kristiet_a0o04rjz, Author at Children's Environmental Health Network

Michigan’s children’s environmental health: Child care and beyond

kristiet_a0o04rjz on December 15, 2020

Michigan’s children’s environmental health: Child care and beyond

Michigan’s child care industry was struggling even before COVID-19. The pandemic and the tumult of this past year has certainly heightened the issues, with child care closures and both parents and child care providers and staff struggling financially. It is of critical importance for Michigan to support families in accessing high quality affordable child care, and to support child care providers in remaining open, safe, and healthy.

It shouldn’t take a pandemic to remind us that child care is essential to children, families, and society. Crises have a way of revealing our problematic oversights and offer opportunities for true progress. Consider environmental health. Harvard researchers found that people exposed to higher levels of air pollution (disproportionately people of color and those living in poverty) are at greater risk from the coronavirus. Yet building the political will to enact protective, equitable environmental health policies is often a struggle. Everyone, and especially all children deserve clean air and water, safe food and products, a stable climate, and healthy places to live, learn, and play.

Eco-Healthy Child Care® (EHCC) assists child care professionals in their efforts to reduce or eliminate environmental hazards, such as lead and pesticides, in and around their facilities. Over this past year we have been guiding providers during this crisis with information about safe and effective cleaning and disinfecting and safe re-opening practices.

While we focus on the child care space, our parent organization, the Children’s Environmental Health Network (CEHN), has been the leading national voice for children’s environmental health across all settings for nearly three decades. Recently, CEHN has embarked on a project to provide a profile of children’s environmental health (CEH) for each of the 50 U.S. states, and Michigan made their first batch of six.

How do you craft a state’s CEH profile? CEHN staff carefully combed through collections of data on environmental hazards, environmental exposures (biomonitoring), and children’s health outcomes and identified 9 children’s environmental health indicators (CEHI) that met their inclusion criteria of being meaningful, regularly collected, robust data that is uniformly defined across all 50 states. This proved difficult, and one key takeaway is the need for more intentional focus on nationally coordinated CEH surveillance at the state and local levels.

You might be wondering how Michigan fared in their CEH profile? Make sure you check it out and share with others in the state. Below are a few key points.

Drinking Water

Michigan’s drinking water gets a lot of attention since the Flint lead crisis, and the CEH profile points out that Michigan has the most PFAS contaminated water sites of the states. However, it is important to note that the state has responded rapidly and strongly via the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART), a multi-agency collaboration that has provided communities with alternative drinking water sources and filters. Recently, Governor Whitmer announced a $25 million grant program to invest in water infrastructure and projects that remove or reduce contaminants such as PFAS under Michigan’s Clean Water Plan.

Air Quality

While overshadowed by drinking water concerns, Michigan’s air quality is important to note. According to the CEH profile approximately 73% of the state’s children live in counties with unhealthy levels of ozone pollution. This is meaningful, because the profile also imparts that 8.3% of Michigan’s children has asthma (which is exacerbated by, and in some cases even caused by ozone exposure), compared with a nationwide rate of 7.5%.

Climate Change

Climate change has caused Michigan to have warmed 2.7 degrees (F) since the 1970s. Higher temperatures increase the formation of ozone, and lengthen pollen season, contributing to asthma exacerbations. More frequent and hotter days increase children’s risk for heat illnesses, especially those in urban areas and those in homes without air conditioning. Michigan recently became the 9^th state to pledge carbon neutrality, as Governor Whitmer declared plans to meet this goal by 2050.

Toxic chemical release and childhood conditions

The state’s rates for childhood cancers and for ADHD/ADD are also above national rates. In addition, according to the CEH profile, 79.3 million pounds of toxic chemicals were disposed of or released in Michigan in 2018. Only one other state out of the 6 states assessed released a greater amount. How might these toxic chemical releases be contributing to the level of childhood disease and disability among Michigan children?

