Children may be more vulnerable to environmental exposures than adults because:

• Their bodily systems are still developing
• They eat more, drink more, and breathe more in proportion to their body size
• Their behavior can expose them more to chemicals and organisms

EPA views childhood as a sequence of life stages from conception through fetal development, infancy, and adolescence.

Protecting children’s health from environmental risks is fundamental to EPA’s mission. Get the facts about children’s environmental health.