wfn.org | Candidates asked about children's environmental health issues

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

July 28, 2000  News media contact: Joretta Purdue ·(202) 546-8722·Washington
10-21-71B{349}

WASHINGTON (UMNS)  --  United States presidential candidates are being urged
to make environmentally related children's health issues a part of their
campaigns. 

The Children's Environmental Health Network has asked each presidential
candidate specific questions about how they would prevent harm to children's
health and development.

"The predominant assumption in current environmental health laws and
regulations is that potential hazards are innocent until proven guilty,"
observed J.  Routt Reigart, a professor of pediatrics and chairman of the
network's advisory board, at a July 24 press conference.  "Existing medical
and scientific knowledge already tells us that this approach is failing our
children, putting them at risk," he said. 

Primary mission of the network is to protect the fetus and child from
environmental health hazards.

Jaydee Hanson, a staff executive with the United Methodist Board of Church
and Society, one of the other speakers at the press conference, noted that
John Wesley, Methodism's founder, in a 1760 sermon on money, advised his
followers to earn all they could but to avoid work that would harm another
or themselves. 

"Wesley specifically urged his followers not to work in the arsenic and lead
industries," Hanson said. "Today, children are still not protected from
poisons such as lead and arsenic as well as they should be."

He noted that the next president will play a key role in determining how
well children in the United States and around the world are protected from
environmental hazards.  "Standards for heavy metals, pesticides, and other
dangerous substances must be set at a level that will protect all children,"
he said. 

Ralph Nader, nominee of the Green Party, was the only candidate to appear in
person at the press conference. Vice President Al Gore sent Kathleen McGinty
as his representative on environmental issues.

Presidential candidates had previously been sent a survey, asking their
positions on what actions they would take on this issue including possible
changes to current regulations and standards.

Nader had responded prior to the press conference. Gore's responses were
received that day. Gov. George W. Bush committed to respond after the
Republican convention in Philadelphia.

In his responses, Nader said he would support considering children's
susceptibilities in environmental standards and added that this had been his
position for more than 20 years. "The measure of tolerance is the infant not
the adult," he said.

Gore's response to the same question was also affirmative. "It is enormously
important that environmental and safety standards recognize that, relative
to their body weight, children consume more water, eat more food, and breath
more air than adults," he said.

Substances that may be safe for adults may be toxic threats to children, he
noted. "The same types of vulnerabilities are presented for many seniors and
individuals with compromised immune systems."

Daniel Swartz is executive director of the network which includes
representatives from the American Public Health Association, the National
4-H Council, the National Urban League, and other groups.

Sally Smith, who founded The Lab School of Washington in 1967,  advocated
deleting from the children's environment substances that may harm their
ability "to learn, to memorize, to behave, and to concentrate." A professor
of education at United Methodist-related American University in Washington,
Smith represented the Learning Disabilities Association of America at the
press conference.

# # #
 
The complete text of Hanson's statement follows. The candidates' survey
responses with a news release put out by the Children's Environmental Health
Network can be found at the organization's web site www.cehn.org together
with other materials.

Children's Environmental Health: A Matter of Simple Justice
A Statement by Jaydee Hanson, Assistant General Secretary,
General Board of Church and Society, The United Methodist Church

	The General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist
Church is happy to join with the Children's Environmental Health Network to
urge candidates for the U.S. Presidency to make the health and safety of
children a major part of every party's campaign.

	The health of children has long been a major concern of the United
Methodist Church. Two hundred and fifty years ago, our founder, John Wesley,
campaigned for an end to children working in coalmines. He campaigned for
clean water and against air pollution, understanding that clean air and
water were key to health. In his 1760 sermon, "On The Use of Money," he
advised his followers to earn all the money they could unless by doing so
they would harm another or themselves. Wesley specifically urged his
followers not to work in the arsenic and lead industries.

	Today, children are still not protected from poisons such as lead
and arsenic as well as they should be. The next President of the United
States will have a key role in determining how well children in the U.S. and
around the world will be protected, but this issue is not being raised as a
key campaign issue. Standards for heavy metals, pesticides, and other
dangerous substances must be set at a level that will protect all children.
Children who grow up poor are more likely to be exposed to these dangerous
substances than children of wealthier parents are, but all children are at
risk.

	We believe that all candidates should be asked what steps they will
take to address the special protection needs of children. Candidates should
be asked whether they will support efforts to increase funding for
children's environmental health research. Will they strengthen air pollution
and water pollution standards to the levels that will protect children most
at risk for illness? Will they stop the spraying of pesticides over, next
to, and in our schools? Will they assure us that local health departments
will have the assistance of the federal government in protecting our
children's health?

	The United Methodist Church has declared through our bishops that
caring for children and ending poverty is the major initiative of the
church. Our General Conference, the only body that can speak for the whole
church, declared last May in our resolution on "Environmental Health and
Safety in Workplace and Community," that "The preservation and protection of
human life from environmental health hazards is a fundamental responsibility
of government." Today, we are urging all the candidates of all parties to
join us in this key commitment for simple justice for all God's children.

(Only the General Conference speaks for the entire denomination. The General
Board of Church and Society is the international public policy and social
action agency of the United Methodist Church.)
###

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United Methodist News Service
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