Supporting Children’s Health Month in Puerto Rico by Identifying Environmental Exposure Risks

October is recognized as Children’s Health Month by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). To promote the importance of a healthy environment for children and educate the public about known environmental exposure risks that could put them in harm’s way, the agency has produced and published a list of resources. These tools cover topics ranging from drinking water and lead to mold, indoor air quality (IAQ), pesticides and mercury hazards.
 
This information is important for parents, teachers, daycare operators and anyone responsible for the wellbeing of a child because they are often more vulnerable to pollutants than adults. This is due to differences in behavior and biology that can lead to greater exposure and/or unique windows of susceptibility during development. For example, children may be more vulnerable to chemicals and microorganisms they are exposed to in the environment because:

• Children’s nervous, immune response, digestive and other bodily systems are still developing and are more easily harmed
• Children eat more food, drink more fluids and breathe more air than adults in proportion to their body size – so it is important to take extra care to ensure the safety of their food, drink and air
• They way children behave – such as crawling and placing objects in their mouths can increase their risk of exposure to chemicals and microorganisms in the environment

 
“There are so many known indoor and outdoor environmental exposure risks that are quite common and can be found in Puerto Rico and throughout the modern world,” said Harry Pena, President of Zimmetry Environmental. “These include, but are not limited to, lead in paint, dust, soil or water; damp and moldy indoor environments; mercury; PCBs; pesticides; cleaning chemicals; tobacco smoke; e-cigarette vapors; radon; asbestos; particulate matter; asthma triggers such as dust mites, cockroaches, rodents and pet dander; carbon monoxide; contaminated water; sewer gas; and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). At Zimmetry we support the efforts of Children’s Health Month through environmental testing and consulting services that identify hazards so that solutions to mitigate or eliminate any exposure risks can be put in place.”
 
Zimmetry also recently sponsored an educational video about Children’s Health Month that can be seen at: https://youtu.be/zK3mLG-JWaY
 
To learn more about Zimmetry’s environmental, indoor air quality and building science testing, compliance and consulting services, please visit www.zimmetry.com, call (787) 995.0005 or email info@zimmetry.com .
 
About Zimmetry Environmental
Since 2002, Zimmetry Environmental has been providing environmental consulting services to building owners and managers, architects, engineers, EHS professionals and Fortune 500 companies. The company is based in Puerto Rico and provides services across the Caribbean and Central America. The professionals at Zimmetry offer environmental compliance, indoor air quality, asbestos, lead-based paint, Phase I ESAs and general environmental consulting services.

Contact Information

Paul Cochrane

President

Cochrane & Associates, LLC

Contact via E-mail