Latest CCCEH News & Updates
- “The Plastic Panic,” in The New Yorker, highlights work by CCCEH on bisphenol A and other chemicals.
- A CNN special report, “Toxic America,” features CCCEH research about prenatal exposure to toxic substances. View video.
- A CCCEH study in Krakow, Poland found that prenatal exposure to pollutants can adversely affect children’s cognitive development at age 5. Read the press release.
- Read previous press releases.
- Highlights and resources from the 2009 Translating Science to Policy conference
The Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health works to protect children’s health by conducting scientific studies linking common pollutants in the environment to certain health risks. We use the results from our research to educate people and inform public policy about ways to reduce children’s exposure to harmful pollutants that threaten their health. More about the Center.
Environmental Hazards
Scientists at the Center are conducting new, ground-breaking research on the effects of environmental pollutants on children’s health. This includes endocrine disruptors such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), bisphenol-A (BPA), phthalates and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Scientists have also researched the effects of several common pollutants on children’s health, including air pollution from fuel burning, secondhand smoke, pesticides, pest allergens, mold, lead, and mercury.
Health Risks
Our research has linked prenatal exposure to these environmental pollutants to increased risk of disease in children. The effects under long-term study include respiratory health and asthma, neurodevelopmental deficits, and increased risk of cancer. Our most recent Center grants focuses on the role of endocrine disruption by PAHs and BPA in the development of obesity, metabolic syndrome and neurodevelopment disorders in children. Phthalates and PBDEs are also being studied with respect to effects on cognitive development and the mechanisms involved.