TOPIC OF CONCERN - Children's Health

Our Involvement | Research | Other Resources

About Children's Health

Children are not just small adults. Because their bodies and minds are still developing, children are more susceptible than adults to the effects of pesticides and other environmental hazards. This was first established in the National Research Council's 1993 report "Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children." Yet even today, most risk assessments for environmental agents don't account for this fact.

Our research into the biochemical, molecular and exposure mechanisms that underlie children's susceptibility to pesticides and other chemicals in the environment, will help develop new models for assessing risks to normal development and learning. We also explore workplace hazards to our youngest workers.

Our Involvement

Faculty

Courses

Centers, Institutes and Studies

Services

News Coverage

Sally Liu's research team has pinpointed crankcase emissions as the source of most pollution on school buses. See stories from KING 5 News and KOMO TV News.

Lack of information fuels fear over lead in school drinking water by Catherine Karr, guest columnist, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, opinion section, July 14, 2004.

Ecoamigos: Learning from life’s lessons. Environmental Health News, winter 2004.

Air pollution and infant health. Environmental Health News, winter 2004.

Healthy homes. Environmental Health News, winter 2004.

Tracking children's pesticide exposures. DEOHS Biennial Report 2001-2003

Alumni profile: Catherine Karr. DEOHS Biennial Report 2001-2003

Exposure to pesticides is lowered when young children go organic. New York Times, March 25, 2003.

Collaborating on children’s health. Environmental Health News, autumn 2002.

Pesticide traces found in kids here. Seattle Times, August 10, 2001.

Pesticide use and children's health: UW study aims to gauge the danger. Seattle Times August 22, 1999

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Research

Graduate Students

Chris Ballew, MS (2006)
An intervention aiding in the reduction of organophosphate pesticides from take-home pathways (Richard Fenske)
Lynn Bekris, PhD (2005)
Glutathione related enzyme gene polymorphisms and Type 1 diabetes (Terrance Kavanagh)
Janet Blackstone, MS (2005)
Physical exposure differences between children and adults on different-sized computer input devices (Peter Johnson)
Mark Burry, MS (2001)
Neurodevelopmental toxicity of toluene (Lucio Costa)
Alma Maria Cardenas, MS (2000)
The effects of prenatal methanol exposure on simple and choice reaction time in nonhuman primates (Thomas Burbacher)
Michael Compher (2004)
Children's exposure to diesel exhaust from school buses with different diesel engines - a pilot study. (L-J Sally Liu)
Cynthia Curl, MS (2000)
Evaluation of organophosphorous pesticide exposure in children of agricultural families in the lower Yakima valley (Richard Fenske)
Kai Elgethun, PhD (2004)
Global positioning system (GPS) tracking to characterize children’s exposure to pesticides (Richard Fenske)
Jenna Fisher MS (2002)
Behavioral effects of early postnatal chlorpyrifos-oxon exposure in Paraoxonase-1 knockout mice (Thomas Burbacher)
Elizabeth Gribble, PhD (2005)
Cell cycle inhibition as a mode of abnormal development: the role of cell cycle checpoint proteins and cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors in neurodevelomental toxicant defense (Elaine Faustman)
Cheng (Robin) Han, MS (2006)
The development of testing software to measure and characterize differences in computer mouse use proficiency: comparison of children and adults (Peter Johnson)
Katherine Himes, MS (2003)
Organophosphorus pesticide exposures of children of agricultural workers in central Washington (Richard Fenske)
Julia Hoeft, MS (2001)
A biologically based dose-response model for ethanol-induced developmental neurotoxicity (Elaine Faustman)
Jiho Huang (MPH, 2000)
Traffic counts and Seattle children's hospital regional medical center emergency department visits for asthma (Carl A. Brodkin)
Gabrielle Morris, MPH (2001)
Juvenile decompression illness -- a case series (Matt Keifer)
Gary Palcisko, MS (2000)
Children's exposure to lead and arsenic in orchard soils (John Kissel)
Joshua Robinson, MS (2005)
Examination of metal-induced cell cycle alterations and apoptosis in C57BL/6 and SWV mouse embryonic fibroblasts (Elaine Faustman)
Alison C. Scherer, MS (2007)
Comparative analysis of fish consumption advisories to pregnant women and women of childbearing age (Elaine Faustman)
Susan Sheldon, MPH (2006)
Can hand hygiene and sanitation effectively be taught to children and adults? (William Daniell)
Joseph (Jay) Smith III, MS (2006)
Reconciliation of aggregate probabilistic exposure model predictions with observed biomarkers: a case study using data from the CTEPP child cohorts (John Kissel)
Michelle M. Sommargren, MPH (2007)
Reducing childhood pesticide exposure by targeting the clinician pesticide training gap: The design, implementation and evaluation of an online curriculum (Richard Fenske)
Kathryn Toepel, MS (2004)
Determination of the dietary contribution to pesticide exposure in suburban children (Richard Fenske)
Ami Tsuchiya, MS (2006)
Fish consumption and mercury exposure among Japanese women in the Puget Sound area (Thomas Burbacher)
Whitney Webber, MS (2006)
Comparison of methods to estimate on-bus pollution from diesel school buses -- a pilot study (L-J Sally Liu)

