Environmental health summit report: research blueprint for the 21st century.

Nearly 30 scientists from across the country gathered to formulate a new national blueprint for addressing the nation's most urgent environmental health research priorities. The priorities were addressed by five committees: 1) children's health, 2) respiratory system, 3) immune system, 4) nervous system, and 5) reproductive system. The summit was a public private partnership between the nonprof-it Environmental Health Foundation, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center. This meeting report provides a summary of research recommendations from each of the summit committees. Childrens Health The differences in examining the effects of environmental toxicants between children and adults include differing patterns of exposure, breathing, and dietary intake, as well as differing biology of absorption, distribution , metabolism, and excretion of these agents (implying different exposure-dose relationships), rapid growth and development of organ systems (implying different dose-response relationships); and the projected longer life span of children (14. These differences prompted the committee to formulate the following recommendations. Endocrine modifiers. The committee stressed the need for increased research on environmental endocrine modifiers in children , especially the effects of early exposure and intrauterine exposure in particular. Outcomes of interest include sexual matu-ration, altered thyroid function, and gender specific behaviors. Neurodevelopmental outcomes. Research should be conducted on the effects of exposures to environmental agents in infants and children and their neurodevelopmental outcomes. Of particular interest are outcomes for which there is already some limited evidence of environmental contributors: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), mood disorders (depression and bipolar disorder), hyperagression and criminal behaviors , and infantile autism. The agents of greatest interest for this research should include metals, including lead, mercury, cadmium, and manganese; halogenated hydrocarbons, particularly dioxins, organochlorine pesticides, and PCBs; organic solvents, such as trichloro-ethelyene (TCE) and benzene; air pollutants , particularly their interactions with infectious agents, such as respiratory syncy-tial virus (RSV), and certain fungal agents; and other environmental factors, such as electromagnetic fields (EMF), radon gas, ultraviolet light (UV), and sound (especially repeated exposure to high frequencies). Lung development. Studies need to be done regarding potential for permanent impairment of lung function and structure due to exposure to environmental hazardous pollutants during infancy and early childhood. Because the lung, like the nervous system, has certain critical periods of development and maturation, specific timing of lung injury could lead to permanent morphologic alterations. Such …