Why does air pollution have a greater impact on children? Children as compared to adults spend more time outdoors, playing and breathing faster which increases their relative exposure to air pollution. Children are not mini-adults exhibiting unique physiology. Relative to their size, children breathe more than adults.
Coupling their more rapid respiration with decreased biological defenses (nasal passages and detoxification pathways), they are more at risk from air pollution. The fetal risks and early life developmental exposures have the greatest potential to influence future health developments. Higher levels of PM greater than 2.5 increased children’s visits to emergency departments with asthma and respiratory-related issues, disproportionately affecting those living in proximity to traffic, from lower socioeconomic areas, and in urban areas.
There have been attempts by different states in the US to address the issue of children’s environmental health protection regarding air quality. The Children’s Environmental Health Protection Act was passed by the California Legislature in 1999, requiring monitoring and assessment of whether control measures in place were adequate to protect children. This act was designed to identify toxic air contaminants and develop new regulations to reduce exposure if contaminants were identified.
Although this type of programming should be applauded, the questions to be addressed are whether it is indeed working, whether this action is substantive and lastly, does a wider net need to be casted to address a larger population of children. In this author’s opinion, this is a good start, but not enough.
IV. Children require reduced exposure to electromagnetic frequencies (EMF) and no exposure to 5G
On March 25, 2019, it was reported that 4 students and 3 teachers in Ripon California, were diagnosed with cancer within a 3-year period after a 5G tower was placed at their school. Scientists argue that research on brain tumors and radio frequency radiation should be a Class 1 known carcinogen.
The IARC cancer classification includes all sources of RF radiation. The exposure from mobile phone base stations, Wi-Fi access points, smart phones, laptops and tablets can be long-term, sometimes around the clock, at home, at work place, at school, and in the environment. For children this risk may be accentuated because of a cumulative effect during a long lifetime use (Hedendahl et al., 2015).
Additionally, there are many concerning reports of cognitive dysfunction in adolescents including delayed fine and gross motor skills, memory issues and focus/attention alterations when tower settings were placed adjacent to school buildings. It should be noted that the concept of neurological harm from electromagnetic pollution can be traced back 50 years to reports from the former Soviet Union describing a “microwave syndrome” in individuals working with radio and radar equipment including neurologic issues, fatigue, insomnia, and other systemic complaints. Similar symptoms were reported in Swedes and Finns. Most parents are unaware of this type of harm from EMF exposure which is hard to quantify, detect, diagnose and treat. Abandonment of books in favor of wireless devices has been exponentially increased during school closures and lockdowns during the 2020-21 CoV-2 pandemic.
Whether the health harms from EMF/RFR (radiofrequency radiation) are known by physicians is unclear. What is known are the physiologic effects caused by exposure and the type of damage caused and needs to be broadcasted to clinicians caring for children. Some of the effects reported include the following:
Cellular stress with the creation of heat shock proteins
Damage of cell membranes, creating leaky membrane and loss of electrical differences
Damage to mitochondria with subsequent alterations of chemical conduction reactions on their cellular membranes
Creation of oxidative stress (free radicals) – difficult to maintain enough antioxidants to keep pace with the stress in children
Genotoxicity from free radical damage to DNA
Depletion of glutathione, the body’s major antioxidant.
The frustration mounting from EMF/RFR exposure stems from the fact that this is an unnecessary exposure and there are remediation steps that can be taken towards prevention. Homes and schools can be hardwired which are safer, faster, and less vulnerable to privacy issues. Wifi access points and devices can be turned off when not in use. Content for teaching can be downloaded to devices prior to school lessons when attendance in person is not possible. Cell phones and other wearables can be prohibited in classrooms which is already occurring in some countries. Lastly, it would behoove industry to provide devices and software with hardwired features.
V. Children should not be subjugated to experimental medical therapies/drugs
Children cannot give informed consent, so bypassing systems giving children experimental treatments without parental acknowledgement is illegal. It is unethical to give children a type of therapy or treatment for the benefit of adults when the child’s risk outweighs the benefit that they might receive from the therapy. This idea of “cocooning”, meaning using the child as a shield to protect adults, is off the table and this option should not be considered due to its immorality and glaring lack of consideration of the child placed at an unnecessary risk.