About the Office of Children's Health Protection (OCHP)
What We Do
OCHP, which is located within the Office of the Administrator, has the fundamental goal to ensure that all EPA actions and programs address the unique vulnerabilities of children. Children may be more vulnerable to environmental exposures than adults because:
- their bodily systems are still developing;
- they eat more, drink more, and breathe more in proportion to their body size; and
- their behavior can expose them more to chemicals and organisms.
- EPA’s children’s health-protection efforts are guided by Executive Order 13045, “Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks" (PDF).
OCHP’s major goals are to:
- reduce negative environmental impacts on children through involvement in EPA rulemaking, policy, enforcement actions, research and applications of science that focuses on prenatal and childhood vulnerabilities;
- protect children through safe chemicals management; and
- coordinate community-based programs to eliminate threats to children’s health.
OCHP’s Major Work
- increasing environmental health literacy of health care providers through support of Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units Exit; and
- evaluating and communicating trends in environmental contaminants that may contribute to childhood disease through publication of America’s Children and the Environment.
Mail code: 1107T | EPA mailing addresses
Location: EPA Headquarters at Washington, D.C. Federal Triangle campus
OCHP Organization
Dr. Ruth A. Etzel, M.D., Ph.D, Director
- Biography
- Phone: (202) 564-2188