Little Lungs Breathing

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Little Lungs Breathing
A Presentation on Childrens Environmental Health
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What is Environmental Health?

• The impact environmental exposures have on health
• Exposures to the air, water and food
• Focus on air quality because
• Inhalation is an important route of exposure.
• When you cant breathe, nothing else matters.

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Where do we spend our time?

• EPA studies show that 90 of our time is spent
  indoors
• Indoor homes, childcares, schools offices
• Air-quality standards are sought for commercial
  jetliners Seattle Times January 17, 1999
• Smog affects boys, girls differently, study
  says Los Angeles Times March 18, 1999

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Why focus on children?

• Their airways are smaller
• Their bodies are still developing
• They are more active and breathe
  2 to 3 times harder and deeper
  than adults
• They spend more time on the ground and have more
  hand-to-mouth transfers

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Health effects on children

• Increased risk of acute respiratory illness
• Increased aggravation of asthma as indicated by
  kindergarten and school absences
• Decreased lung function

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Children Asthma

• Pediatric asthma rates are increasing nationally
• The prevalence rose 72 between 1982 and 1994
• The third-ranking cause of hospitalization among
  children under age 15
• Leading cause of school absenteeism due to
  chronic illness

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What is asthma?
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Asthma the Northwest

• Asthma is increasing alarmingly and there is no
  cure.
• Asthma is treatable and preventable.
• Here in the Northwest,
• 30 of childhood asthma attacks are triggered by
  secondhand smoke exposure.
• 30 are triggered from dust mite exposure.

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Environmental Justice issues

• Some socio-economic factors which contribute to
  asthma episodes
• Substandard housing
• older buildings, moisture issues
• Children of color
• Smoking behaviors
• Location of homes and schools
• near industry, near highways

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Childrens environmental health
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Who am I?
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Where do dust mites live?
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Dust mites and their relationship with moisture

• Slide from old LLB presentation.

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What are the solutions?

• Eliminating dust dust mites
• Vacuuming techniques
• Reduce dust tracked into the home
• Encase dust mites

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Mold

• Mold on Window slide

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Ventilation

• Ventilation
• Far Side of guy in bottle

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Solutions

• Moisture control
• Ventilation
• Sources of moisture
• Plants, unvented dryers

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Air cleaners and filters

• HEPA
• Ionizers
• Ozone-generators

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Ozone

• Air cleaners
• Outdoor pollution levels

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Particulates

• Smoke
• Wood burning
• Agricultural burning
• Cigarettes
• Dust

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Cigarette Smoke

• Use the lit cig slide from LLB show

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Too young to smoke

• Baby slide from old LLB presentation

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Solutions

• Stop smoking around kids
• Stop smoking indoors or in the car
• Wear a smoking jacket

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Gases

• Slide of a cross-section of a house with various
  sources of combustion gases.

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Solutions

• Use a Carbon Monoxide detector
• Ventilate appliances and chimneys
• Make sure flues and ducts are well sealed

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Pets
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Pests!

• Cockroaches
• Rodents
• Termites
• Lice

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• Chemicals on shelf falling
• From old slide show

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MHE Volunteer checking formaldehyde levels

• Use slide from old LLB presentation

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Household products

• Cleaners
• Deodorants
• Dryer sheets, air fresheners
• Paints, hobby/craft products

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Pollution Prevention

• Household cleaners
• Avoid accumulation
• Use alternative, green cleaning kits
• Paints, garden products
• Buy what you need
• Store carefully, away from children

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Radon

• Sources include soil and rock
• Radon can enter the house through crack in walls,
  basement floors, foundations and other openings
• It can increase the risk of lung cancer

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Solutions

• Testing is the only way to determine levels of
  radon in a structure
• Reduce levels to below 4pCi/L (pico Curies per
  liter of air)
• Radon mitigation is possible!
• Seal cracks in floors and walls
• Use pipes and fans to remove radon from under the
  the floor and foundation
• Vent radon above the roof

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Asthma the Northwest

• Asthma rates are increasing, but by reducing
  exposure to environmental triggers, asthma is
  treatable and preventable!

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Boy medicating

• Use slide from old LLB presentation

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Little Lungs Breathing
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Resources

• American Lung Association of Washington
• Master Home Environmentalist Program
• Healthy House Program
• Asthma Initiative
• Health Departments
• Air Pollution agencies

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American Lung Association of Washington

• 1-800-732-9339
• www.alaw.org