These profiles are designed to help state leaders take stock and then track their progress over time in reducing environmental hazards and improving health outcomes for their youngest residents, and especially those most vulnerable. Nearly 20% of Michigan’s children live in poverty. These children, and children of color, bear disproportionate burdens of pollution and other environmental health risks, and clear and intentional efforts to address poverty and environmental racism must be prioritized.

There are some promising signs for the state’s progress on CEH issues. In addition to some of the governor’s actions on drinking water and carbon neutrality, Michigan has received support from the CDC and ATSDR within the past 5 years for their lead poisoning prevention program, their asthma control program, and their efforts to reduce toxic exposures, as well as for their environmental public health tracking and biomonitoring programs. Federal support to states is critical now more than ever, as the worst months of the pandemic lay before us. Thankfully, it looks as though 2021 may bring eventual relief from the pandemic, and the new year also signals hope for renewed attention to public health and environmental and climate concerns at the federal level. There is a lot of talk about “building back better” post-pandemic. Addressing racism, poverty, pollution, lack of universal affordable accessible high-quality child care, underfunded public health systems, and an economy centered around toxic chemicals and fossil fuels need to be centered in those plans. This would bode well for Michiganders and indeed families and communities in all states across our nation, and especially the children whose very futures require safe and healthy communities to thrive.

See the full Michigan CEH profile.

Moving the Child Care Field Forward-Updated Environmental Health Standards

kristiet_a0o04rjz on December 8, 2020

Moving the Child Care Field Forward-Updated Environmental Health Standards

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

BIG NEWS!!! The Association for Early Learning Leaders (AELL) has recently released updated accreditation standards for center-based child care providers. These new standards are now more inclusive of children’s environmental health.

The Eco-Healthy Child Care® program worked with AELL to ensure environmental health best practices were included in their newly updated standards. For example, AELL recommends monitoring indoor air quality by: ensuring adequate ventilation is maintained by using an HVAC system and/or opening screened windows; avoiding conditions that lead to excess moisture; and not using aerosols, among other best practices. Protecting children from outdoor air pollution can be done by checking the Air Quality Index and instituting an anti-idling policy, in addition to other strategies.

A primary AELL goal is to ensure high quality child care programs for young children. One way they do this is by accrediting center-based facilities. Their updated accreditation standards reflect current research and evidence-based practices within the early learning field. For example, including information and strategies to reduce air pollution in order to protect children’s health.

All national child care accreditation standards are voluntary strategies for improving the quality of child care. There currently are no mandated national regulations related to environmental health in child care facilities. Some states require child care facilities to test for lead in water and paint, or require facilities to test for radon, but more often than not, environmental health is not comprehensively addressed in child care licensing requirements.

EHCC’s work to incorporate environmental health best practices within national child care accreditation–AELL’s and the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s— as well as within the National Center for Healthy and Safety in Child Care and Early Education’s (NRC) Caring for Our Children’s health and safety standards is a path towards strengthening local child care licensing. When local licensing agencies are seeking to update regulations they often look to accreditation and NRC’s Caring for Our Children’s health and safety standards for model practices that have been agreed upon by subject matter experts.

High quality child care must include considerations for the health and safety of the children and staff–environmental health is a key part in ensuring our children and the people who care for them are free of exposures to potential environmental pollutants.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for comprehensive and safer strategies to address cleaning, disinfecting and indoor air quality in child care. Many of Eco-Healthy Child Care® ‘s cleaning and disinfecting best practices found on our checklist align with the Center’s Disease Control’s COVID-19 best practices for keeping child care facilities safe during the pandemic. We have also developed NEW user-friendly and science based COVID-19 fact sheets for child care professionals on cleaning, disinfecting and indoor air quality (available in both English and Spanish).

Are you a child care provider looking to create a child care environment free of environmental hazards such as: BPA, pesticides or lead? Get Eco-Healthy Child Care® Endorsed!

As an Eco-Healthy Child Care® endorsed provider you will create and maintain a child care facility that is healthy and safe by reducing children’s exposure to environmental hazards like lead in paint and water, unsafe plastics and toxic chemicals found in cleaning supplies.

