adequate funding and capacity to collect and make accessible reliable CEHI data in order to set goals and track progress towards improving children’s health.

Children are our future – society has a moral obligation to protect them. Exposure to environmental hazards can and must be prevented. Prevention requires strong environmental regulations, fully funded and supportive public and environmental health programs and a robust workforce.

California Children’s Environmental Health

California Children’s Environmental Health Profile

Did you know 89% of children under 18 in California live in counties with unhealthy levels of ozone pollution? Or that 3.3% of children under age 18 had Autism Spectrum Disorder (compared to the National average of 2.9%) in 2018-2019? There are 8.9 million children in California, and approximately 16% of them live in poverty. Poverty is an important social determinant of health; poverty hurts children and their families. Children of color and young children are disproportionately poor and experience many issues that lead to adverse health outcomes. All children deserve a safe and healthy environment to grow and develop.

This profile highlights key California children’s environmental health indicators, federal support received by the states for environmental health, health equity and climate and health programs, and a spotlight feature on a children’s environmental-health related topical issue.

Continue reading to learn more about environmental hazards, children’s exposures, and children’s health outcomes in California, or click the blue button to download the profile as a PDF.

Key Children’s Environmental Health Indicators for California

What is a Children’s Environmental Health Indicator?

See Indicator References

Safe Drinking Water: 21% of public water utilities had drinking water violations.
National average: 30%
Air Quality: 89% of children under age 18 live in counties with unhealthy ozone pollution
Warming Temperatures: 2.7 degrees F warmer in 2020 than in 1970.
National average 2.8 degrees F warmer
Toxic Chemical Releases: 39.2 million pounds of toxic chemicals were disposed of or released.
United States 3.4 billion pounds
Asthma: 7.4% of children under age 18 have asthma (2018- 2019)
Nationwide: 7.7%
Pediatric Cancer: 181 cases of pediatric cancer per 1 million population (2005-2015) Nationwide: 181 cases per 1 million
Blood lead levels: 1.48% of tested children under age 6 have elevated blood lead levels (2018)
Nationwide: 2.6%
Neurodevelopmental Disorders:5.6% of children age 3-17 have ADD or ADHD (2018-2019).
Nationwide: 8.7%.

3.3% of children age 3-17  have Autism Spectrum Disorder (2018- 2019)
Nationwide: 2.9%

California Spotlight: Climate Change and Health Vulnerability Planning Tool

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) seeks to reduce and prevent adverse and inequitable physical and mental health impacts associated with climate change. With partial funding from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s Climate Ready States and Cities Initiative, the CDPH Climate Change and Health Equity Section and its CalBRACE Project developed Climate Change & Health Vulnerability Indicators for California (CCHVIs) and an online interactive platform to visualize the data, CCHVIz, These tools assist with climate change planning and prioritizing actions to protect people most at risk, including children.

The CCHVIz displays three categories of indicators that influence vulnerability to health impacts of climate change: exposure indicators including heat, air quality, wildfires, and sea level rise; population sensitivity indicators including children, elderly, poverty, education, outdoor workers, vehicle ownership, linguistic isolation, disability, health insurance, and violent crime rate; and adaptive capacity indicators including air conditioning ownership, tree canopy, and impervious surfaces.

The CCHVIz provides health officials and planners with an online snapshot to compare their county’s indicators to the state average. They can view risk by census tract for specific indicators, such as children under age 5, and their breakdown by race and ethnicity. The tool also plots the intersections of exposure indicators (e.g., ozone concentration) with sensitivity indicators (e.g., population under 5 years of age) to learn where children are susceptible to air pollution, extreme heat, wildfire, or other threats. The CCHVIz is an excellent resource for State and local officials in California to plan to prevent and prepare for climate change-related health impacts to young children, especially children of color and children in under-resourced communities.

