Protecting children's environmental health in early learning environments: A comprehensive investigation of statutory requirements, recommended guidelines, and facility-specific exposures

Protecting children's environmental health is an essential part of promoting public health. Outside the womb, children continue to grow and develop between 0 and 5 years of age. Compared to adults and adolescents, children are frequently the most vulnerable lifestage to certain environmental exposures. This is primarily due to higher drinking water intake (per body weight), air to volume breathing ratio, and behaviors such as hand-to-mouth motions and contact with surfaces. Children within this age range spend a great deal of time in early learning environments (ELEs), such as child care centers, family day care homes, and other preschool facilities. At this time there are no mandatory federal regulations specific to ELEs that consistently regulate these facilities across all municipalities. Because state and local governments have the right to independently license and regulate these facilities, there are no consistent requirements for protecting children against environmental hazards found in these settings. State and local governments can therefore vary greatly with not only how they regulate ELEs but also how they prioritize certain environmental hazards. The purpose of this project is to identify the different types of ELEs, their specific environmental exposures and the regulations in place that seek to mitigate these hazards with the goal of providing recommendations to better protect children's environmental health nationwide. It is anticipated that ELEs found in residential environments will have exposures most similar to family homes; whereby facilities in more commercial-like buildings are most similar to schools and businesses. Federal and other stakeholder guidelines, state licensing laws and regulations, and current scientific literature are also investigated to ascertain which environmental hazards are currently recognized by state laws, determine potential gaps in knowledge, and identify the most important needs for protecting children's environmental health in the various ELE settings.