Partner Summary
The Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSU) work to reduce and prevent exposures to environmental hazards and improve reproductive and children's health.
Purpose of the PEHSU
Children are especially susceptible to hazardous environmental exposures. They grow rapidly during critical developmental windows when exposures can result in lifelong health conditions. They crawl and play close to the ground, and they put their hands and objects in their mouths, which can expose them more often to harmful substances compared to adults. Also, children breathe more air, drink more water, and eat more food per pound of body weight than adults.
A child's developing systems may not be able to fully break down and eliminate contaminants that enter their body. Health problems from an environmental exposure can take years to develop, and children have more time to develop health outcomes from exposures than adults who are exposed later in life.
The PEHSU are a national network of experts in the prevention, diagnosis, management, and treatment of health issues that arise from environmental exposures from preconception through adolescence. They provide evidence-based reproductive and children's environmental health information that enhances the integration of clinical care and public health.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) established the PEHSU in 1998 and provides funding with support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The PEHSU are managed by a national program office, Public Health Institute, with strategic direction and programmatic support from ATSDR. They are based at academic health institutions in ten different geographical regions of the United States.
How PEHSU Work
The PEHSU work with health professionals, parents, schools, community groups, government agencies, and others to address reproductive and children's environmental health issues that affect families and communities.
PEHSU Activities
The PEHSU provide essential services, including:
- training for health professionals,
- outreach to and education for communities,
- consultations on environmental exposures,
- referrals for evaluation and necessary services, and
- development of partnerships that promote and support the PEHSU mission.
The PEHSU raise awareness about hazardous environmental conditions affecting children and families and provide practical advice on ways to prevent or reduce exposures. They investigate suspected children's exposures to a variety of environmental substances, including lead, mercury, mold, pesticides, and other hazards in food, water, and air. They develop science-based educational materials, and refer individuals to specialty care. The PEHSU provide information to health professionals and communities about exposures to children and families related to hurricanes, wildfires, and other disasters. They are instrumental in training future environmental health leaders by offering unique learning opportunities for students and health professionals in practice. The PEHSU build and maintain partnerships with key stakeholders that advance the work of the PEHSU and broaden its impact.
Key Successes
The PEHSU have led the way in addressing reproductive and children's environmental health for over 25 years. During this time, the PEHSU have
- educated nearly 600,000 health professionals and more than 400,000 people in the public,
- completed more than 20,000 consultations to health professionals and communities, and
- published over 1300 works related to children's environmental health.
Through these and continued efforts, the PEHSU are a trusted source of scientific information on the prevention, diagnosis, and management of environmental health issues that affect reproductive and children's health.
Learn More
Learn more about what the PEHSU do and check out these resources: Pediatric Environmental Health Toolkit and Prescriptions for Prevention.