Federal Support to California within the past 5 years

CDC-funded Climate-Ready States & Cities Initiative
CDC-funded Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
ATSDR State Cooperative Agreement Program
CDC National Asthma Control Program
CDC-funded Environmental Public Health Tracking Program
CDC State Biomonitoring Cooperative Agreement Program

Children’s Environmental Health Indicators Selection Criteria
Children’s environmental health indicators (CEHIs) are measures that can be used to assess environmental hazards, exposures, and their resulting health outcomes in children.  The below criteria are used when determining which indicators to utilize:

    • Relevance: Each headline indicator should be a clear, understandable indicator of children’s environmental health, with broad relevance for a range of audiences at the state level – with relevance to the national level.
    • Representativeness: The indicators as a package should provide a representative picture of children’s health and relation to the environment.
    • Traceability: Each indicator should be calculated using an agreed-upon (and published) method and accessible and verifiable data.
    • Timeliness: Each indicator should be calculated regularly (at least biennially), with a short lag between the end of the period and publication of the data.
    • Data adequacy: The available data needed for the indicator must be sufficiently robust, reliable and valid.
    • Universality: Indicators must be comparable across all or very nearly all 50 U.S. states. [/expand]

Indicator Notes and References

Safe Drinking Water

Air Quality

Warming Temperature

  • Indicator Note: Warming matters — it drives most of the hazards associated with climate change such as extreme weather, heat days, droughts and heavy downpours. Children are more vulnerable to harm from extreme heat and to the other cascading effects of warming temperatures.
  • Reference: AMERICAN WARMING: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance: Statewide Time Series, retrieved July 2021 from https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cag/.

Toxic Chemicals

  • Indicator Note: EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) tracks the management of certain toxic chemicals that may pose a threat to human health and the environment. Certain industrial facilities in the U.S. must report annually how much of each chemical is disposed of or released on and off site. Many of these chemicals are known carcinogens, developmental toxicants, and neurotoxicants, such as arsenic, lead and mercury, that adversely impact children’s health.
  • Reference: Summary of 263 Toxic Release Inventory Facilities in California. Reporting Year 2019. Accessed June, 2021.

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Asthma

Pediatric Cancer

Blood Lead Levels

Poverty

Federal Support to California

California Spotlight”]


All children deserve and need a safe and healthy environment to grow and develop. They need clean air to breathe, safe water to drink, nutritious food to eat, and healthy places in which to live, learn, and play. Early exposure to harmful agents can lead to acute and chronic adverse outcomes. Infants and children are especially vulnerable to environmental exposures because they breathe, eat and drink more, in proportion to their body size, than do adults, and because their bodies and brains are still developing.

A blueprint for Protecting Children’s Environmental Health Network set out to identify a set of CEHIs that can be used to provide an understanding of children’s environmental health at the state level. Through this process, CEHN found that robust, valid, and regularly updated state level data–that are comparable across most states–were not readily accessible. States need adequate funding and capacity to collect and make accessible reliable CEHI data in order to set goals and track progress towards improving children’s health.

Children are our future – society has a moral obligation to protect them. Exposure to environmental hazards can and must be prevented. Prevention requires strong environmental regulations, fully funded and supportive public and environmental health programs and a robust workforce.

Arizona Children’s Environmental Health

Arizona Children’s Environmental Health Profile


Did you know 87% of children under 18 in Arizona live in counties with unhealthy levels of ozone pollution? Or that 53% of public water utilities in the state experienced drinking water violations (compared to the National average of 32%) in 2019?  There are 1.7 million children in Arizona, and approximately 20% of them live in poverty. Poverty is an important social determinant of health; poverty hurts children and their families. Children of color and young children are disproportionately poor and experience many issues that lead to adverse health outcomes. All children deserve a safe and healthy environment to grow and develop.

This profile highlights key Arizona children’s environmental health indicators, federal support received by the state for environmental health, health equity and climate and health programs, and a spotlight feature on a children’s environmental health-related topical issue.

Continue reading to learn more about environmental hazards, children’s expoures, and children’ health outcomes in Arizona, or click the blue button to download the profile as a PDF.

Key Children’s Environmental Health Indicators for Arizona

What is a Children’s Environmental Health Indicator?

See Indicator References

Safe Drinking Water: 53% of public water utilities had drinking water violations.
National average: 32%
Air Quality: 87% of children under age 18 live in counties with unhealthy ozone pollution
Warming Temperatures: 3.2 degrees F warmer in 2018 than in 1970:
National average 2.5 degrees F
Toxic Chemical Releases: 170.6 million pounds of toxic chemicals were disposed of or released.
United States: 3.8 billion pounds
Asthma: 7.5% of children under age 18 have asthma (2017- 2018)
Nationwide: 7.6%
Pediatric Cancer: 176.9 cases of pediatric cancer per 1 million population (2005-2015)
Nationwide: 181.0 cases per 1 million
Blood lead levels: 0.3% of tested children under age 6 have elevated blood lead levels (2017)
Nationwide: 3%
Neurodevelopmental Disorders: 6.9% of children age 3-17 have ADD or ADHD (2017-2018).
Nationwide: 8.7%.


