Evaluating Children's Health in EPA Regulations
Author Information
Author(s): Devon Payne-Sturges, Debra Kemp
Primary Institution: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Hypothesis
How effectively does the U.S. EPA consider children's health in its regulatory actions?
Conclusion
The Executive Order 13045 does not apply broadly enough to ensure adequate protection of children's health due to the limited number of economically significant rules.
Supporting Evidence
- 860 out of 1,679 regulations explicitly considered children's health.
- Only 15 of the 80 regulations that were health- or safety-based and addressed a risk that may disproportionately impact children were subject to EO 13045.
- Children's health was considered most frequently in pesticide regulations.
Takeaway
The EPA looks at how rules affect kids, but not enough rules are checked to keep them safe. We need to do better to protect children's health.
Methodology
The study reviewed regulatory actions published by the U.S. EPA from April 1998 to December 2006, focusing on whether they considered children's health.
Limitations
The analysis did not assess the quality or scope of evaluations or their influence on regulatory outcomes.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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