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UPDATE no.19 March 2002 INCHES
March 12, 2002-The International Network on Children's Health, Environment and Safety
Dear members of INCHES, in this update :
News items
New Members
Inter-American region
European region
Conferences
INCHES funding
Children's Environmental Health Topics
There are a lot of activities going on. In this update you will find the text that was the outcome of the meeting on Tobacco. There are also texts available of the Meeting of Helsth and Environment Minsiters of the Americas in Ottawa, Canada on March 4 – 5; also there is a Declaration available of the Children’Environmental health conference, organized by WHO in the Asian region in Bangkok, Thailand. Both text will be made available in next updates.
The Special Session on Children at the United Nations is coming close again. The NGO’s are starting to organise their efforts for the days around the summit. Here you find some activities that are planned:
1) Strategy Day: The Caucus will be holding a strategy day just prior to the Special Session, from 10-3 on Tuesday, May 7.
2) March for Children's Rights: As we had agreed before September, the Caucus is a partner in the March for Children's Rights, scheduled for Wednesday, March 8. The march will begin at 4 p.m. and end with a rally and vigil near the United Nations. Of all NGO activities during the special ses sion, this will be most visible to the public, and probably to the media as well. We encourage all Caucus members to participate, and if possible, mobilize others as well. Information about the March will be posted on the following website: www.globalmarch.org
3) Side events: We'd also like to remind you that arrangements for side events are being handled by the NGO Committee on UNICEF. Please contact the Committee at ngocommittee@unicef.org
INCHES has new member - Center for Health, Environment and Justice, USA. This organisation is based in Falls Church, Virginia. You can find them on www.chej.org.
INCHES has new member – The International Society of Tropical Pediatrics, India aims to promote pediatrics in tropical and subtropical countries by conducting seminars,workshops and other scientific meetings on topics related to tropical pediatrics and to encourage interested pediatricians to familiarize themselves with such conditions in childhood in tropical zones which enjoy high priority. You can find more information: www.drbodhankar.com
To obtain information on the forthcoming International Conference on "Global Dimensions of Lead" (June 1-3 in Washington, DC) and the National Lead-Safe Housing and Indoor Environmental Health Conference (June 2-5 in Washington, DC), please use the following:
Program, schedule, hotel and registration information are avaialble at: www.leadconferences.com
To inquire about the conference or to get a conference brochure, call 800.590.6522 or email to weilcm@erols.com
To inquire about registration tuitions for non-government, non-profit, community based organizations, call Kim Levi at 800.590.6522
To inquire about exhibiting products, services, public education materials, or putting up a poster exhibit, call Steve Weil at 301.924.5490
There was a meeting of the Child Rights Caucus in NYC last week. During that meeting, it was decided that there needed to be a separate meeting of US NGOs to discuss the issues related to the US position and delegation. Below please find an invitation to the US NGO meeting.
Calling all U.S.-based organizations that are a part of the Child Rights Caucus – Are you interested in developing a collective strategy to impact U.S. participation in the upcoming UN General Assembly Special Session on Children? Please join us on Tuesday afternoon, March 26 from 1:00 to 3:00 at the Child Welfare League of America office, 50 F Street, NW, 6th floor, in Washington, DC. The brainstorming meeting will include discussion on the following:
* developing an advocacy effort directed toward members of the administration;
* generating interest amongst members of Congress;
* whether we want to encourage the inclusion of specific candidates on the U.S. government delegation;
* considering language suggestions for the outcome document;
* planning a briefing for advocacy offices, NGOs and congressional staff to be held in April in Washington DC;
*preparing a plan of action for the Special Session.
This meeting is open to any U.S.-based organization that is interested in promoting the objectives of the Child Rights Caucus.
On the 18th and 19th of February, Warsaw hosted the European Ministerial Conference for a Tobacco-Free Europe,
organized by WHO and the Polish Government, and dedicated to a policy discussion on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). TheConference was an enormous success in terms of both organization and policy
making, mainly thanks to speeches by Dr. Gro Brundtland and Commissioner David Byrne. The Conference concluded with the adoption and signing of the Warsaw Declaration.