Neurodevelopmental Disorders: 3.1% of children age 3-17  have Autism Spectrum Disorder (2017- 2018)
Nationwide: 2.9% 

Arizona Spotlight: Navajo Community Groups Dine C.A.R.E and To Nizhoni Ani 

The Navajo Nation has faced years of environmental contamination from historical uranium mining and the placement of coal-powered incinerators on their lands. Their residents have suffered from breathing coal ash and polluted air. Uranium mining was banned in 2005 but has left a legacy of extraction contaminated water sources, including private wells.

Two Navajo community groups —Dine C.A.R.E. (Navajo Citizens Against Ruining our Environment) and To Nizhoni Ani (Sacred Water Speaks)–have been working to address these injustices for years. An overarching goal of their efforts is to make sure that the Navajo Nation transitions from an over-reliance on coal as an economic engine to more affordable and sustainable sources of energy, They are prioritizing and promoting sources that do not pollute Navajo air, land and water – and that are in line with their Dine way of life and fundamental principles. These organizations are recognized as leaders on these issues They collaborate with national environmental organizations, travel to Washington DC to advocate on behalf of the Navajo Nation and are committed to finding clean energy solutions and associated jobs on Navajo lands.

Federal Support to Arizona within the past 5 years

CDC Funded Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
CDC Funded Environmental Public Health Tracking Program
CDC State Biomonitoring Cooperative Agreement Program
  ATSDR State Cooperative Agreement Program
  CDC National Asthma Control Program

Children’s Environmental Health Indicators Selection Criteria 
Children’s environmental health indicators (CEHIs) are measures that can be used to assess environmental hazards, exposures, and their resulting health outcomes in children.  The below criteria are used when determining which indicators to utilize:

    • Relevance: Each headline indicator should be a clear, understandable indicator of children’s environmental health, with broad relevance for a range of audiences at the state level – with relevance to the national level.
    • Representativeness: The indicators as a package should provide a representative picture of children’s health and relation to the environment.
    • Traceability: Each indicator should be calculated using an agreed-upon (and published) method and accessible and verifiable data.
    • Timeliness: Each indicator should be calculated regularly (at least biennially), with a short lag between the end of the period and publication of the data.
    • Data adequacy: The available data needed for the indicator must be sufficiently robust, reliable and valid.
    • Universality: Indicators must be comparable across all or very nearly all 50 U.S. states. [/expand]

Indicator Notes and References

Safe Drinking Water

Air Quality

Warming Temperature

Toxic Chemicals

  • Indicator Note: EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) tracks the management of certain toxic chemicals that may pose a threat to human health and the environment. Certain industrial facilities in the U.S. must report annually how much of each chemical is disposed of or released on and off site. Many of these chemicals are known carcinogens, developmental toxicants, and neurotoxicants, such as arsenic, lead and mercury, that adversely impact children’s health.
  • Reference: Summary of 263 Toxic Release Inventory Facilities in Arizona. Reporting Year 2018. Accessed on April 28, 2020.

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Asthma

Pediatric Cancer

Blood Lead Levels

Poverty

Federal Support to Arizona

Arizona Spotlight


All children deserve and need a safe and healthy environment to grow and develop. They need clean air to breathe, safe water to drink, nutritious food to eat, and healthy places in which to live, learn, and play. Early exposure to harmful agents can lead to acute and chronic adverse outcomes. Infants and children are especially vulnerable to environmental exposures because they breathe, eat and drink more, in proportion to their body size, than do adults, and because their bodies and brains are still developing.

A blueprint for Protecting Children’s Environmental Health Network set out to identify a set of CEHIs that can be used to provide an understanding of children’s environmental health at the state level. Through this process, CEHN found that robust, valid, and regularly updated state level data–that are comparable across most states–were not readily accessible. States need adequate funding and capacity to collect and make accessible reliable CEHI data in order to set goals and track progress towards improving children’s health.

Children are our future – society has a moral obligation to protect them. Exposure to environmental hazards can and must be prevented. Prevention requires strong environmental regulations, fully funded and supportive public and environmental health programs and a robust workforce.