Celebrating Children’s Environmental Health Day

kristiet_a0o04rjz on October 22, 2020

Celebrating Children’s Environmental Health Day

By Hester Paul, M.S., National Director, Eco-Healthy Child Care®

Thursday, October 8, 2020 was Children’s Environmental Health Day (CEH Day). CEH Day is a platform for ALL of us advocating for healthier places for children to live, learn, and play. It is a way to increase visibility, educate decision makers, and create real change for children’s health.

This year the Eco-Healthy Child Care ® (EHCC) program celebrated CEH Day by organizing a panel of early care and education professionals.

Our panelists included Hester Paul, National Director of EHCC, Sue Kowaleski, Coordinator, Southern Adirondack Child Care Network, Michelle Barnes, Executive Director of the Helen Walton Children’s Enrichment Center, and Nicole Garro, Director, Early Childhood Health at Child Care Aware of America. Collectively the group has over 50 years of experience working to improve the quality of child care across the U.S.

Panelists talked about why children’s environmental health is so important to their work as child care professionals. The Helen Walton Children’s Enrichment Center became engaged in environmental health when several of the children they served were diagnosed with cancer. This sparked them to look at their practices and the facility itself to reduce environmental hazards in order to protect the health of children and staff.

Panelists also spoke of the pandemics impact on the child care field. Both Sue and Nicole highlighted how Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies have heard from child care providers about the challenges of obtaining safer cleaning and disinfecting products for their facilities given the increased focus on cleaning protocols. Providers are also seeking straight forward and science-based advice about how to safely run a child care facility during the pandemic. To help meet this new need Child Care Aware of America has developed a coronavirus resource hub for child care providers and is providing technical assistance to child care centers across the U.S.

Child care providers have always been integral to families’ overall health and well-being. During the COVID-19 pandemic child care professionals continue to play a key role in supporting essential workers. However, the pandemic has increased pressure on the already overburdened child care system. Many providers are closing their facilities because of economic pressures while others are struggling to stay open.

The CEH Day panel did believe the pandemic could bring a renewed focus on environmental health within the child care field–offering an opportunity to disseminate EHHC‘s message to a wider audience.

To assist providers in protecting their health and safety along with the children they care for during the pandemic, EHCC has created user-friendly and science-based materials in English and Spanish, based upon CDC’s COVID-19 guidance for cleaning, disinfecting and indoor air quality in child care facilities.

Listen to the CEH Day child care panel on our YouTube page and access our newly created COVID-19 fact-sheets (English and Spanish) on safer cleaning and disinfecting and indoor air quality on our COVID-19 resource page.

Celebrating 48 Years of the Clean Water Act

kristiet_a0o04rjz on October 22, 2020

Celebrating 48 Years of the Clean Water Act

October 18th marked the 48th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act was a long-awaited reaction to the irresponsible dumping of pollution into our waterways. When the Act was passed, nearly two-thirds of the country’s lakes, rivers and coastal waters had become unsafe, polluted with untreated sewage, oil, trash, chemicals, and other industrial waste.

As we celebrate this anniversary, it is also a rallying call to protect the progress made so far, and to hold our elected officials accountable. Even today, 39% of American rivers, 45% of our lakes, and 51% of the estuaries monitored in the US are contaminated. In fact, the current administration has continued to work relentlessly to undermine the protections provided by the Clean Water Act for the past 48 years. They have rolled back vital safeguards and given corporate polluters access to wage an assault on our public health and safety.

Clean water is fundamental to public health. This year, in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, clean water has become even more central to protecting our nation’s health. Just as black and brown communities have borne the brunt of COVID-19, low income communities and communities of color are often disproportionately impacted by polluted water. These communities are also the ones most immediately impacted by climate change, which poses an increasing threat to our water sources.

Water equity, just like health equity, matters. The ability to access safe water for drinking, cleaning, cooking, and enjoying is absolutely necessary to cultivate happy, healthy communities, where all are able to thrive and reach their full potential. Access to clean water is a fundamental right that every child in this country should be afforded. Our leaders have a moral obligation to protect and uphold this right. We cannot hope to accomplish justice for all if we do not protect safeguards for the water on which our communities and our children depend, like the Clean Water Act.