Acknowledging that tobacco is a toxic and addictive substance and that the tobacco epidemic is one of the greatest public health challenges facing WHO’s European Region, which therefore needs a joint response;
Emphasizing that there is a growing gap in tobacco control between Member States in different parts of the European Region;
Noting that, in spite of successful examples in the Region, a number of Member States are still to establish comprehensive tobacco control policies;
Recognizing that present and future generations deserve smoke-free air and protection from involuntary exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and the negative health, economic and social impacts of tobacco use;
Emphasizing that smoking cessation strongly contributes to a decrease in smoking prevalence;
Building upon the foundations of the first European Conference on Tobacco Policy (Madrid, 1988) and the three consecutive Action Plans for a Tobacco-free Europe spanning the period 1987–2001;
Endorsing the central role of governments in agreeing to, reviewing and strengthening their action plans, drawing together contributions from government, nongovernmental organizations and health professionals;
Highlighting the competence and leadership of the World Health Organization (WHO) within the United Nations system in the field of tobacco control;
Commending the significant value of strengthening regional partnerships and solidarity for efficient action against tobacco consumption;
We, Ministers and Representatives of the States participating in the WHO European Ministerial Conference for a Tobacco-free Europe, are seriously concerned about the continuing threat posed by smoking to global health. We accordingly:
1. commit ourselves to developing and adopting the European Strategy for Tobacco Control (Fourth Action Plan) for a Tobacco-free Europe in accordance with the following guiding principles:
· tobacco control is at the top of our public health priorities;
· combating the tobacco epidemic is of great importance in protecting the health of individuals, particularly children and young people, who shall be appropriately informed about the addictive and lethal nature of tobacco consumption and the recruiting tactics of the tobacco industry;
· comprehensive policies with measurable impact on the reduction of tobacco use shall be effectively implemented throughout the Region. The most important components of such comprehensive policies are: high taxes, bans on tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion, protection against involuntary exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in public places and workplaces, access to cessation measures and strict controls on smuggling;
· the new Strategy, building on the results from previous Action Plans, should set clear and specific targets to be achieved in the Region by 2007;
· attention must be focused as a priority on the alarming trends in tobacco consumption among young people, women and persons from vulnerable socioeconomic and minority groups;
· public health protection has priority over tobacco production, therefore viable alternative economic activities to tobacco production should be promoted, as well as the gradual transfer of subsidies for tobacco growing to other activities;
· tobacco policies should include gender-specific concerns and perspectives in all aspects of tobacco control;
2. declare our strong support for preparing a comprehensive WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and urge all Member States in the European Region and the European Commission to:
· highlight the priority of public health protection and contribute actively to the development, adoption and implementation of a strong and effective FCTC;
· work towards a set of integrated tobacco control measures and agreed international responses against the tobacco epidemic;
3. urge Member States and intergovernmental organizations to strengthen European partnership and solidarity in tobacco control by:
· creating a proper intergovernmental mechanism for the regular exchange of information in the technical, scientific and legal fields of tobacco control;
· closing gaps in tobacco control policies between the different parts of Europe by using the experience of successful programmes;
· facilitating assistance in developing national tobacco control policies to countries in special circumstances, such as Member States in economic transition;
· reinforcing the role of national counterparts for the European Strategy for Tobacco Control for a Tobacco-free Europe as an important network for efficient tobacco control policies in the Region;
· making efforts to involve all segments of society in combating tobacco consumption;
4. ask the WHO Regional Director for Europe to:
· give high priority to providing guidance and support to Member States in their activities to develop and implement comprehensive tobacco control policies;
· continue to develop the European Strategy for Tobacco Control for a Tobacco-free Europe, for decision by the WHO Regional Committee for Europe in 2002;
· assist Member States in the eastern part of the Region, in the light of the particular seriousness of the problem, to obtain support from developmental and donor agencies for developing and implementing tobacco control policies;
· facilitate partnerships between Member States and relevant intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations for coordinated action against the tobacco epidemic in the European Region;
· establish and strengthen systems for standardized surveillance of the patterns, determinants and consequences of tobacco use, and mobilize financial and operational resources to this end, especially for countries in economic transition.
The Netherlands has announced a precautionary ban on a type of brominated flame retardant, threatening a row with some other EU member states and the European Commission, which believe that prohibition is not warranted scientifically and will damage the bloc's open market. Prohibition on import, production and use of the brominated flame retardant TetrabromobisphenolA,Bis - also known as FR-720 - was announced by Dutch environment minister Jan Pronk on Friday. His move responds to an application to produce the chemical from Dutch chemical firm Broomchemie, which is a subsidiary of Israel-based Dead Sea Bromine Group.
Mr Pronk says the precautionary action is in line with a national chemicals policy agreed last year that sets tight deadlines for improving the amount and quality of safety information available for all "existing" and "new" substances. Its overall aim is to reduce chemical risks to Dutch citizens to "near zero" levels by 2020 (ED 23/03/01
http://www.environmentdaily.com/articles/index.cfm?action=article&ref=9583).
