3 22 Ha r m fr o m Toxi c Ch e m i c a l s
How Chemicals Harm Children
Children, especially babies, are more easily and seriously
harmed by chemicals than adults.
• Young children are closer to the ground and are more
likely to eat, breathe, or touch chemicals that drift
close to and collect on the ground.
• Children breathe much faster
than adults and can get sick more
easily from air pollution.
• Children often put their hands,
toys, and other things in their
mouths, and so are more likely to
eat things that will harm them.
• Some parts of the body that
protect adults from toxics are
not yet well-developed in
babies and children.
• When a baby’s organs are
developing, they are more
vulnerable to damage
from chemicals.
Because children’s bodies are
smaller, amounts of toxic chemicals
that might not harm an adult can
cause serious harm to a child.
I wonder if
we’ll have a
healthy baby.
Toxics at different stages of
children’s growth
When the body is growing and
changing quickly — during infancy,
childhood, and adolescence — even
very small amounts of chemicals
can cause long-lasting and harmful
changes in children’s bodies.
Before conception
If the reproductive systems or genes
of the mother or father are harmed
by chemicals, babies can be affected
even if the exposure happened before
the baby was conceived.
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012