Children are especially vulnerable to environmental hazards like water pollution. Their bodies are still developing, so a smaller dose of a pollutant can have a bigger impact than on an adult and can have long-lasting physical and mental impacts on a child’s life course. For instance, childhood lead exposure from polluted water sources can damage a child’s brain and nervous system, slow their growth and development, and cause learning and behavior problems and lowered IQ.

Much like our water sources, our children are some of our most valuable resources, yet their health and that of their families and communities have not been at the forefront of our nation’s policies and programs. The Children’s Environmental Health Network’s 2020 Voter Guide helps engaged citizens assess their local, state, and federal candidates’ commitment to five key issues: Children’s Health and Equity, Climate Action, Clean Air, Clean Water, and Toxic-free Environments and Products.

The 2020 elections offer an opportunity to reset our national, state, and local priorities and to put children’s health and their environment at the center of decision-making, including prioritizing clean water for all. Please use this resource as you go to the polls this fall, and share it widely, especially with those who may not be familiar with water quality and children’s environmental health issues. Let’s celebrate the Clean Water Act’s anniversary by uniting at the polls for equity, and a clean and healthy environment for ALL children!

Protecting Colorado Children’s Health

kristiet_a0o04rjz on September 2, 2020

Protecting Colorado Children’s Health

We are all reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic–grieving the loss of loved ones, of jobs, stability, social gatherings, and peace of mind. And we are struggling to adjust to our “new normal” amidst heightened anxiety and persisting uncertainties. One of the truly sobering takeaways is that this crisis has exposed critical gaps in our nation’s ability to effectively protect our most vulnerable. It is urgent that we act on preventable health outcomes to promote the safest and healthiest futures for our children.

That’s why I’m so excited about the new Colorado State Profile for Children’s Environmental Health from The Children’s Environmental Health Network (CEHN). CEHN is a national non-profit organization that has been at the frontlines of children’s environmental health for nearly three decades. They are developing profiles for each state around currently available children’s environmental health indicators (CEHIs).

Children’s Environmental Health & CEHIs

Over the past several decades, childhood chronic diseases, such as asthma and leukemias, and developmental conditions, such as attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder, have become far more common in the U.S. Improved testing and genetics do not account entirely for these worrisome trends.The World Health Organization estimates that 34% of all children’s health issues are the result of modifiable environmental factors.

Children are especially vulnerable to environmental exposures because they breathe, eat and drink more than adults, in proportion to their body size. Their bodies and brains are developing and thus at risk from toxic exposures, while in the womb through adolescence. Exposures to harmful toxicants in our water, food, and everyday products (such as lead, pesticides, brominated flame retardants, and PFAS) and to air pollutants (such as particulate matter, mercury, and ozone) increase children’s risk of adverse health and developmental outcomes and exacerbate existing health conditions. Children and pregnant women from low income communities, tribal communities, and communities of color are disproportionately exposed to these harmful toxicants, placing them at higher risk for illness and disability.

Our changing climate intensifies these environmental hazards and exacerbates existing inequalities–bringing stronger storms, extreme heat waves, more numerous and intense wildfires, and flooding. These effects and others threaten our air and water quality, food security, family and community stability, and physical and mental health. Climate change can also set the stage for more pandemics, as droughts and extreme temperatures increase our risks of zoonotic diseases. In the case of COVID-19, environmental factors can also influence a patient’s prognosis. Mounting scientific evidence demonstrates that exposure to air pollutants directly affects our ability to survive a virus that attacks our respiratory system, as is common with many emerging zoonotic diseases.

In order to reduce our children’s risk of illness and disability, federal, state, and local leaders need to address existing environmental hazards and better plan for children’s needs in the face of climate change. Unfortunately, the current federal administration is reversing nearly 100 environmental regulations that influence the health of our families and pose a serious threat to our impact on the climate. It is up to state and local officials to provide the environmental health protections that our children deserve. And it is up to us to speak out, demanding that children’s health be a priority.

