Children's Environmental Health

Recent Updates

May is Asthma Awareness Month! Asthma is a serious, sometimes life-threatening chronic respiratory disease that affects an estimated 25.7 million people, including over 7 million children, in the U.S. Last year, almost 13 million people reported having an asthma attack. Asthma leads to nearly 2 million emergency room visits per year, and is the third leading cause of hospitalization of children under 15 years old. There is no cure for asthma, but asthma can be controlled through medical treatment and management of environmental triggers. Please visit the EPA’s asthma website to learn more about asthma and what you can do to bring your asthma or your child’s asthma under control.

What in the World Triggers Asthma? What Every School Should Know Webinar – May 15, 1 – 2 p.m. PST Please join the What in the World Triggers Asthma Webinar on May 15th from 1 – 2 p.m. PST to learn about asthma triggers, how to prevent or avoid them, and what resources are available to educate yourself and others on how to take action to reduce asthma attacked. Please see the flier (PDF) (1 pg, 1.0M) for more information. Please register for the webinar.

Proposals for Measurements and Modeling for Quantifying Air Quality and Climatic Impacts of Residential Biomass or Coal Combustion for Cooking, Heating, and Lighting Due June 19, 2012 The burning of coal and other solid fuels for residential cooking, heating, and lighting results in high emissions of particulate matter and other air pollutants that can impact human health. The EPA has released a Funding Opportunity Announcement (EPA-G2012-STAR-E1; EPA-G2012-STAR-E2) that seeks research proposals on quantifying the improvements in climate and air quality (ambient and indoor), and the subsequent impacts on health and welfare, resulting from ongoing, planned, or potential interventions (such as cleaner-burning cookstoves, processed biomass fuels, fuel-switching, education, training, etc.) in cooking, heating, or lighting practices in a developing part of the world or among Indian tribes or Alaska Native groups. Applications are due June 19, 2012.

Proposals for Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Centers Due July 17, 2012 The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and EPA have released a Funding Opportunity Announcement (RFA-ES-12-001) that encourages grant applications to support a transdisciplinary program of basic and applied research to examine the effects of environmental factors on children’s health and well-being. Please see the Funding Opportunity Announcement for eligibility requirements and further information. The Letter of Intent due date is June 17, 2012, and the application due date is July 17, 2012.

Online Integrated Pest Management Training for Child Care Providers Now Available on EPA’s Healthy Child Care Website Integrated pest management training modules are now available on EPA’s healthy childcare web-based resource directory. The modules were produced through a partnership between EPA, Cornell University, Penn State’s Philadelphia School and Community IPM Program, and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.