Abstract
In the recent year, a summit of the environment ministers of the G8 nations including the U. S. A., U. K, and Japan, presented the “Declaration of the G8 Environment Leaders on Children's Environmental Health” in which G8 countries agreed to actively address this issue. Fetuses and infants are more liable than adults to be affected by hazardous chemicals, being more sensitive to them due to their small body weight, and are more likely to come into contact with them due to the fact that they tend to play extensively on the floor and ground, and frequently bring whatever they have in their hands to their mouths. However, those who have high sensitivity, including children, are often not well-considered by our present legal system and risk assessment practices for protecting people from chemical substances. This material summarizes the proceedings of the symposium, in order to exchange opinions internationally and develop domestic professional human resources. Also, it introduces what researchers, governments, and NGOs from the U. S, EU, WHO, and Canada are working on, as well as the program of the Ministry of the Environment in Japan.
