"little adults"
to environmental risk factors, over 40% of this burden falls on
children under 5 years of age … who constitute no more than 12%
of the world’s population.
Children are not "little adults" - they are particularly vulnerable to
acute and chronic effects of environmental hazards.
Children are in a dynamic state of growth and their central
nervous, immune, reproductive and digestive systems are still
developing. Hence their ability to detoxify and excrete toxins
differs from that of adults. Exposure to environmental toxicants
during windows of vulnerability can irreversibly damage the
normal development of organs and systems.
Young children breathe faster, and eat and drink more in
proportion to their body weight than adults. Consequently,
children absorb more toxicants contained in air, water or food,
which makes them more vulnerable to acute and chronic effects of
environmental hazards.
Children spend more time outdoors than adults and their life
takes place close to the ground. They explore their surroundings
through hand-to-mouth behaviour and are unaware of potential
risks. All these behaviours are characteristic of early childhood
and increase a child's exposure to environmental hazards.
Finally, children are exposed to toxicants at an early age and for
prolonged periods of time. Therefore, they have more time to
develop diseases with long latency periods such as cancer.