For families
Contact PEHSU
This information is not a substitute for talking with your child's doctor.
If this is urgent
- Poison Help 1-800-222-1222Call Poison Help for a suspected poisoning or ingestion happening right now.
- RM PEHSU 1-877-800-5554Call our line for acute exposures and time-sensitive questions.
- rmpehsu@dhha.orgEmail us for non-urgent questions, literature review, and complex exposure histories.
Consultation is free.
Who can request a consultation
- Healthcare providers
- Public health agencies
- Schools and educators
- Community organizations
- Families and caregivers
We cannot provide direct medical care. Where possible we prefer to work through a child's clinician, and we can talk with you and them together.
When to consult us
Send us your question
Frequently asked questions
A Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit is a team of doctors, nurses and toxicologists who answer questions about how the environment affects children's health. There are units across the country; ours covers Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. We are free, and you do not need a referral. We answer questions from families, doctors, schools, public health agencies and community groups.
Yes. There is no charge, no insurance billing and no account to set up. We are funded by a federal grant to answer exactly these questions.
A lead test result you do not understand. Whether it is safe to let your child play outside when there is smoke. Water from a private well. A smell in a school or apartment. Something your child swallowed. A chemical used near where you live. Whether a product is worth worrying about. If you are not sure whether your question fits, ask anyway — we would rather tell you it is nothing.
No, and we cannot provide medical care. Always start with your child's own doctor for a health concern. What we do is help you and your doctor think through an environmental question — often by talking directly with them. This award does not fund direct patient care.
It usually helps. We prefer to work alongside your child's clinician, because they know your child and can order tests and follow up. You are welcome to contact us first — we can help you work out what to ask them.
Lead, radon, carbon monoxide, wildfire smoke, mold and damp housing, private well water, and questions about plastics and household products. Every one of those has a page on this site with practical steps.
Most clinicians get very little training in environmental health — that is the reason units like ours exist. It is not a gap in your doctor's ability, and you do not need to become the expert yourself. Your doctor can call us directly, and many do.
We typically respond within 2 business days. For anything urgent, call rather than email. For a poisoning emergency, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 straight away — they answer 24 hours a day.