Chemical Exposures

Purpose

The purpose of the Chemical Exposures Subcommittee is to coordinate federal research and action to address early-life exposures to chemicals that impact children’s health.

The goals of this subcommittee include:

• Enhance coordination of federal research planning and application
  • Generate and dissemination of information on existing chemical exposures for interested and affected groups
  • Enhance alignment on messaging and activities related to chemical exposures
  • Coordinate the development of methods and models to enhance exposure assessment relevant to public health
• Lead federal discussions on critical topics, including
  • Priority issues related to children’s chemical exposures, including health inequities and environmental racism
  • Federal initiatives, such as the Food and Drug Administration Closer to Zero  and National Institutes of Health Human Health Exposure Analysis Resource: National Exposure Assessment Laboratory Network
  • Emerging areas of interest and research, such as endocrine disruptors and other contaminants of emerging concern
• Leverage Task Force expertise to solve problems
  • Partnering with clinicians and communities to address specific chemical exposures, including the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units 
  • Promoting programs that encourage sustainable chemicals management, voluntary programs that promote the use of products containing low-toxicity/non-toxic chemicals, and integrated pest management programs that help promote the safe use of chemicals in settings where children are present
  • Coordinating commitments to action from agencies across the federal family

Accomplishments

Cross-Agency Biospecimen Resources Identification Activity

The Subcommittee identified a list of federal agency biospecimen resources that could provide for potential additional measurements of children's chemical exposures. Although the list was for internal government use, the realization that there was no central record of government-supported biobanks helped to lead to the creation of the Children’s Health Exposure Analysis Resource (CHEAR), which was funded from 2015-2019. The goal of CHEAR was to provide tools so researchers can assess the full range of environmental exposures that may affect children's health. In 2019, CHEAR expanded beyond children’s health and became the Human Health Exposure Analysis Resource (HHEAR).

Resources

Research

• National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences: Children's Health
• Understanding Exposures in Children’s Environments
• Centers for Early Lifestage Vulnerabilities to Environmental Stressors
• Collaborative Centers in Children's Environmental Health Research and Translation
• Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO)

Tools

• Human Health Exposure Analysis Resource (HHEAR)
• EPA Safer Choice Program
• Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units

Data

• National Report of Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals
• America's Children and the Environment
• HHEAR Data Center

Frameworks

• FDA Closer to Zero
• A Framework for Assessing Health Risk of Environmental Exposures to Children