美国儿童面临环境污染的威胁
American children — particularly ethnic minorities living in urban areas — are increasingly at risk due to environmental hazards such as pollution and rodent allergens, experts said on Monday at a conference here.
The number of US children dying from asthma-related illness has risen by nearly 80% between 1980 and 1993, and almost 7% of US children currently have learning disabilities, said Frederica Perera, director of the Columbia Center for Children‘s Environmental Health, which sponsored the one-day conference on "The Health of Our Children in the Urban Environment."
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She linked such statistics — at least in part — to the presence of several environmental hazards: diesel bus and car emissions, power plants, incinerators, secondhand tobacco smoke, pesticides, PCBs, lead, and allergens from cockroach and rodent infestation in urban homes.
Perera noted that the onset of asthma, growth and developmental problems, and childhood cancer are some of the principle health issues facing American children — and that the presence of such health threats can be linked to environmental causes.
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"To the extent we respond to the health of the most vulnerable among us — and children are the most vulnerable — we care for the health of the nation," said keynote speaker, US Surgeon General, Dr. David Satcher. He noted that the conference was critically important in that "the issues being discussed here are issues of life and death."
Satcher pointed out that children may be more vulnerable than adults to environmental problems.
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"Children consume more water, more food, more air per body weight than adults by far — up to 10 times more," he noted. "And half the pesticides he/she will consume in life is by 5 years of age."
Satcher said the conference was a good way to try to reach some of the 467 objectives that comprise the "Healthy People 2010" policy paper that was issued in January of this year.
The main goals of the paper were twofold: "to increase quality and years of healthy life and to eliminate disparities in health based on race and ethnicity." To this end, Satcher noted that the conference was focusing on particularly critical areas of health concerns in that both quality of life issues and disparities begin early in life.
"What happens to children very early can effect the quality of their lives to old age," Satcher said. He added that since environmental hazards result in an estimated $40 billion in health-related costs in the US, it was critical to address and reduce such health risks as they affect American children regardless of race and financial resources., 百拇医药
The number of US children dying from asthma-related illness has risen by nearly 80% between 1980 and 1993, and almost 7% of US children currently have learning disabilities, said Frederica Perera, director of the Columbia Center for Children‘s Environmental Health, which sponsored the one-day conference on "The Health of Our Children in the Urban Environment."
, http://www.100md.com
She linked such statistics — at least in part — to the presence of several environmental hazards: diesel bus and car emissions, power plants, incinerators, secondhand tobacco smoke, pesticides, PCBs, lead, and allergens from cockroach and rodent infestation in urban homes.
Perera noted that the onset of asthma, growth and developmental problems, and childhood cancer are some of the principle health issues facing American children — and that the presence of such health threats can be linked to environmental causes.
, 百拇医药
"To the extent we respond to the health of the most vulnerable among us — and children are the most vulnerable — we care for the health of the nation," said keynote speaker, US Surgeon General, Dr. David Satcher. He noted that the conference was critically important in that "the issues being discussed here are issues of life and death."
Satcher pointed out that children may be more vulnerable than adults to environmental problems.
, 百拇医药
"Children consume more water, more food, more air per body weight than adults by far — up to 10 times more," he noted. "And half the pesticides he/she will consume in life is by 5 years of age."
Satcher said the conference was a good way to try to reach some of the 467 objectives that comprise the "Healthy People 2010" policy paper that was issued in January of this year.
The main goals of the paper were twofold: "to increase quality and years of healthy life and to eliminate disparities in health based on race and ethnicity." To this end, Satcher noted that the conference was focusing on particularly critical areas of health concerns in that both quality of life issues and disparities begin early in life.
"What happens to children very early can effect the quality of their lives to old age," Satcher said. He added that since environmental hazards result in an estimated $40 billion in health-related costs in the US, it was critical to address and reduce such health risks as they affect American children regardless of race and financial resources., 百拇医药