E-M:/ rep. brater proposes children's environmental health protection

[Dave Dempsey <davemec@voyager.net>]

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Enviro-Mich message from Dave Dempsey <davemec@voyager.net>
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FOR RELEASE TUESDAY, 9/15/98
CONTACT:  REP. LIZ BRATER, 517-373-2577

CHILDREN'S ADVOCATES SUPPORT NEW LEGISLATION
PROTECTING KIDS FROM POLLUTION

	Michigan children's advocates today hailed new legislation they say will
help cut down on childhood illnesses and developmental problems caused by
pollution.

	Proposed by State Rep. Liz Brater (D-Ann Arbor), the two bills would
require the state Department of Environmental Quality to revise its
pollution standards to assure that children are protected from new sources
of air and water pollution and hazardous waste, and would establish an
Office of Children's Environmental Health in DEQ to coordinate scientific
research and advocacy needed to protect kids.

	The bills respond to accumulating scientific evidence linking the exposure
of children to pollution with birth defects, neurological impairments,
asthma, and cancer.

	"Our pollution standards and policies have always been based on the
assumption that children are just small adults," said Brater, a member of
the House Conservation, Environment and Recreation Committee.  "But we now
know that children respond to pollution differently than adults.  They are
more vulnerable to long-lasting health effects if they are exposed to
pollution at unacceptable levels when they are very young."

	Brater pointed out that children eat more, drink more water and breathe
more air per pound of body weight than adults do, and thus may ingest more
pollutants per pound of body weight than adults.  Children also spend more
time outdoors than adults, exposing them to disproportionately high amounts
of air pollution, and are unable to defend themselves from environmental
hazards like lead paint.  Finally, because children's systems are still
developing, they are more susceptible to environmental threats;  a
pollution exposure that would not harm an adult may cause lifelong problems
for a child if it occurs when the nervous system is still developing.

	According to U.S. EPA, asthma deaths among children increased 118% between
1980 and 1993, more than 100,000 children accidentally ingest pesticides
annually, 1.7 million children have elevated blood lead levels, and
childhood cancer rates have been rising over the last two decades.

	"Children are entitled to a shield of protection from pollution," said Ken
Rosenman, M.D., Professor of Medicine at Michigan State University and
volunteer for the American Lung Association of Michigan (ALAM).  "Ozone and
particulate pollution of the air has been shown to harm the respiratory
systems of children who live in Michigan.  It's time we set air pollution
standards to protect kids, not just older adults."

	"Research continues to strengthen the case that the first few years of a
child's life are critical for intellectual, emotional and emotional
development," said Paul Shaheen, Executive Director, Michigan Council for
Maternal and Child Health.  "We owe it to our children to assure they're
protected from the harmful effects of environmental pollution during these
most sensitive years.  I commend Representative Brater for proposing
measures that would shield children from the unique harm these pollutants
can cause early in life."

	Hailing Brater's bills, Lana Pollack, Executive Director of the Michigan
Environmental Council pointed out that while opposing the setting of
pollution standards for children, the Engler Administration recognized the
vulnerability of kids when it reversed course on fish contaminant advice
this year.  Engler's Environmental Science Board said more protective
advice for children was "scientifically defensible" because protective
mechanisms present in most adults are underdeveloped in children.

	"Michigan's environmental policies should be based on the same principle
that the Governor's science board has now endorsed," said Pollack.  "Kids
can't defend themselves from pollution.  Only a well-informed public and
effective laws can do that."

	The EPA and other states have launched initiatives to protect children's
health.  EPA has established an Office of Children's Health Protection and
is now reviewing some environmental standards to determine whether they are
adequate to protect kids.  In August, the California Legislature enacted
revisions to that state's air pollution law to tighten standards in order
to protect kids.

	
Dave Dempsey
Policy Director
Michigan Environmental Council
119 Pere Marquette, Suite 2A
Lansing, MI 48912
davemec@voyager.net
www.mienv.org

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