Environmental poisoning of children--lessons from the past.

Children have physiologic and behavioral characteristics that make them vulnerable to damage from environmental chemicals. In the past, there have been episodes in which children became ill or died from environmental exposures that spared adults or affected them less severely. Among the characteristics leading to children's sensitivity are their limited diets, dividing cells, differentiating organs and organ systems, slow or absent detoxification mechanisms, long life expectancy with the resulting ability to express damage with delayed consequences, and the severe metabolic demands of growth. There have been large outbreaks of poisonings involving children in Asia and Turkey, and some of the less obvious effects of chemicals have appeared in children in the United States. Although the United States has been spared a widespread outbreak of severe poisoning, such an incident is possible and would likely have greater consequences for children than adults.