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Chai SK, Nga NN, Checkoway H, Takaro TK, Redding GJ, Keifer MC, Trung LV, Barnhart S. Comparison of local risk factors for children's atopic symptoms in Hanoi, Vietnam. Allergy 2004; 59:637-644.

Chung JS, Kalman DA, Moore LE, et al. Family correlations of arsenic methylation patterns in children and parents exposed to high concentrations of arsenic in drinking water. Environ Health Persp 2002; 110(7):729-733.

Costa LG, Guizzetti M, Burry M, et al. Developmental neurotoxicity: do similar phenotypes indicate a common mode of action? A comparison of fetal alcohol syndrome, toluene embryopathy and maternal phenylketonuria. Toxicol Lett, 2002. 127(1-3):197-205.

Costa LG. The emerging field of ecogenetics. Neurotoxicology, 2000. 21(1-2):85-9.

Curl CL, Fenske RA, Elgethun K. Organophosphorus pesticide exposure of urban and suburban preschool children with organic and conventional diets. Environ Health Perspect, 2003. 111(3):377-82.

Curl CL, Fenske RA, Kissel JC, et al. Evaluation of take-home organophosphorus pesticide exposure among agricultural workers and their children. Environ Health Perspect, 2002. 110(12):A787-92.

Daston G, Faustman E, Ginsberg G, Fenner-Crisp P, Olin S, Sonawane B, Bruckner J, Breslin W, McLaughlin TJ. A framework for assessing risks to children from exposure to environmental agents. Environ Health Pers 2004; 112(2):238-56.

Delfino RJ, Quintana PJE, Floro J, Gastañaga VM, Samimi BS, Kleinman MT, Bufalino C, Liu L J , Wu CF, McLaren CE. Association of FEV1 with personal and microenvironmental exposure to airborne particulate matter in asthmatic children. Environ Health Perspect 2004; 112 (8): 932-941.

DeRouen TA, Martin MD, Leroux BG, Townes BD, Woods JS, Leitao J, Castro-Caldas A, Luis H, Bernardo M, Rosenbaum G, Martins IP. Neurobehavioral effects of dental amalgam in children: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2006; 295(15):1784-1792.

Elgethun K, Fenske RA, Yost MG, et al. Time-location analysis for exposure assessment studies of children using a novel global positioning system instrument. Environ Health Perspect, 2003. 111(1):115-22.

