The impacts of health status and exposure to environmental toxins on children's grade point average in El Paso, Texas

Studies in the US have found that both exposure to environmental toxins and children's general health status negatively impact children's academic achievement. This thesis will be made of up two papers. The first examines the impact of exposure to residential air toxins from a variety of sources on student's academic achievement and the second paper incorporates a measure of children's general health status into the statistical model from the first paper. This thesis employs National Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) risk estimates from a variety of sources and individual-level data collected through a mail survey of fourth and fifth grade school children in El Paso (Texas, USA). Results indicate that both higher levels of residential air toxins are statistically significantly associated with lower grade point averages, even when controlling for caretaker-reported general health status, meaning that there is an independent effect of air pollution on children's academic achievement outcomes that cannot be explained poor health alone. Findings from this study support the need for mandated monitoring and regulation of emissions near children's residences, and contribute to a broader understanding of the relationship between exposure to air toxics, children's health, and academic achievement.