MDH, communities study: Minnesota children’s chemical exposures
An innovative partnership between the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and community partners in Minneapolis and Greater Minnesota has produced useful new information about Minnesota children’s exposure to chemicals in their environments. The project found that chemical exposure is a potential concern for children around the state but the details of the concern vary by location, racial/ethnic group, household practices and other factors.
The Healthy Rural and Urban Kids Project measured 21 chemicals in the urine of 232 children from two communities: neighborhoods in North Minneapolis and three counties in north-central Minnesota. Both areas have long had concerns about potential exposures to chemicals in their environments and the project was developed to respond to those concerns.
The chemicals chosen for the project are ones that can be measured in urine and that can tell scientists something about potential exposure to air pollution, metals and pesticides. . .