In this Section

Issues: Health

In Brief Articles

Get the Lead Out
Guides: The EPA's proposed standard for lead in the air ignores scientists' urgings and fails to adequately protect public health.
Children, Cancer & The Environment
Fact Sheet: Scientists now believe that many childhood cancers are caused by environmental factors which, unlike heredity, can theoretically be controlled. Learn more about some of the suspected environmental causes of childhood cancer and how you can reduce the risks to your own children.
What Parents Need to Know About Diesel School Buses
FAQ: Answers to questions including: What are the health effects of diesel exhaust inside school buses? Are all diesel buses equally dangerous? What can I do to reduce my children's exposure to diesel exhaust?
How Lead Poisons the Human Body
Fact Sheet: Lead is devastating to the human body, inhibiting oxygen and calcium transport and altering nerve transmission in the brain. Even low concentrations of lead can cause permanent damage, and children are especially vulnerable.
Lead Paint in Schools
FAQ: Answers to questions including: How do I determine whether my child’s school has a problem with lead paint? What is considered to be an unacceptable level of lead in paint? How do I know if my child has lead poisoning?
Harmful Pet Products
FAQ: Answers to questions including: How can I tell which pet products contain dangerous chemicals? Which products should I buy? How can I tell if my child or pet has been harmed by these pet pesticides?
Pet Products May Harm Both Pets and Humans
News: Americans purchase and apply to their pets a vast array of toxic chemicals intended to kill fleas and ticks. Though consumers may assume that these products have been tested rigorously for safety, the truth is that the poisons in many of these products are not safe, either for pets or humans.
How to Protect Your Children from Environmental Risks
Guides: Pollution-related illnesses are on the rise, increasing concerns about the role environmental toxins might play in diseases, especially those in children. Asthma rates tripled in the 1980s and childhood cancer rates have increased 10 percent over the last 20 years. There are steps you can take to protect your children from the five worst environmental threats to their health: lead, air pollution, pesticides, environmental tobacco smoke, and drinking water contamination.