EPA highlights efforts to promote children’s environmental health during Children’s Health Month

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently used the occasion of Children’s Health Month, taking place throughout October, to promote improved public health in communities throughout the country with policies, educational outreach and free online resources.
 
"Securing a bright future for America's daughters and sons requires us to continue expanding access to quality health care and working to foster cleaner, safer and more supportive environments,” President Barack Obama declared in his Child Health Day 2016 Presidential Proclamation. “By taking unprecedented action to protect the air we breathe and the water we drink, we are striving to reduce the harmful effects that climate change can have on our children, including the potential for higher incidence of asthma attacks, and other health problems exacerbated by dirty air."
 
Children are more vulnerable to environmental health risks than other segments of the American population, making the EPA’s regulations to reduce environmental toxins critical. The agency has also maintains informative materials on promoting children’s environmental health and provides a curriculum to educate students about the environment.
 
"Ensuring that children are not exposed to toxins and pollution or other environmental threats in their homes, schools and communities is central to our work," EPA New England Regional Administrator Curt Spalding said. "Protecting the health of our children is one of our highest priorities, and we never forget that protecting our environment is critical to protecting our children's health."