More than 80,000 new chemicals have been developed and released into the global environment during the last four decades. Today the World Health Organization attributes more than one-third of all childhood deaths to environmental causes, and as rates of childhood disease skyrocket -- autism, asthma, ADHD, obesity, diabetes, and even birth defects -- it raises serious, difficult questions around how the chemical environment is impacting children's health. Children and Environmental Toxins: What Everyone Needs to Know® offers an accessible guide to understanding and identifying the potential sources of harm in a child's environment. Written by experts in pediatrics and environmental health and formatted in an easy to follow question-and-answer format, it offers parents, care providers, and activists a reliable introduction to a hotly debated topic. As the burdens of environmental toxins and disease continue to defy borders, this book provides a new benchmark to understanding the potential threats in our environment and food. No parent or care provider should be without it.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters.This collection of timely chapters presents a nuanced study of environmental toxins and the risks they pose to children's development. The book details the impact of a number of commonplace environmental toxins, focusing on everyday exposure to tobacco smoke, lead, pesticides, and flame retardant

From pesticides to PCBs-what's a threat, what's not, and what to do about it. Mercury. Lead. Pesticides. Plastics. Air pollution. PCBs. How can parents sort through the hype, propaganda, and misinformation-and find out what is and isn't a threat to children's health? Investigative journalist, advocate, and concerned parent Libby McDonald separates the facts from the alarmist myths. Based on the latest research along with interviews with top medical, toxicological, and environmental experts, The Toxic Sandbox covers a wide range of essential concerns, including: - How can kids be protected from mercury poisoning? - What are the sources of lead poisoning, and how can they be avoided? - What pesticides are children ingesting, and does eating organic keep them safe? - Which teenage beauty products contain carcinogenic phthalates? - What are PCBs and PBDEs and why are they found in breast milk? - What can be done to stop the childhood asthma epidemic? Delivering reliable, up-to-date information, this indispensable resource will empower parents to protect their kids-and raise awareness for the greater good.