October is Children’s Health Month, and the second Thursday in October (October 10th this year) is Children’s Environmental Health Day.
According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the core mission of both the month and the day is to create a healthier, safer and more equitable world for all children by bringing awareness to children’s environmental health with hopes that fewer children will be diagnosed and suffer from preventable health problems. Children are more susceptible than adults to pollutants and toxic chemicals because of differences in their behavior and biology. This leads to greater exposure to all types of environments, such as physical and built environments (schools and parks), biological environments (viruses and bacteria) and chemical environments (like toxic chemicals found in products).
DEC participates in recognizing Children’s Environmental Health (CHE) efforts by sitting on the steering committees for the New York State School Environmental Health Program a Department of Health (DOH) led program and the New York State Children’s Environmental Health Centers (NYSCHECK) a program funded by DOH through the Environmental Protection Fund. A program of NYSCHECK called “Prescriptions for Prevention” outlines CHE hazards and safer practices and it contains a plethora of information about specific CHE concerns. By focusing on action and equity and raising awareness that all children have the right to live in thriving, healthy environments, we are ensuring that the places where children live, and visit are safe and healthy for them. When we have cleaner air, cleaner water, safer food, and we do the work to create a less toxic planet, we ensure a healthier world for children everywhere.
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