2007 Summit on Children's Health and the Environment

was held on April 13, 2007 at

Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis

Supporting Sponsor: Riley Hospital for Children 

Contributing Sponsors:

The Richard and Susan Van Frank Fund

Plews, Shadley, Racher and Braun

Tim Rowe of Rowe & Hamilton and Gregg Romaine, Esq.

The Beacon Fund of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Indianapolis

Indiana Michigan Power

Sommer Barnard PC

What attendees said:

"I need to thank you for all the work you put into putting together a fabulous first Children's Environmental Health Summit.  I thought the topics were spectacular and I only wish I had been able to attend everything.  The format seemed to work really well.  It would be nice to know if the Summit spawned any new activities in the three topic areas.  I think there will be a need for future summits for some time into the future.  The next Summit should probably be in two or maybe three years.  Thank you again for your work in defense of our kids."

"I greatly appreciate your work bringing together the speakers, attendees, and the sponsors.  Great work!"

More photos

• Co-hosted by the Indiana University Center for Environmental Health, Improving Kids' Environment, IUPUI's School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and the Hoosier Environmental Council, this first time event for Indiana brought together leaders from government, academia, business, the health professions and the advocacy community to consider key environmental influences on children's health in Indiana.

• The Summit focused on three environmental threats to children's health in Indiana. (see below).  In the morning, experts on each topic addressed the current state of knowledge, with specific focus on how the issue affects Indiana.  In the afternoon, smaller group discussions on each topic allowed attendees to share knowledge, make connections, and explore opportunities for collaboration.

Click here for Issue Papers

Fine Particle Pollution.  Studies show the significant adverse effect fine particle air pollution has on the public health in both the short and long term.  Exposure to fine particles results in increased respiratory symptoms, reduced lung function, missed school and work days, increased hospital admissions and emergency room and doctor’s visits for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and premature death in people with heart and lung disease.  Children are especially vulnerable to the effects of fine particle pollution because their systems are still maturing, because they take in more air per pound of body weight than adults, and because they spend more time outdoors than adults.  Studies show that exposure to fine particles in childhood can lead to permanently reduced lung function and damage that will last into adulthood.  Children are exposed to this pollution at home, at school and at play.  Fine particles are released by industry, mobile sources (both diesel and gas powered), and many other activities common to modern life.  The USEPA has long had a national air quality health standard for particle pollution and in September 2006 issued a revised, more stringent standard to protect the public health.  More than 2,300,000 Hoosier children live in areas where levels of fine particles in the air exceed USEPA’s new health standard.   

Questions we will consider:  Is there a need for health or air quality studies so we can better understand the impact of this pollutant on Indiana’s children? What strategies will effectively reduce fine particle levels? What resources will be needed? What opportunities exist for partnership and collaboration at all levels of government and between the public and private sectors?

Speaker:  Ed Avol, Professor of Preventive Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.  Professor Avol's research has focused on outdoor air pollution (especially motor-vehicle related) and children's respiratory development.  He is Deputy Director of the Children's Health Study, a 13yr+ study of the effects of outdoor air pollution on California schoolchildren, and has been appointed to the USEPA Primary Review Panel to evaluate the technical basis for the health-based Federal Clean Air Standards for Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) and Sulfur Oxides (SOx)).
 

Health Threats to Children in Their Homes.  The home environment continues to be a potential threat to children’s health for a variety of reasons. Children are potentially at greater risk than adults to pollutant exposures in the home because their systems are still maturing, and they typically spend more time at home during their early years – it is estimated that children spend 85% of their time at home during the early years. More than 55% of Indiana’s housing units were built before 1970 – these homes are more likely to have lead hazards and asbestos hazards than newer housing. All housing regardless of age can pose substantial additional threats including exposure to unvented combustion gases, radon, mold, disease-causing rodents and other pests, and unsafe conditions leading to injuries. Children are also exposed to hazards by occupant behaviors including smoking (secondhand smoke), unsafe use of pesticides, hazardous remodeling practices, and unsafe attempts to remove hazards such as asbestos or lead. There are no national or statewide standards that regulate the home environment, but housing ordinances such as the American Public Health Association’s model code and the Marion County Health Department housing ordinance do provide guidelines for the home environment.

Questions we will consider: What programs exist to help homeowners and landlords to remedy problems and how effective are they? What programs exist to educate tenants about potential health threats in their homes and resources to address them? Are there collaborations that could make our efforts more efficient? What best practices exist in other geographical locations that could help our efforts?

Speaker:  David Jacobs,  Director of Research at the National Center for Healthy Housing and an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Johns Hopkins University.  Dr. Jacobs launched the Healthy Homes Initiative at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and directed the program for nearly a decade before joining the NCHH to advocate for healthy housing policy nationally. 

Endocrine Disruptors. Infants, children, and the developing fetus are especially vulnerable to endocrine disruptors because these contaminants affect the development of the body’s hormonal system and vital organs during a time when the growing body is highly sensitive to alterations in hormonal signaling. Studies of potential adverse effects in humans, wildlife, and laboratory studies have focused mainly on reproductive and sexual development and function; altered immune and nervous system function; altered thyroid function; and hormone-related cancers. Exposure to endocrine disruptors can potentially occur in many ways including ingestion of contaminants in food, drinking water, or breastfeeding; and contact with contaminants in consumer products. Chemicals that are known human endocrine disruptors at high exposures include diethylstilbestrol (the drug DES), PCBs, dioxin, DDT, and some other pesticides. Other chemicals, including pesticides and plasticizers, are suspected endocrine disruptors based on limited animal studies. Presently, the evidence for effects in wildlife is better documented than in humans. Even though there are significant gaps in our scientific understanding of this issue, the available studies for humans and wildlife and worldwide attention on this emerging environmental health issue underscores its potential importance (see International Programme on Chemical Safety, Global Assessment of the State-of the- Science of Endocrine Disruptors, available at http://www.who.int/ipcs/publications/new_issues/endocrine_disruptors/en/index.html

Questions we will consider: What is the current state of knowledge of endocrine disruption in children? What environmental exposures in Indiana have the potential to produce endocrine effects on children? What data are needed? Are there preventative steps that could be taken? What collaborations are needed to ensure that Indiana’s children are protected?

Speaker:  Michael Skinner, Ph.D., Director and Professor, Center for Reproductive Biology, Center for Integrated Biotechnology, School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington.  Dr. Skinner's research is focused on the regulation of cellular growth and differentiation, with emphasis in the area of reproductive biology.  His lab's recent finding of multigenerational effects from a toxic exposure have dramatic implications for the study of endocrine disruptors and toxicology.  Click here for Dr. Skinner's biographical sketch. 
 

Questions?  Contact Janet McCabe at mccabe@ikecoalition.org or 317-902-3610.  More information will be posted as it becomes available on this site and at http://www.ceh.iu.edu/events.php.