September
22, 2004 - NEWS RELEASE
US
EPA Research & Development
109 T. W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711 -
http://epa.gov/ord
Contact: Ann
Brown, 919-541-7818 or brown.ann@epa.gov
EPA Conducts
Study on Young Children’s Exposures to Household Chemicals
in Duval County, Florida
Research Triangle
Park, N.C. – To provide a safe and healthy environment for
children, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is launching
a landmark study in Duval County, Florida, to learn more about
how young children come into contact with household pesticides
and other chemicals in their homes. Recruitment of families for
the study will begin Oct. 1 in Jacksonville, Florida. The study,
called the Children’s Environmental Exposure Research Study
(CHEERS), will involve following 60 children, ages 0 to 3 years,
for two years. “
EPA selected
Duval County for several reasons, including its year-round pesticide
use and because of the tremendous support that local officials
and clinics have offered EPA in our efforts to learn more about
protecting the health of young children,” said Dr. Nicolle
Tulve, principal investigator of the study.
CHEERS is
a collaborative effort with Florida’s Duval County Health
Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As part of this exposure study, the American Chemistry Council
(ACC) has signed a cooperative research agreement with EPA to
collect information on exposures of young children to several
household chemicals, including phthalates, brominated flame retardants,
and perfluorinated chemicals.
“We
have very little information about how children may be exposed
to chemicals in household products, whether it is through the
air they breathe, food they eat or the surfaces they touch,”
said Dr. Linda Sheldon, Acting Director of EPA’s Human Exposure
and Atmospheric Sciences Division in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
“This study will help us to identify the potential exposure
routes and pathways of these chemicals and provide real-life data
that can be used to improve risk assessments for children,”
she said.
The study
will involve monitoring children in their homes. Families will
be asked to keep records of their pesticide and household product
use. The study is designed to measure the concentrations of the
chemicals in the children’s homes and determine how the
children are exposed to chemicals that are present in consumer
products used in the home.
For more information
about the study, visit the Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/cheers/basic.htm
EPA relies
on quality science as the basis for sound policy and decision-making.
EPA’s laboratories and research centers, and EPA's research
grantees, are building the scientific foundation needed to support
the Agency’s mission to safeguard human health and the environment.
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