EPA and Texas Tech run symposium on children’s environmental health

Focusing on environmental health issues arising from lead poisoning, respiratory conditions and climate change impacts, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Texas Tech University Health Science Center recently educated healthcare and public health officials at a symposium on children’s environmental health.

“Protecting children and their health is one of the most important aspects of EPA’s mission,” EPA Regional Administrator Ron Curry said. “Bringing together healthcare providers, community leaders and other partners at this year’s symposium will help us assure kids in border communities in both countries can be safe where they live and play.”

The symposium ran for two days, ending on Sept. 25, on the U.S.-Mexican border, where many communities are subject to environmental factors that can cause health problems through early-life exposure. The symposium was part of the EPA’s annual Children’s Health Month, observed each October.

“Nothing is more important to our future than the health of children,” Southwest Center for Pediatric Environmental Health Director Dr. Stephen Borron said. “As healthcare providers, we owe it to children to assure a safe and healthy growing environment. Prevention of environmental illness through attention to emerging threats, such as climate change, makes sense from both social and economic perspectives.”