Why
are children not little adults?
While the differences between children and adults
seem obvious, those differences frequently are not considered
when determining the safety of consumer products, pollutants
or chemicals. Instead, most U.S. safety benchmarks are established
to protect an already healthy adult. Thus, when something is
labeled as safe, often it means safe for an adult. Many times
these studies are focused on adult males.
At one time, developing safety standards to protect healthy
adults was considered advanced, but over the last two decades
we have learned a lot more about the human body due to the
advancements in technology. Scientists now know that some
medicines affect men and women differently. They also affect
children differently. As a result, children are routinely
prescribed smaller dosages because dosages safe for an adult
can be harmful for children. Environmental safety standards,
however, are not keeping up with the advancements in science.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) agree that children cannot be
safely exposed to the same levels of harmful substances as
adults.
