New EPA Report Has Bad News About Kids

Lullaby 03/13/2013

Environmental Protection Agency

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently released its third edition of “America’s Children and the Environment” a comprehensive compilation of research on - you guessed it - children’s health and the environment.

While the evidence shows good progress on some issues, like reducing children’s blood lead levels and exposure to tobacco smoke in the home, it also showed childhood incidence of asthma, cancer, autism, and obesity are all on the rise - something we’re all witnessing with our own eyes. We don’t necessarily need statistics to confirm the increase; we need solutions to prevent these conditions.

But, the report offers little in that vein. They say “the level of knowledge regarding the relationship between environmental exposures and health outcomes varies widely among the topics presented in this report, and the inclusion of an indicator in the report does not necessarily imply a known relationship between environmental exposure and children’s health effects.”

Just as banning lead from paint and gasoline has led to significant reductions in the associated neurological impacts. And, how reducing children’s exposure to tobacco smoke has led to reduced levels of associated chemicals in their bodies. It seems obvious that a wise next step in curbing asthma, cancer, autism, and obesity would be to further limit children’s exposure to other risky chemicals.

Twenty six states are considering toxic chemical legislation this year. Where’s Congress? What about the Safe Chemicals Act that has been introduced and re-introduced year after year, but continues to be stymied by wealthy special interests and the chemical industry?

As parents get wise about the weaknesses in the laws we assume are protecting us, things are slowly shifting. And, we don’t have to wait for Congress in order to start creating safer, healthier homes for our children today.

Companies like Lullaby Paints are creating healthier alternatives*. Non-profits like Healthy Child Healthy World are educating people to take easy steps to protect their families. And, you can do something, too.

Click here to see a full copy of the report: America's Children and the Environment, Third Edition.

*By eliminating harmful chemicals like formaldehyde and toluene from our products, we improve indoor air quality compared with competitive products that use these chemicals.

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