For Colorado’s decision-makers to effectively address children’s environmental health concerns they must first understand the current state of these issues in their jurisdiction.Comprehensive information, including state-by-state comparisons of uniformly defined data points (CEHIs) about environmental hazards, environmental exposures, and relevant children’s health outcomes, is needed. Unfortunately there are very few accessible sources of robust, valid, and regularly updated state-level comparisons of CEHIs, but CEHN has compiled the most meaningful ones into their state profiles.

Colorado’s Profile

The Colorado profile offers interesting insights. The first thing that stuck out to me was that nearly 70% of Colorado children live in counties with unhealthy ozone levels as of 2020. Another 12% live in counties that either don’t monitor or have incomplete monitoring data for ozone pollution. That means that over 1 million of our 1.3 million Colorado children could be at risk for air-quality related health issues.

I was also startled that Colorado children are more likely than most in the U.S. to be drinking unclean water. The profile shows that 40% of all public water systems in Colorado reported violations of clean water standards (U.S. average is 31%). These reported violations include health-based violations (for example, exceedances of the maximum contaminant levels or exceedances of the maximum residual disinfectant levels), and monitoring and reporting violations.1

Clean air and water are such foundational human rights. They are at the root of our health and wellbeing. Our state is so rich in natural resources that people travel from all over the country to access our “pristine nature.” Why can’t we offer our children these very basic resources?

Indicators like access to clean air and water set the stage for other health related outcomes that can change the course of a child’s life forever. Mounting scientific research links environmental exposures with risk of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Attention-Deficit Disorder (ADD), and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In 2009, The President’s Cancer Panel’s Annual Report pointed to environmental causes for the worrying increase in the pediatric cancer rate since the ‘70s, which is now the leading disease-related cause of death past infancy in U.S. children. Poor outdoor air quality, including high concentrations of ground-level ozone, are linked with the exacerbation of children’s respiratory illnesses, including asthma, as well as the survivability of respiratory illnesses like COVID-19. These issues are all related. They all stem from the places in which our children play, live, and go to school, the food, water, clothes, and toys we give them, the ways in which we clean our homes, and what industries surround our neighborhoods.

As with the COVID-19 pandemic, our least privileged communities shoulder the worst of environmental hazards. Poverty is an important social determinant of health, and one that disproportionately affects indigenous communities and communities of color. As of 2019, 12% of Colorado’s children were living in poverty. They are less likely to be able to access quality health care, electrical power, nutritious food, and safe drinking water. They are also likely to live in unsafe homes and are more likely to learn, play, and live adjacent to polluting industries.

In addition, they are often left untested for associated exposures. For example, CEHN’s profile shows that 1% of Colorado’s children tested positive for elevated blood lead levels (BLL) in 2016, but if you read the footnotes you’ll see that only 6.6% of Colorado children under age 6 were tested. It’s also worth considering that not all children who are tested get reported to public health authorities, so the true scope of children’s lead poisoning in our state is likely higher. By the way, CEHN’s profile includes lots of helpful context, scientific studies, and links to more information, both in the report itself and on their website.

Developing comprehensive, uniformly-defined children’s environmental health indicators and regularly collecting and updating the data is critical to creating strong child-protective policies and to track our progress as we improve our children’s health. All of Colorado’s children deserve a safe and healthy environment to grow and develop. They need clean air to breathe and safe water to drink, nutritious food to eat, and healthy places in which to live, learn, and play. We know this is possible. In order to make it a reality we must hold our elected officials at all levels of government accountable and demand increased investment in under-resourced communities, in our crumbling infrastructure, and in our public health systems. We need to respect the interconnectedness of environmental and human health and prioritize the health of our planet so that our children and future generations have the healthiest possible start to life.

