Chemical Exposures and Children’s Mental Health

While the adverse impacts of many toxic chemicals on physical health are widely recognized, their impacts on mental health are not as well understood.

A recently published literature review revealed a substantial body of evidence that links exposures to chemicals in our environment — including lead, PFAS and BPA — to children's mental health symptoms such as anxiety and depression. It examined prenatal and childhood chemical exposures and mental health problems.

The review acknowledges the need to view this as an environmental justice issue. Children in low-income and communities of color are disproportionately burdened with harmful chemical exposures and thus face potentially increased risk.

In this webinar, CHE-Alaska hosted Ashley James and Pangunnaaq Vi Waghiyi to discuss environmental chemical exposures and their impact on children's mental health.

Dr. James, a Physical Scientists with the US Environmental Protection Agency, presented her recently published literature review on environmental chemical exposures and mental health outcomes in children. ACAT's Environmental Health and Justice Director Vi Waghiyi discussed how mental health disparities in Alaska Native youth demonstrate this as an issue of environmental injustice.