Parents who are concerned about their children’s exposure to harmful or toxic substance in the environment can now speak to a trained health professional by calling a new free hotline at 1-877-800-5554.

The Rocky Mountain Region Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) now operates the toll-free, 24-hour, seven-day-a-week hotline for parents, children, teachers and care providers. Callers can ask questions on environmental health concerns such as lead and other heavy metals, pesticides, diesel exhaust, molds and bacteria.

Calls to the hotline are answered by nurses and pharmacists trained to evaluate environmental hazards. They ask callers a series of questions about suspected exposures and symptoms to help evaluate the potential hazard. They can then offer preliminary advice and education to callers and send their environmental exposure assessments to the expert panel of PEHSU physicians, who can offer further advice and physician referrals if necessary.

Information about the Rocky Mountain PEHSU and environmental hazards can also be found on the Rocky Mountain PEHSU website at www.rmrpehsu.org.

A collaboration of Denver Health, the National Jewish Medical and Research Center and the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center, PEHSU serves the children of North Dakota, Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. PEHSU is funded by a grant from the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics through funding from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.