Based on advice from the national public health and environment institute Rivm, the government has decided that existing data on FR-720 are "too limited" to indicate even the exact nature of any possible risks to the environment and human health, let alone their likely magnitude. A precautionary ban is therefore justified, the government says,
because there is too little information available to show that the flame retardant is safe.
The prohibition could be lifted, it adds, as long as Broomchemie provides sufficient information to enable a positive judgement to be made on FR-720's safety. The move has infuriated Broomchemie, which defends the quality of its data and says it is considering legal action. Meanwhile, Greenpeace Netherlands is delighted. One of its recent campaigns highlighted tests that showed the presence of brominated flame retardants in household dust. Large quantities of FR-720 are used to fire-proof of plastic household plumbing pipes and extractor fans located above kitchen ovens and stoves.
Children’s Health and the Environment: A Conference for Great Lakes Clinicians. Chicago, Illinois. Information: Jackee Wuellner, Continuing Education at the Great Lakes Center, 2121 West Taylor Street, Room 216B. Chicago, IL 60612 USA, (312) 996-6904. Fax: (312) 413-7369. Internet: ttp://www.uic.edu/sph/glakes/ce/
Children’s Health and the Environment: A Clinician's Conference
Thursday 4/18Pre-conference: 2:00-5:00 PM
Neuro-toxicology: Environmental Threats to the Developing Fetus and Child.
•New data and concepts. Jill Stein, MD,
•The clinical encounter with parents: Preconception, prenatal, infancy. Robert Gatson, MD
•Environmental risk communication with parents.William Weil, MD.
Thursday 7:00PM 10:00 PM
How the Environment Influences Children’s Health. Philip Landrigan, MD, MSc.
Friday 4/19 8:00 AM- 4:30 PM
Plenary sessions followed by interactive breakout sessions on the following topics:
•Environmental History Taking and Risk Assessment. A. Abelsohn, MD & M. Sanborn, MD
•Asthma: New Developments and Implications for the Clinician. R. Etzel, MD, PhD
•Lead Poisoning. H. Needleman, MD
Did you locate a possible sponsor? Do you a private sponsor? Can we mail some information on INCHES to one of your friends? Any donations (or suggestions of possible donors) are welcome at bank account nr.: 526292490 ABN AMRO (swiftcode ABNANL 2A), Dieren, the Netherlands.
Children's Environmental Health Topics
In this paragraph we would like to place some items that are important for their contents. If anyone wishes to send in an abstract on any topic related to children's environmental health and safety, mail it to the email address of the update.
Study: The Challenge of Preventing Environmentally Related Disease in Young Children: Community-Based Research in New York City
By Frederica P. Perera,1 Susan M. Illman,1 Patrick L. Kinney,1 Robin M. Whyatt,1 Elizabeth A. Kelvin,1 Peggy Shepard,1,2 David Evans,1 Mindy Fullilove,1 Jean Ford,1 Rachel L. Miller,1 Ilan H. Meyer,1 and Virginia A. Rauh1
Rates of developmental and respiratory diseases are disproportionately high in underserved, minority populations such as those in New York City's Washington Heights, Harlem, and the South Bronx. Blacks and Latinos in these neighborhoods represent high risk groups for asthma, adverse birth outcomes, impaired development, and some types of cancer. The Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health in Washington Heights uses molecular epidemiologic methods to study the health effects of urban indoor and outdoor air pollutants on children, prenatally and postnatally, in a cohort of over 500 African-American and Dominican (originally from the Dominican Republic) mothers and newborns. Extensive data are collected to determine exposures to particulate matter < 2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), diesel exhaust particulate (DEP), nitrogen oxide, nonpersistent pesticides, home allergens (dust mite, mouse, cockroach), environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), and lead and other metals. Biomarkers, air sampling, and clinical assessments are used to study the effects of these exposures on children's increased risk for allergic sensitization, asthma and other respiratory disorders, impairment of neurocognitive and behavioral development, and potential cancer risk. The center conducts its research and community education in collaboration with 10 community-based health and environmental advocacy organizations. This unique academic-community partnership helps to guide the center's research so that it is most relevant to the context of the low-income, minority neighborhoods in which the cohort resides, and information is delivered back to these communities in meaningful ways. In turn, communities become better equipped to relay environmental health concerns to policy makers. In this paper we describe the center's research and its academic-community partnership and present some preliminary findings. Key words: asthma, cancer, children, development, environmental health, prenatal, prevention, susceptibility. Environ Health Perspect 110:197-204 (2002).
Some people might wonder why a children's troubadour would be writing about pesticides. The short answer is, "everything grows."
