WHO report highlights threat to children from environmental chemicals
Further research is needed to improve our knowledge of how children are affected by exposure to environmental chemicals, according to a new report from the World Health Organisation (WHO). The WHO describes the report, 'Principles for evaluating health risks in children associated with exposure to chemicals,' as the most comprehensive work yet undertaken on the scientific principles to be considered in assessing health risks in children. It was written by an international panel of experts. According to the report, over 30% of the global disease burden in children can be attributed to environmental factors, yet most risk assessment and environmental health policies focus mainly on adults and adult exposure patterns. This is in spite of the fact that children respond to chemicals differently as their bodies are growing and changing. Furthermore, their different dietary patterns and behaviours, such as crawling on the floor, means they are exposed to chemicals in a different way to adults. The report highlights in particular the fact that the stage of development during which a child is exposed to a particular substance may be just as important as the level of exposure. 'Children are not just small adults,' said Dr Terri Damstra, Team Leader of the WHO's Interregional Research Unit. 'Children are especially vulnerable and respond differently from adults when exposed to environmental factors, and this response may differ according to the different periods of development they are going through.' For example, children's lungs are still not fully developed at the age of eight, and lung maturation may be affected by air pollution. These pollutants could lead to health problems in the short term or the long term. There is increasing evidence that childhood exposure to certain chemicals can lead to an increased risk of certain diseases in adulthood. Children in developing countries are particularly vulnerable to exposure to environmental chemicals, as they often live in unhealthy housing and lack access to clean water. Furthermore, poverty appears to make children more vulnerable to the consequences of exposure; for example, lead is known to be more toxic to children whose diets are low in calories, iron and calcium. In their recommendations, the experts call for more research into the effects of these substances on children at all stages of development. Top of their wish list is a call for the implementation of prospective studies of pregnant women and children who could be followed up and studied in the long term. They also call on researchers to develop sensitive, cost-effective biomarkers of exposure and susceptibility, and also to examine the possibility of using molecular and imaging technologies to investigate the links between exposure and effects and different stages of development. 'Protection of children is at the core of the sustainability of the human species. It should be a priority of all countries and international and national organisations to provide safe environments for all children and reduce exposure to environmental hazards,' the experts write. 'In order to better accomplish this, research on the effectiveness of risk reduction and intervention practices, including the most effective means to educate and communicate the need for child-protective public health policies, legislation, and safety standards, is needed.'