Session: Neurotoxicants and Children's Health: The Interplay of Policy, Economics, Research and Education


Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

3364.0: Monday, December 12, 2005: 4:30 PM-6:00 PM

Oral

Neurotoxicants and Children's Health: The Interplay of Policy, Economics, Research and Education

Learning and developmental disabilities (LDDs) appear to be on the rise, affecting approximately one in six children in the U.S. under the age of 18. New research suggests that certain neurotoxicants such as lead, mercury, pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), brominated flame retardants and solvents can have a particularly detrimental impact on brain function and in turn lead to the development of LDDs. Recent studies show that environment exposures can also impact the health of those who already have LDDs. Chemicals are currently poorly tested and screened for neurotoxic potential and more chemicals are put on the market each year for which there is little or no data on their neurotoxicity. In addition, because exposures to these chemicals can impact health, the economic costs of health care and special education needs as well as lost income is in the billions of dollars. To address these concerns a number of national and state initiatives are underway, some led by academic institutions and others by LDD groups under the umbrellas of the Collaborative on Health and the Environment's Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative (LDDI). This session will present the links between neurotoxic chemicals and LDDs, the economic costs of exposures to these chemicals, the health impacts of expousres to those who already have LDDs, opportunities to develop better screening and testing for chemicals, and specific model programs that are translating cutting edge research into collaborative educational and political action on community, regional and national levels.

Learning Objectives: 1) Participants will learn how testing for deveopmental neurotoxicity needs to be improved in order to better protect children's health. 2) Participants will be able to describe how expsoures to neurotoxic chemicals can lead to learning and developmental disabilities and unnecessarily cost our society billions of dollars. 3) Participants will be able to describe how exposures to neurtoxic chemicals can impact those who already and LDDs and how two model environmental health programs led by national LDD organizations are educating their constituencies and leveraging policies related to these issues.

Organizer(s):

Beth A. Resnick, MPH
Claire Barnett
Leon F. Vinci, MPH
Dorothy Stephens

Moderator(s):

Kate Davies, MA DPhil
Elise Miller, MEd

4:30 PM

Protecting Children's Health Through Evidence-Based Developmental Neurotoxicology Testing