Eskenazi B, Gladstone EA, Berkowitz G, Drew CH, Faustman EM, Holland NT, Lanphear B, Meisel SJ, Perera FP, Rauh VA, Sweeney A, Whyatt RM, Yolton K. Methodologic and logistic issues in conducting longitudinal birth cohort studies: Lessons learned from the Centers for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research. Environmental Health Perspectives 2005; 113 (10): 1419-1429.

Faustman E, Gohlke M, Judd N, Lewandowski T, Bartell S, Griffith W. Modeling developmental processes in animals: Applications in neurodevelopmental toxicology. Environ Toxicol and Pharmacol 2005; 19(3):615-624.

Faustman EM, Silbernagel SM, Fenske RA, et al. Mechanisms underlying children's susceptibility to environmental toxicants. Environ Health Perspect, 2000. 108 Suppl 1:13-21.

Fenske R. Pesticide exposure and children. Part 1: Why focus on kids? Agrichemical and Environmental News, 2000.

Fenske R. Pesticide exposure and children. Part 2: Children in agricultural communities. Agrichemical and Environmental News, 2000.

Fenske RA, Bradman A, Whyatt RM, Wolff MS, Barr DB. Lessons learned for the assessment of children's pesticide exposure: critical sampling and analytical issues for future studies. Environ Health Perspect. 2005; 113(10):1455-1462.

Fenske RA, Kedan G, Lu C, et al. Assessment of organophosphorous pesticide exposures in the diets of preschool children in Washington state. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol, 2002. 12(1):21-8.

Fenske R, Lu C, Barr D, et al. Children's exposure to chlorpyrifos and parathion in an agricultural community in central Washington state. Environ Health Perspect, 2002. 110:549-553.

Fenske RA, Lu C, Curl CL, Shirai JH, Kissel JC. Biologic monitoring to characterize organophosphorus pesticide exposure among children and workers: an analysis of recent studies in Washington State. Environ Health Perspect. 2005; 113(11):1651-1657.

Fenske RA, Kissel JC, Lu C, et al. Biologically based pesticide dose estimates for children in an agricultural community. Environ Health Perspect, 2000. 108(6):515-20.

Fenske RA, Lu C, Simcox NJ, et al. Strategies for assessing children's organophosphorus pesticide exposures in agricultural communities. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol, 2000. 10(6 Pt 2):662-71.

Hopenhayn C, Huang B, Christian J, Peralta C, Ferreccio C, Atallah R, Kalman D. Profile of urinary arsenic metabolites during pregnancy. Environ Health Perspect. 2003 Dec;111(16):1888-91.

Judd NL, Griffith WC, Ylitalo GM, et al. Alternative strategies for PCB risk reduction from contaminated seafood: Options for children as susceptible populations. Bull Environ Contam and Toxicol, 2002. 69:847-854.

Kissel JC, Curl CL, Kedan G, Lu C, Griffith W, Barr DB, Needham LL, Fenske RA. Comparison of organophosphorus pesticide metabolite levels in single and multiple daily urine samples collected from preschool children in Washington State. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol 2005; 15(2):164-71.

Koch D, Lu C, Fisker-Andersen J, et al. Temporal association of children's pesticide exposure and agricultural spraying: report of a longitudinal biological monitoring study. Environ Health Perspect, 2002. 110(8):829-833.

Koenig JQ, Mar TF, Allen RW, Jansen K, Lumley T, Sullivan JH, Trenga CA, Larson T, Liu LJ. Pulmonary effects of indoor- and outdoor-generated particles in children with asthma. Environ Health Perspect. 2005; 113(4):499-503.

Li WF, Costa LG, Richter RJ, et al. Catalytic efficiency determines the in-vivo efficacy of PON1 for detoxifying organophosphorus compounds. Pharmacogenetics, 2000. 10(9):767-79.

Lu C, Kedan G, Fisker-Andersen J, Kissel JC, Fenske RA. Multipathway organophosphorus pesticide exposures of preschool children living in agricultural and nonagricultural communities. Environ Res. 2004; 96(3):283-289.

