Environmental threats to children's health in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific.

Abstract

The Southeast Asia and Western Pacific regions contain half of the world's children and are among the most rapidly industrializing regions of the globe. Environmental threats to children's health are widespread and are multiplying as nations in the area undergo industrial development and pass through the epidemiologic transition. These environmental hazards range from traditional threats such as bacterial contamination of drinking water and wood smoke in poorly ventilated dwellings to more recently introduced chemical threats such as asbestos construction materials; arsenic in groundwater; methyl isocyanate in Bhopal, India; untreated manufacturing wastes released to landfills; chlorinated hydrocarbon and organophosphorous pesticides; and atmospheric lead emissions from the combustion of leaded gasoline. To address these problems, pediatricians, environmental health scientists, and public health workers throughout Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific have begun to build local and national research and prevention programs in children's environmental health. Successes have been achieved as a result of these efforts: A cost-effective system for producing safe drinking water at the village level has been devised in India; many nations have launched aggressive antismoking campaigns; and Thailand, the Philippines, India, and Pakistan have all begun to reduce their use of lead in gasoline, with resultant declines in children's blood lead levels. The International Conference on Environmental Threats to the Health of Children, held in Bangkok, Thailand, in March 2002, brought together more than 300 representatives from 35 countries and organizations to increase awareness on environmental health hazards affecting children in these regions and throughout the world. The conference, a direct result of the Environmental Threats to the Health of Children meeting held in Manila in April 2000, provided participants with the latest scientific data on children's vulnerability to environmental hazards and models for future policy and public health discussions on ways to improve children's health. The Bangkok Statement, a pledge resulting from the conference proceedings, is an important first step in creating a global alliance committed to developing active and innovative national and international networks to promote and protect children's environmental health.

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the aquatic environment: implications for the drinking water industry and global environmental health

“…Industrialized nations, along the pathway of their development, have observed a shift in the epidemiological transition to the suite of chronic illness such as asthma, learning disabilities, congenital malformations and cancers as the leading causes of death (Suk et al 2003). It is probably the exposure to synthetic chemicals in the air, water, soil and food chain that are contributing to the changing patterns of paediatric diseases, especially the increasing incidences of chronic diseases in children.…”

“…The availability of cheap child labour, the lack of occupational and environmental protection in conjunction with constant export of hazardous chemicals and toxic wastes from industrialized countries to developing countries have placed children in those regions at a twofold risk of infectious diseases and chemical hazards (Suk et al 2003).…”

“…The health implications of the exposure to toxic chemicals for children is considerably higher compared with adults as their developing systems are more delicate and they might not be able to repair the damage that is triggered by early exposure to toxicants (Suk et al 2003).…”

Expressing urine from a gel disposable diaper for biomonitoring using phthalates as an example

“…The increased awareness about the special vulnerability of children has led to a number of new research programmes, international agreements, and international alliances that specifically address and promote healthy environments for children (UNICEF, 1990(UNICEF, , 2001aWHO, 1997WHO, , 2002aSuk, 2002;Suk et al, 2003). A few key international activities are cited below:…”

Environmental exposures in the era of climate change

“…Although children in such countries still have to cope with traditional threats, including a lack of access to safe water, poor sanitation and hygiene, and infectious diseases, such children suffer from disproportionate environmental exposures that threaten their health. Emerging environmental threats include (a) the effects of rapid globalization; (b) an upsurge in urbanization; (c) trans-boundary chemical transport; and (d) unsustainable consumption; all of which contribute to environmental degradation (9) . With prevalent poverty and under-nutrition, children in developing countries are faced with a triple burden of disease.…”