The latest research on children's health and the environment - a relatively new area of scientific exploration - is the focus of a special three-day symposium here Aug. 22-24 during the national meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. Leaders in the field of children's health and risk assessment will discuss how youngsters are exposed to toxics, the difficulty in obtaining and analyzing blood samples from children, and how regulators interpret and use the measurements. Some of the 30 papers that will be presented during the symposium are described below. All papers are embargoed until the time of presentation, unless otherwise noted.
Legislating Children's Health - The question, "When is there enough science to make a decision?" is often critical to legislative and regulatory actions. A science fellow with the House Committee on Agriculture will provide personal insights on the need to integrate science and the decision-making process, and discuss several significant initiatives to do so. (B. Shurdut - Comm. on Agriculture, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.; ENVR 6; Sunday, Aug. 22, 8:35 a.m.; Convention Center, Room 209. See page 88 in the final program.)
Measuring Children's Exposure to Environmental Hazards - Children can be exposed
to environmental hazards in many ways: breathing polluted air, eating
contaminated food, or touching treated surfaces. Two studies in Minnesota
measure multipathway exposure to chemicals in the environment. One study
examined elementary-school-aged children from low-income, racially diverse,
inner-city neighborhoods in Minneapolis, and documented exposure to airborne
volatile organic chemicals outdoors, and indoors at school and at home. The
other study examined whether diet is the primary exposure pathway for
organophosphate pesticides, and compared the exposure of urban and non-urban
children. (K. Sexton - University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn.; ENVR
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Contact: Charmayne Marsh
y_marsh@acs.org
202-872-4445
American Chemical Society
13-Aug-1999