National Children's Study: environmental exposures in Waukesha County.

The National Children's Study (NCS), launched in September of 2005, will investigate the effects of environmental exposures and children's health and development. Waukesha County, Wis was selected as 1 of 7 sites to spearhead this ambitious undertaking. Residents of Waukesha County may experience different kinds of environmental exposures from water, land, and air based on where they live, work, and play. A selected number of Waukesha County's environmental exposures described briefly in this report will serve the NCS well with their heterogeneity of potential exposures: from private well water and community water supplies that obtain water from both surface and groundwater; from the variable exposures to ambient air pollution from mobile sources, local industrial sources, and distant sources (ozone); and the different levels of exposures from soil and dust depending on the prevalence of pesticide use and lead-based paints. By combining data gathered from Waukesha County's participants with other study sites, a holistic picture of environmental exposures in the United States can be evaluated as it influences the health of our nation's children.