[Child health and chemical safety]

Recently concern over the hazards posed by chemicals to children has become more active. Many chemicals have been introduced into the market within the past several decades. These chemicals are used widely in consumer products and dispersed in the environment. Children are at risk of exposure to such chemicals. Scientific understanding has also improved about the vulnerability of children to chemical hazards. As children represent the future of our societies, protecting their health is an important issue. Thus, many actions are being undertaken by international organizations, e.g., the World Health Organization and the United Nations, and regulatory bodies in Japan, the US and the EU, based on the probable vulnerability of infants and children to chemicals. In this paper, these efforts and state measures are summarized, the characteristics of children at risk assessed, and the list of chemicals concerning child health as well as future actions in Japan are presented.