Children Adversely Impacted: Physical and Safety Standards Exceeded

In 2005, 60 percent of children lived in counties in which concentrations of one or more air pollutants rose above allowable levels, up from 46 percent in 2004, but a decrease from 65 percent in 1999. The report noted that children have increased potential for exposure to pollutants because they eat, drink, and breathe more, in proportion to the size of their bodies, than adults. Ozone, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide are air pollutants associated with increased asthma episodes and other respiratory illnesses. Lead, often a component of polluted air, can affect the development of the central nervous system in young children and exposure to carbon monoxide can reduce the capacity of blood to carry oxygen.

The Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone is the standard exceeded most often. High levels of ozone are influenced by high summer temperatures. The report noted that ozone concentrations tended to be lower in 2004 than in other years due to generally lower summer temperatures that year.

The percentage of children served by community water systems that did not meet all applicable health-based drinking water standards rose from 8 percent in 2004 to 10 percent in 2005. However, the percentage of children served by community drinking water systems that did not meet all applicable health-based standards declined from 20 percent in 1993 to about 8 percent in 1998. Since 1998, this percentage has fluctuated between 5 and 10 percent. The report explained that contaminants in drinking water may be quite varied and may cause a range of diseases in children, including acute diseases such as gastrointestinal illness, developmental effects such as learning disorders, and cancer.

Regarding the housing that children lived in, the report stated that, in 2005, 40 percent of U.S. households with children had one or more of three housing problems: physically inadequate housing, crowded housing, or cost burden resulting from housing that costs more than 30 percent of household income. In 2003, 37 percent of households with children had a housing problem. This percentage has increased over the long term from 30 percent in 1978.

"The increase in housing problems among families primarily reflects high housing costs," said Darlene Williams, Ph.D., Assistant Secretary of Policy Development and Research at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. "As a direct result of increased housing costs we have seen significant increases in the number of households experiencing cost burdens, including cost burdens exceeding 50 percent of household income. Rent burdens among very low income renters with children accounted for about one-fourth of the increase in families with housing problems during the 2003-2005 period," stated Dr. Williams.

The report added that inadequate housing (housing with severe or moderate physical problems) continues to decrease. In 2005, 5 percent of households with children had inadequate housing, compared with 9 percent in 1978.