Looking for ways to get involved? Children’s Environmental Health Day is on October 8th this year. Demand that children’s health be put at the center of governmental issues: request a proclamation from Colorado’s governor or from your mayor. You can also host or join into a children’s environmental health day activity with your family, church, scout troop, or neighbors. Get ideas at www.cehn.org/cehday/

Protecting Arizona Children’s Health

kristiet_a0o04rjz on September 2, 2020

Protecting Arizona Children’s Health

We are all reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic—grieving the loss of loved ones, of jobs, stability, social gatherings, and peace of mind. And we are struggling to adjust to our “new normal” amidst heightened anxiety and persisting uncertainties. One of the truly sobering takeaways is that this crisis has exposed critical gaps in our nation’s ability to effectively protect our most vulnerable. It is urgent that we act on preventable health outcomes to promote the safest and healthiest futures for our children.

That’s why I’m so excited about the new Arizona State Profile for Children’s Environmental Health from The Children’s Environmental Health Network (CEHN). CEHN is a national non-profit organization that has been at the frontlines of children’s environmental health for nearly three decades. They are developing profiles for each state around currently available children’s environmental health indicators (CEHIs).

Children’s Environmental Health & CEHIs

For Arizona decision-makers to effectively address children’s environmental health concerns they must first understand the current state of these issues in their jurisdiction.Comprehensive information, including state-by-state comparisons of uniformly defined data points (CEHIs) about environmental hazards, environmental exposures, and relevant children’s health outcomes, is needed. Unfortunately there are very few accessible sources of robust, valid, and regularly updated state-level comparisons of CEHIs, but CEHN has compiled the most meaningful ones into their state profiles.

Arizona’s Profile

The Arizona profile offers interesting insights. One for the first things I noticed was the percentage of Arizona children between the ages of 3 and 17 with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It is greater than the percentage of children nationwide with ASD (3.1% vs. 2.9%). Could this higher rate be linked to the other insights–for example, the more than 170 million pounds of toxic chemicals disposed of or released in the state in 2018, or the fact that in 2019 over 50% of all public water systems in Arizona reported violations of clean water standards (U.S. average is 31%)? Might our rate of ASD diagnoses be reduced by improving environmental health in our state and reducing children’s exposures to toxicants?

I was unsurprised that Arizona faces a greater rate of warming than the national average (3.5℉, the national average is 2.5℉), but I am concerned about it. In general, warming drives most of the hazards associated with climate change such as extreme weather, heat days, and droughts. Children, especially the youngest children, are especially vulnerable to harm from extreme heat and to the other cascading effects of warming temperatures.

Just like the COVID-19 pandemic, our least privileged communities shoulder the worst of environmental hazards. Poverty is an important social determinant of health, and one that disproportionately affects indigenous communities and communities of color. As of 2019, 20% of Arizona’s children were living in poverty. They are less likely to be able to access quality health care, electrical power, nutritious food, and safe drinking water (if any running water at all).They are also likely to live in unsafe homes and are more likely to learn, play, and live adjacent to polluting industries. Even more worrying, they are often left untested for associated exposures. For example, CEHN’s profile shows that 0.3% of Arizona children tested positive for elevated blood lead levels (BLL) in 2017, which seems impressively low, but if you read the footnotes, you’ll see that only 11.4% of Arizona children under age 6 were tested. It’s also worth considering that not all children who are tested get reported to public health authorities, so the true scope of children’s lead poisoning in our state is likely higher. By the way, CEHN’s profile includes lots of helpful context, scientific studies, and links to more information, both in the report itself and on their website.

Developing comprehensive, uniformly-defined children’s environmental health indicators and regularly collecting and updating the data is critical to creating strong child-protective policies and to track our progress as we improve our children’s health. All of Arizona’s children deserve a safe and healthy environment to grow and develop. They need clean air to breathe and safe water to drink, nutritious food to eat, and healthy places in which to live, learn, and play. We know this is possible. In order to make it a reality we must hold our elected officials at all levels of government accountable and demand increased investment in under-resourced communities, in our crumbling infrastructure, and in our public health systems. We need to respect the interconnectedness of environmental and human health and prioritize the health of our planet so that our children and future generations have the healthiest possible start to life.