Lu C, Knutson DE, Fisker-Andersen J, et al. Biological monitoring survey of organophosphorus pesticide exposure among pre-school children in the Seattle metropolitan area. Environ Health Perspect, 2001. 109(3):299-303.

Lu C, Fenske RA, Simcox NJ, et al. Pesticide exposure of children in an agricultural community: evidence of household proximity to farmland and take home exposure pathways. Environ Res, 2000. 84(3):290-302.

Lu C, Toepel K, Irish R, Fenske RA, Barr DB, Bravo R. Organic diets significantly lower children's dietary exposure to organophosphorus pesticides. Environ Health Perspect. 2006; 114(2):260-263.

Mar TF, Jansen K, Shepherd K, Lumley T, Larson TV, Koenig JQ. Exhaled nitric oxide in children with asthma and short-term PM2.5 exposure in Seattle. Environ Health Perspect. 2005; 113(12):1791-1794.

Martin MD, Benton T, Bernardo M, Woods JS, Townes BD, Luis H, Leitao J, Rosenbaum G, Castro-Caldas A, Pavao I, Rue T, Derouen TA. The association of dental caries with blood lead in children when adjusted for IQ and neurobehavioral performance. Sci Total Environ. 2007;377(2-3):159-164.

Martin MD, Woods JS. The safety of dental amalgam in children. Expert Opin Drug Saf. 2006; 5(6):773-781.

Monge P, Wesseling C, Engel LS, Keifer M, Zuurbier M, Rojas M, Partanen T. An icon-based interview for the assessment of occupational pesticide exposure in a case-control study of childhood leukemia. Int J Occup Environ Health 2004; 10(1):72-8.

Nielsen SS, Mueller BA, De Roos AJ, Viernes HA, Farin FM, Checkoway H. Risk of brain tumors in children and susceptibility to organophosphorus insecticides. Environ Health Perspect 2005; 113:909-913

Nielsen SS, Mueller BA, De Roos AJ, Viernes HMA, Farin FM, Checkoway H. Risk of brain tumors in children and susceptibility to organophosphorus insecticides: The potential role of paraoxonase (PON1). Environmental Health Perspectives 2005; 113(7):09-13.

Nga NN, Chai SK, Bihn TT, Redding G, Takaro T, Checkoway H, Son PH, Van DK, Keifer M, Trungle V, Barnhart S. ISAAC-based asthma and atopic symptoms among Ha Noi school children. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2003; 14(4):272-9.

Polifka J, Faustman E. Developmental toxicity: web resources for evaluating risk in humans. Toxicology, 2002. 173:35-65.

Polissar L, Lowry-Coble K, Kalman DA, Hughes JP, van Belle G, Covert DS, Burbacher TM, Bolgiano D, Mottet NK. Pathways of human exposure to arsenic in a community surrounding a copper smelter. Environ Res. 1990 Oct;53(1):29-47.

Rabinovitch N, Zhang L, Murphy J, Vedal S, Dutton S, Gelfand EW. Effects of wintertime ambient air pollution on asthma exacerbations in urban minority children with moderate to severe disease. J Allerg Clin Immunol 2004; 114(5): 1131-1137.

Rodriguez T, Younglove L, Lu C, Funez A, Weppner S, Barr DB, Fenske RA. Biological monitoring of pesticide exposures among applicators and their children in Nicaragua. Int J Occup Environ Health. 2006; 12(4):312-320.

Schildcrout JS, Sheppard L, Lumley T, Slaughter JC, Koenig JQ, Shapiro GG. Ambient air pollution and asthma exacerbations in children: an eight-city analysis. Am J Epidemiol. 2006; 164(6):505-17. Epub 2006 Jun 23.

Searles Nielsen S, Mueller BA, De Roos AJ, Viernes HM, Farin FM, Checkoway H. Risk of brain tumors in children and susceptibility to organophosphorus insecticides: the potential role of paraoxonase (PON1). Environ Health Perspect. 2005; 113(7):909-913.