From the beginnings of life in the womb, it is our very young, with their developing brains and bodies, who face the greatest threat from these chemicals, toxic by design and indiscriminately harmful. We have a duty, in our globalized village, to recognize the early years asthe foundation of lifetime health, and to keep our children from harm. Yet these innocent bystanders are casualties of a society that uses toxic chemicals to tend its crops and keep its lawns and golf courses green. For children, environmental protection is a human-rights issue. That's why my Troubadour Institute for Child Honouring endorses the World Wildlife Fund's call for legislation to replace our outdated regulations, and for the reduction and eventual phasing out of harmful pesticides. It can be jarring at times, reading about toxic residues in our food or about endangered beluga whales in the St. Lawrence River, and then singing Baby Beluga with my fans in a concert. This folk singer has learned a lot about environmental health over the years, and the recent news is quite serious. Many pesticides include persistent toxic pollutants that are spread by wind, air and water, and through the food chain, to every part of the globe. Some of these have accumulated in our blood and in our flesh to the point where breast milk worldwide is known to contain highly toxic compounds. At least 40 pesticides, many still in use, interfere with hormones that are responsible for development of reproductive organs, the brain and the immune system. Only 1 per cent of a pesticide actually reaches the targeted pest, so there is plenty of opportunity for exposure. And the young of all species from baby belugas to ducklings to human infants -- are vulnerable to the most minute doses of some of these toxic chemicals. The growing child is the human face of this ecology. Compared to adults, children eat three times more food per body weight, proportionately taking in more pesticides. A large part of a child's diet is fresh fruit and juices made from highly sprayed crops. Children absorb still more pesticides while rolling on lawns, playing on the ground, and crawling on floors and carpets -- all of which may contain pesticide residues. You don't have to look far. Pesticides are in many places, some obvious and some unexpected. We're all familiar with pesticides being sprayed from tractors and planes onto crops. More surprising is that commercial aircraft are sometimes sprayed with pesticides. Pesticides are used in schools, daycares and public swimming pools. They are mixed into insect repellents applied to human skin. Even the wood preservatives on our patio decks, playgrounds, bridges and railway ties contain them. Widespread use of synthetic chemical pesticides skyrocketed after the Second World War. Since then, each generation of children has grown up with a new generation of pesticides, as well as exposure to an environment still poisoned by persistent old ones, like DDT (dichloro diphenyl trichloroethane). The World Wildlife Fund has calculated that at least 50 million kilograms of herbicides, insecticides and fungicides are used in Canada each year. Yet accurate data are not available because manufacturers, distributors and users are not required by the government to make them public. Parents, school boards, municipalities, farmers and gardeners need better information -- not only about the extent of pesticide use, but also on the practical alternatives that exist, including integrated pest management and organic agriculture. It's time these alternatives received full societal support. In Canada, only the federal government can register or ban pesticides. But our Pest Controls Product Act has not been significantly amended since 1969. This outdated act allows old and highly toxic pesticides to remain in the marketplace, and fails to encourage benign alternatives. Research has progressed a great deal in the last three decades. We have enough science. What we urgently need is new legislation, such as the World Wildlife Fund and other groups are calling for. The medical ethical principle, "First, do no harm," should be fully enshrined in this legislation by embracing the precautionary principle. In other words, the onus should be on pesticide manufacturers to demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that their products will not harm people or wildlife -- before those products are approved for use. An economy that doesn't consider the health effects on our youngest citizens is unsustainable and dangerous. There is no wisdom in this form of neglect. Instead, we would do well to regard the child as a lens through which to evaluate all of our societal actions. Former health minister Allan Rock promised to table a new pesticide law last fall. That didn't happen, but the bill is apparently ready to go. Let's not delay any longer. If children had a say, this would have been done by now. Raffi Cavoukian, a member of the Order of Canada and an internationally known singer, composer and author, founded the Troubadour Institute for Child Honouring in 2000 to support initiatives that promote children's well-being.
Copyright © 2002 Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Any reactions to this article?
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We are looking for some fact sheets on different children's environmental topics, like reducing risk from lead, risk from mercury, risk from pesticides, risk form solvents, risk from indoor air pollution, risk from environmental tobacco smoke. We would like to produce factsheets on these and other topics and have them translated in different languages. If your organisation has produced a fact sheet, please make it available to the network. We will try to have it translated and make it usuable for different countries. PLEASE MAIL your FACTSHEETS to: pvdhazel@inter.nl.net
We are also interested in powerpoint or similar presentations on these same topics. We are collecting them in order to put them on a CD for our members.
Last updated 18 June 2002
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