EPA at 50: EPA Kicks Off Children’s Health Month 2020

October 8, 2020

Contact Information

Emily Albano (albano.emily@epa.gov)

913-551-7860

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Lenexa, Kan., Oct. 8, 2020) - As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is celebrating Children’s Health Month with the kickoff of a monthlong observance of 50 years of progress in protecting children’s health. As President Trump stated in his Child Health Day 2020 proclamation, “We are reminded of our solemn obligation to love and protect these precious lives, and we recommit to helping America’s youth reach their full potential.”

EPA plays a significant role in protecting children’s health through numerous programs that help keep children safe in the places where they live, learn and play.

“Protecting children’s health is one of the most important responsibilities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “Throughout October, in recognition of Children’s Health Month, EPA will highlight our many programs and resources dedicated to improving air quality, reducing lead exposure, and protecting the health and well-being of children.”

“Children here in Region 7 (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska) may be exposed to lead from lead-based paint in homes built before 1978 and from legacy lead mining and production activities,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Jim Gulliford. “Our community-based public education and health protection efforts with cities and counties are important in protecting children. Yet it’s the parents who hear this message and have their children tested for elevated blood lead levels through their county or city public health agency who are the real heroes!”

Our environment is cleaner today than any point in our nation’s recorded history, leading to positive environmental health outcomes in communities across the nation. Over the past four years, EPA has made significant strides in protecting children’s health, including:

Providing funding to support testing for lead in drinking water in schools.
Reducing emissions of criteria and precursor air pollutants by 7% from 2017 to 2019, for a total of 77% since EPA's inception in 1970.
Remediating and revitalizing community spaces through EPA’s Brownfields program, including the Children’s Museum of Maine, neighborhoods and playgrounds in Colorado, and more.

Throughout October, EPA will celebrate children’s health by highlighting a new theme each week:

Children’s Environmental Health in Schools, Child Care Settings, and Houses of Worship
Children’s Health Research
Improving Safety of School and Child Care Facilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic
National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week

For more information on EPA’s work, please see our October 2020 booklet Protecting Children’s Health; and visit our Protecting Children's Environmental Health page.

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EPA at 50: EPA Kicks Off Children’s Health Month 2020

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