About Region 10 – Northwest PEHSU
The Northwest Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) at the University of Washington is a nonprofit agency focused on environmental factors that influence children’s health. We serve four states in the US EPA’s Region 10—Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Idaho.
Our multidisciplinary staff have backgrounds in pediatrics, nursing, exposure science, public health and environmental justice. We work on an array of environmental issues that can pose health risks to children and pregnant individuals, such as exposure to:
- Lead and heavy metals.
- Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)(aka “forever chemicals”).
- Mold
- Pesticides
- Air pollution
- Wildfire smoke
We aim to improve pediatric and reproductive environmental health outcomes by:
- Increasing knowledge and awareness about environmental health issues through training and education.
- Offering consultation services to help recognize, manage and prevent environmentally related health conditions in children and pregnant individuals.
- Providing evidence-based medical information and advice to public health professionals, clinicians, policymakers, individuals and communities.
Northwest PEHSU was established in 1997 in the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Washington and is based in Seattle. Our work is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (CDC/ATSDR) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
In addition to collaborating with the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit national network, we also work closely with other local, state and regional partners to improve reproductive and pediatric environmental health outcomes.
Our partners include:
- State and local health departments.
- Poison Control Centers.
- The University of Washington Medical Center and Seattle Children’s Hospital.The University of Washington Departments of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences and Pediatrics.
What are Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSUs)?
PEHSU is a national network of academically-based specialists dedicated to providing expertise to clinicians, public health professionals, policymakers and the public on environmental factors that influence pediatric and reproductive health.
PEHSU Mission: Improve reproductive and children’s health by leading the integration of environmental health into clinical care and public health while supporting communities to address historical injustices and ongoing environmental racism and address the existential threat of climate change.
To learn more, visit www.pehsu.net
What is Pediatric and Reproductive Environmental Health?
Environmental exposures can have significant and potentially lifelong health consequences. Environmental exposures of concern include biological, chemical and radiological hazards, both naturally occurring and as a result of human activity. Children are especially at risk because exposures can interfere with their rapid, ongoing development. In addition, children are at increased risk for certain exposures due to their behaviors, such as crawling on the ground, putting their hands and other objects in their mouths, or eating paint chips or other non-food items. Children also breathe more air, drink more water and eat more food per pound of body weight than adults, increasing their potential level of exposure. Fortunately, much can be done to protect children by identifying and eliminating or minimizing ongoing exposures of concern and avoiding future exposures.
The Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSUs) are supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and funded (in part) by the cooperative agreement FAIN: NU61TS000296 with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (CDC/ATSDR). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supports the PEHSUs by providing partial funding to CDC/ATSDR through Inter-Agency Agreement number DW-75-95877701. The content on this website has not been formally disseminated by CDC/ATSDR or the EPA and should not be construed to represent any agency determination or policy. Use of trade names that may be mentioned is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the CDC/ATSDR or EPA.