Looking for ways to get involved? Children’s Environmental Health Day is on October 8th this year. Demand that children’s health be put at the center of governmental issues: request a proclamation from Arizona’s governor or from your mayor. You can also host or join into a children’s environmental health day activity with your family, church, scout troop, or neighbors. Get ideas at www.cehn.org/cehday/

Protecting Florida Children’s Health

kristiet_a0o04rjz on September 2, 2020

Protecting Florida Children’s Health

That’s why I’m so excited about the new Florida State Profile for Children’s Environmental Health from The Children’s Environmental Health Network (CEHN). CEHN is a national non-profit organization that has been at the frontlines of children’s environmental health for nearly three decades. They are developing profiles for each state around currently available children’s environmental health indicators (CEHIs).

Children’s Environmental Health & CEHIs

For Florida decision-makers to effectively address children’s environmental health concerns they must first understand the current state of these issues in their jurisdiction.Comprehensive information, including state-by-state comparisons of uniformly defined data points (CEHIs) about environmental hazards, environmental exposures, and relevant children’s health outcomes, is needed. Unfortunately there are very few accessible sources of robust, valid, and regularly updated state-level comparisons of CEHIs, but CEHN has compiled the most meaningful ones into their state profiles.

Florida’s Profile

The Florida profile offers interesting insights. The first thing that struck me was our rate of asthma. Nine and a half percent of Florida’s children are diagnosed with asthma. The national average is only 7.6%. A related and also unnerving statistic: over 20% of Florida’s children live in counties with unhealthy ozone levels, while nearly 10% live in counties without sufficient air quality monitoring. That means that up to a third of Florida’s children may be at risk for air quality-related health issues.

I’m glad that CEHN’s profile touches on climate change in Florida. They’ve included a state spotlight on the Southeast Regional Climate Change Compact, which has put together an impressive plan with extensive guidelines for the many Florida communities facing the effects of climate change.1 Our state is uniquely situated to face some of the most extreme effects of climate change in the U.S., from sea level rise to extreme weather to heat days. Children, especially the youngest, are particularly vulnerable to harm from extreme heat and to the other cascading effects of warming temperatures. In fact, we are home to 10 of the hottest cities in the country and more than 620,000 of our residents are especially vulnerable to extreme heat (meaning those under 5, over 65, or living in poverty).2

And just like with the COVID-19 pandemic, our least privileged communities shoulder the worst of environmental hazards and climate change risks. Children in low-income communities are more likely to face trauma, community loss, and mental health issues unsupported after natural disasters. Did you know that Florida has more people at risk for a 100 year flood than any other state? That’s about 5 million people if you count both inland and coastal flooding risks.3

Poverty is an important social determinant of health, and one that disproportionately affects indigenous communities and communities of color. As of 2019, 20% of Florida’s children were living in poverty. They are less likely to be able to access quality health care, electrical power, nutritious food, and safe drinking water. They are also likely to live in unsafe homes and are more likely to learn, play, and live adjacent to polluting industries.

In addition, many marginalized children are often left untested for associated exposures. For example, CEHN’s profile shows that 1.7% of Florida children tested positive for elevated blood lead levels (BLL) in 2012, but if you read the footnotes, you’ll see that only 13.7% of Florida children under age 6 were tested. It’s also worth considering that not all children who are tested get reported to public health authorities, so the true scope of children’s lead poisoning in our state is likely higher. Getting an accurate assessment is further confused because no BLL data is available through the CDC after 2012 for Florida (most other states are up to date through at least 2017). By the way, CEHN’s profile includes lots of helpful context, scientific studies, and links to more information, both in the report itself and on their website.

Developing comprehensive, uniformly-defined children’s environmental health indicators and regularly collecting and updating the data is critical to creating strong child-protective policies and to track our progress as we improve our children’s health. All of Florida’s children deserve a safe and healthy environment to grow and develop. They need clean air to breathe and safe water to drink, nutritious food to eat, and healthy places in which to live, learn, and play. We know this is possible. In order to make it a reality we must hold our elected officials at all levels of government accountable and demand increased investment in under-resourced communities, in our crumbling infrastructure, and in our public health systems. We need to respect the interconnectedness of environmental and human health and prioritize the health of our planet so that our children and future generations have the healthiest possible start to life.

