Unhealthy Equation: Hazardous Materials and Children
From Environmental Indicator, Volume 3 / Summer 2000
July 1, 2000

by Sharon Fuller

Several studies provide evidence that a correlation exists between where a child lives, learns and plays and developmental problems. Poor health, low academic achievement and limited economic opportunities are just a few potential impacts resulting from a child’s prolonged exposure to toxins, because most diseases and behavior that lead to disease later in life have their origins in childhood.

Though cancer, still-births and skin allergies are common health effects of chronic exposure to environmental hazards, asthma and other respiratory ailments are of particular concern, because asthma is one of the main causes of death of children under five.

Additionally, the effects of diseases with regard to a child’s well-being and the impact on their academic achievement, due to physical and mental impairment, is often overlooked in discussions on educational inequity.

For instance, factors that affect school performance in children with asthma include absenteeism, learning disabilities, psychological functioning and medication. Researchers have also found a correlation between increased indices of air pollution and incidences of asthma. The importance of such findings should not be underestimated, since many public schools are located near a toxic emitting facility.

For example, a study by the Environmental Working Group found that in 1995 more than 245 millions pounds of industrial air pollution were emitted near schools in California. As a result, thousands of children attending these schools were exposed to airborne carcinogens, reproductive toxins, heavy metals, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter.

Children attending schools in the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) are of particular concern because the majority of the district’s schools are within a one-mile radius of one or more of the 355 toxic emitting facilities located within Richmond’s 56 square miles. Several schools in the district are also plagued with high dropout rates and low academic achievement levels.

Ideally, the public should be informed about environmental hazards they are being exposed to in their homes, schools and communities, and how such hazards may pose special threats to children. Unfortunately, most existing state and federal environmental health standards are based on the risks associated with an adult being exposed to one particular toxin. As a result, the establishment of standards that take into account childhood exposure and the cumulative effects of exposure to several pollutants are critical. For that reason, children should be the primary focus of research and public health policies.

New health care strategies must move beyond crisis management and treatment of symptoms to a more comprehensive approach that strives to prevent childhood diseases. Also, environmental and public health standards must focus on the period from conception to age one, during which rapid development occurs to ensure that children are adequately protected from environmental hazards. Most importantly, it’s time for educators to reassess why Johnny can’t read and include environmental factors in the equation.