Maternal Health and the Environment

Maternal Health and the Environment

By Kathy Attar, Program Manager, Eco-Healthy Child Care®

March 2022

Celebrate women this month–take action to reduce harmful environmental exposures!

Numerous environmental chemicals can harm a women’s health during and after pregnancy. A pregnant woman’s chemical exposures may also affect the baby’s health.

Maternal health refers to pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period.

Environmental Pollution and Health Outcomes

Pregnant women may be exposed to harmful chemicals through contaminated air and water, consumer products, and food. Traffic-related pollution is associated with infertility, increased pregnancy loss, and hypertension in pregnancy. Exposure to pesticides has been shown to increase breast cancer risk. Chemicals that interfere with the endocrine system, such as phthalates and bisphenols often found in consumer products (e.g. plastics, fragrances) may play a role in the development of uterine fibroids

Environmental Injustice

Health inequalities exist–Black, Latinx, and Indigenous women are more likely to be exposed to environmental pollution and harmful chemicals. These women also suffer worse outcomes. For example, Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native women in the U.S. are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. Black women tend to develop uterine fibroids earlier in life and experience more severe symptoms than women of other races.

Take Action to Protect Maternal Health

Enroll in Eco-Healthy Child Care®’s Protecting Children’s Environmental Health e-course. The course offers easy, low-cost tips for reducing environmental hazards in child care facilities. Protect children’s health and the health of staff (who are predominately women of child-bearing age) from pesticides, lead, and harmful chemicals found in common cleaning products by eliminating exposures. The e-course is available in English and Spanish.

Work towards changing systems to reduce exposures to harmful environmental pollutants. Join Breast Cancer Action in supporting the No PFAS in Cosmetics Act.   PFAS is a growing class of chemicals, which can be toxic, and may increase breast cancer risk. A recent study found that PFAS were present in just over half of the makeup products tested.


La salud materna y el medio ambiente

Celebre a las mujeres este mes: ¡tome medidas para reducir las exposiciones ambientales dañinas!

Numerosos químicos ambientales pueden dañar la salud de la mujer durante y después del embarazo. Las exposiciones químicas de una mujer embarazada también pueden afectar la salud del bebé.

La salud materna se refiere al embarazo, el parto y el periodo posparto.

Contaminación ambiental y resultados de salud

Las mujeres embarazadas pueden estar expuestas a sustancias químicas nocivas a través del aire y el agua, los productos de consumo y los alimentos contaminados. La contaminación relacionada con el tráfico se asocia con infertilidad, aumento de la pérdida de embarazo e hipertensión durante el embarazo. Se ha demostrado que la exposición a pesticidas aumenta el riesgo de cáncer de mama. Los productos químicos que interfieren con el sistema endocrino, como los ftalatos y los bisfenoles que a menudo se encuentran en los productos de consumo (p. ej., plásticos, fragancias) pueden desempeñar un papel en el desarrollo de los fibromas uterinos

Injusticia ambiental

Existen desigualdades en la salud: las mujeres negras, latinxs e indígenas tienen más probabilidades de estar expuestas a la contaminación ambiental y los productos químicos nocivos. Estas mujeres también sufren peores resultados. Por ejemplo, las mujeres negras, indias americanas y nativas de Alaska en los EE. UU. tienen entre dos y tres veces más probabilidades de morir por causas relacionadas con el embarazo que las mujeres blancas. Las mujeres negras tienden a desarrollar fibromas uterinos a una edad más temprana y experimentan síntomas más graves que las mujeres de otras razas.

Tome medidas para proteger la salud materna

Inscríbase en el curso de Eco-Healthy Child Care® Protección de la salud ambiental de los niños. El curso ofrece consejos sencillos y de bajo costo para reducir los peligros ambientales en las instalaciones de cuidado infantil. Proteja la salud de los niños y la salud del personal (que son predominantemente mujeres en edad fértil) de los pesticidas, el plomo y los productos químicos nocivos que se encuentran en los productos de limpieza comunes eliminando las exposiciones. El curso electrónico está disponible en inglés y español.

Trabajar para cambiar los sistemas para reducir la exposición a contaminantes ambientales nocivos. Únase a Breast Cancer Action para apoyar la Ley No PFAS en Cosméticos. PFAS es una clase creciente de productos químicos que pueden ser tóxicos y pueden aumentar el riesgo de cáncer de mama. Un estudio reciente encontró que los PFAS estaban presentes en poco más de la mitad de los productos de maquillaje probados.