Looking for ways to get involved? Children’s Environmental Health Day is on October 8th this year. Demand that children’s health be put at the center of governmental issues: request a proclamation from Florida’s governor or from your mayor. You can also host or join into a children’s environmental health day activity with your family, church, scout troop, or neighbors. Get ideas at www.cehn.org/cehday/

An Ounce of Prevention

kristiet_a0o04rjz on August 25, 2020

An Ounce of Prevention

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

As a parent, or caregiver, when you buy products for your children, you expect them to be safe. A 2019 Washington state investigation of children’s products bought on Amazon found that to be untrue. Tests identified dangerous levels of lead and other heavy metals including cadmium in certain children’s costume jewelry and school supplies.

Lead exposure is unsafe at any level. Ingesting tiny (often microscopic) concentrations can permanently damage the developing brains of children.

A new study from Case Western Reserve University followed 10,000 children who experienced elevated blood-lead levels before age 3 through age 23. The study found that adults who had experienced childhood lead poisoning were more likely to be incarcerated, experience homelessness and rely on public assistance than children who had not been poisoned by lead. The study also highlights the demographics that are more likely to experience childhood lead poisoning–the rate of elevated blood-lead levels was highest in Black students.

Black and brown communities are more likely to experience childhood lead poisoning as a result of long-standing structural racism. Structural racism has led to the disparate impact of hazardous waste sites, polluting facilities and poor quality housing stock being located in or near neighborhoods with high concentrations of black and brown people and economically disadvantaged populations.

Structural racism is a term for the many systemic factors that work to produce and maintain racial inequities in the U.S. These aspects of our history and culture allow the privileges associated with “whiteness” and the disadvantages associated with “color” to remain deeply embedded within U.S. public policies and institutional practices.

This latest Case Western Reserve University study reinforces the importance of preventing childhood lead poisoning.

The Lead-Safe Toolkit for Home-Based Child Care helps families and child care providers reduce lead hazards within home settings. The Toolkit is a result of Eco-Healthy Child Care®’s partnership with the National Center for Healthy Housing and the National Association of Family Child Care. It is filled with FREE resources including an eye-catching poster and user-friendly worksheets (soon to also be available in Spanish) that provide easy-to-follow steps for finding out if lead hazards exist in the home and what to do to reduce any exposures.

Exposure to lead in the home can create long-lasting health issues for children including: learning disabilities and loss of IQ. Sources of lead can include: paint, dust, water, soil and consumer products.

Certain children’s items are known to have a higher risk of containing lead, such as: inexpensive metal costume jewelry, antique toys and imported toys. Children, especially infants and toddlers, can mouth these unsafe products–inadvertently ingesting pieces and/or inhaling lead-contaminated dust from these play items – which can then cause irreversible harm. Preventing exposures is key to protecting children’s health.

One quick and easy tip to reduce lead hazards is to stay up-to-date on product recalls by visiting the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Checking out CPSC’s website on a regular basis is a great way to keep children safe from lead-contaminated consumer products.

Learn more affordable and effective tips for protecting children from lead in the home setting in the FREE Lead-Safe Toolkit.

Colorado’s Children’s Environmental Health

kristiet_a0o04rjz on July 6, 2020

Arizona Children’s Environmental Health

kristiet_a0o04rjz on July 6, 2020

Michigan’s children’s environmental health: Child care and beyond

Moving the Child Care Field Forward-Updated Environmental Health Standards

Celebrating Children’s Environmental Health Day

Celebrating 48 Years of the Clean Water Act

Protecting Colorado Children’s Health

Protecting Arizona Children’s Health

Protecting Florida Children’s Health

An Ounce of Prevention

Colorado’s Children’s Environmental Health

Arizona Children’s Environmental Health

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