Shoaf MB, Shirai JH, Kedan G, Schaum J, Kissel JC. Child dermal sediment loads following play in a tide flat. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol. 2005; 15(5):407-412.

Slaughter C, Lumley T, Sheppard L, Koenig J, Shapiro GS. Effects of ambient air pollution on symptom severity and medication use in children with asthma. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2003; 91:346-353

Takaro TK, Krieger JW, Song,L. Effect of environmental interventions to reduce exposure to asthma triggers in homes of low-income children in Seattle. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol 2004; 14 Suppl 1:S133-43.

Thompson B, Coronado GD, Grossman JE, et al. Pesticide take-home pathway among children of agricultural workers: study design, methods, and baseline findings. J Occup Environ Med, 2003. 45(1):42-53.

Trenga CA, Sullivan JH, Schildcrout JS, Shepherd KP, Shapiro GG, Liu LJ, Kaufman JD, Koenig JQ. Effect of particulate air pollution on lung function in adult and pediatric subjects in a Seattle panel study. Chest. 2006; 129(6):1614-1622.

Tsuji R, Guizzetti M, Costa LG. In vivo ethanol decreases phosphorylated MAPK and p70S6 kinase in the developing rat brain. Neuroreport 2003; 14(10):1395-9.

Weppner S, Elgethun K, Lu C, Hebert V, Yost MG, Fenske RA. The Washington aerial spray drift study: Children's exposure to methamidophos in an agricultural community following fixed-wing aircraft applications. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2006; 16(5):387-396.

Wong EY, Gohlke J, Griffith WC, Farrow S, Faustman EM. Assessing the health benefits of air pollution reduction for children. Environ Health Perspective 2004; 112(2):226-232.

Wong EY, Shirai JH, Garlock TJ, et al. Adult proxy responses to a survey of children's dermal soil contact activities. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol, 2000. 10(6 Pt 1):509-17.

Wong EY, Shirai JH, Garlock TJ, et al. Survey of selected activities relevant to exposures to soils. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol, 2000. 65(4):443-50.

Conference Presentations

Galvin K, Fenske R, Negrete M, Powers K, Lu C. Commute vehicle and workplace factors as predictors of pesticide take home residues for agricultural workers, American Industrial Hygiene Conference, May 13-18, 2006, Chicago

Gilbert SG. Tips for keeping your cool in a K-12 class: Do’s, Don'ts, and Tools, Society of Toxicology, Charlotte, NC, March 25-29, 2007

Gohlke J, Griffith W, Faustman E. Computational models for the acquisition of neocortical neurons in the developing human, monkey, and mouse: Cross species comparison of toxicodynamics, Society of Toxicology, March 6-10, 2005, New Orleans

Gribble EJ, Yu X, Hong S, Faustman EM. A role for p53 in mouse midbrain neural precursor cell (NPC) cell cycle arrest and premature neuronal differentiation following methylmercury exposure, Society of Toxicology, March 5–9, 2006, San Diego

Griffith WC, DeFrank NM, Gohlke JM, Faustman EM. Value of information approach for development of models of the developing neocortex after exposure to low dose radiation from internally deposited radionuclides, Society of Toxicology, Charlotte, NC, March 25-29, 2007

Griffith WC, DeFrank NM, Gohlke JM, Gribble EJ, Faustman EM. Systems biology models for integration of diverse studies of the developing neocortex after exposure to low dose radiation from external and internal sources, Society of Toxicology, March 5–9, 2006, San Diego

Ireson R, Ondov J, Zielinska B, Weaver C, Engine, Easter M, Davey M, Hesterberg T, Lawson D, Liu L-JS. Explicit quantification of in-cabin concentrations of school bus exhaust and crankcase emissions using intentional tracers, Air & Waste Management Association, June 20–23, 2006, New Orleans

