The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is conducting a Children's Environmental Exposure Research Study (CHEERS) to better understand how young children come into contact with pesticides and other chemicals in their homes. Children can come into contact with various chemicals in their homes through the air they breathe, food they eat and the surfaces they touch.

Recruitment of families for the study will begin summer 2005 in Jacksonville, Florida. The study, called the Children’s Environmental Exposure Research Study (CHEERS), will involve following 60 children, ages 0 to 3 years, for two years.

“EPA selected Duval County for several reasons, including its year-round pesticide use and because of the tremendous support that local officials and clinics have offered EPA in our efforts to learn more about protecting the health of young children,” said Dr. Nicolle Tulve, principal investigator of the study.

CHEERS is a collaborative effort with Florida’s Duval County Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As part of this exposure study, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) will sign a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with EPA on October 12 at the EPA RTP Campus. ACC will support the study by collecting information on exposures of young children ages 0 to 3 to several household chemicals, including phthlates, brominated flame retardants, and perfluorinated chemicals.

“We have very little information about how children may be exposed to chemicals in household products, whether it is through the air they breathe, food they eat or the surfaces they touch,” said Dr. Linda Sheldon, Acting Director of EPA’s Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division in Research Triangle Park, N.C. “This study will help us to identify the potential exposure routes and pathways of these chemicals and provide real-life data that can be used to improve risk assessments for children,” she said.

The study will involve monitoring children in their homes. Families will be asked to keep records of their pesticide and household product use. The study is designed to measure the concentrations of the chemicals in the children’s homes and determine how the children are exposed to chemicals that are present in consumer products used in the home.

For more information about the study, visit the Web site at: www.epa.gov/cheers/.