Karr CJ, Peden DB, Ritz B. Impact of prenatal and early infancy environmental exposures on infant health, American Thoracic Society, May 20–25, 2005, San Diego

Koenig JQ, Mar TF, Jansen K, Stapleton P, Farin F, Larson TV. GST status and associations between PM2.5 and FeNO in children with asthma, American Thoracic Society, May 19–24, 2006, San Diego

Linker, D. Teen workers: Real jobs, real risks (APHA Film Festival), American Public Health Association, November 4–8, 2006, Boston

Liu L-JS, Children’s exposures and health effects from diesel exhaust before and after retrofit, International Society of Exposure Analysis, Oct 30–Nov 3, 2005, Tucson, Arizona

Mar TF, Koenig JQ, Schreuder AB, Larson TV, Lumley T, Covert DS. Wintertime emergency department visits for asthma in children: Associations with airborne concentrations of fine particle mass, total fine particle carbon and ultrafine number count, American Thoracic Society, May 19–24, 2006, San Diego

Pettan-Brewer C, Cole T, Fisher J, Walter B, Forbes A, Yee N, Costa L, Furlong C. PON1 modulates OP toxicity during development, Society of Toxicology, March 6-10, 2005, New Orleans

Robinson JF, Yu X, Gribble EJ, Hong S, Kim E, Sidhu JS, Faustman EM. Examination of arsenic-induced alterations in cell cycle progression and global gene expression in p53 transgenic mouse embryonic fibroblasts, Society of Toxicology, March 5–9, 2006, San Diego

Robinson J, Yu X, Sidhu J, Hong S, Kim E, Faustman E. Examination of metal-induced cell cycle alterations and apoptosis in C57BL/6 and SWV mouse embryonic fibroblasts, Society of Toxicology, March 6-10, 2005, New Orleans

Smith JA, Kissel JC, Shirai JH. Balancing input and output of chlorpyrifos and TCPy in the CTEPP children, Society of Risk Analysis, Baltimore, December 3-6, 2006

Smith JA, Kissel JC, Shirai JH. Estimation of children’s exposure via poorly characterized pathways using CTEPP data, International Society for Environmental Epidemiology/International Society of Exposure Analysis, September 2006, Paris, France

VanDeMark KL, Guizzetti M, Giordano G, Costa LG. Effect of ethanol on carbachol-induced neurite outgrowth in prenatal hippocampal neurons, Society of Toxicology, March 5–9, 2006, San Diego

Vitalone A, Catalani A, Chiodi V, Cinque C, Fattori V, Giacomi A, Matteucci P, Zuena A, Costa LG. Behavioral effects of perinatal exposure to PCB126 and methyl mercury, alone and in association, Society of Toxicology, March 5–9, 2006, San Diego

Vitalone A, Giordano G, Fattori V, Costa LG. Neurotoxicity of methyl mercury and PCBs: an in vitro approach, Society of Toxicology, Charlotte, NC, March 25-29, 2007

Webber W, Davey M, Larson T, Liu L-JS, Hesterberg T, Ireson R, Easter M, Lapin C, Zielinska B, Lawson D. Comparing three approaches of estimating bus self-pollution—a pilot study, Air & Waste Management Association, June 20–23, 2006, New Orleans

Yu X, Sidhu J, Robinson J, Hong S, Faustman E. Integrative analysis of genome-wide gene expression and pathway mapping in mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) exposed to cadmium, arsenic and methylmercury: Induction of oxidative stress, disruption of ubiquitin-proteasome system and cell cycle regulation, Society of Toxicology, March 6-10, 2005, New Orleans

Zielinska B, Campbell D, McDaniel M, Ireson R, Weaver C, Davey M, Liu L-JS, Lawson D, Hesterberg T. Chemical characterization of diesel crankcase and tailpipe PM emissions, including a quantitative deuterated tracer for lubricating oil, Air & Waste Management Association, June 20–23, 2006, New Orleans

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