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3
Government and Private-Sector
Involvement in Climate Change,
Indoor Environment, and Health Issues
Several government and private-sector bodies are involved in various
issues of climate change, indoor environment, and health. This chapter
identifies them and summarizes their work in those issues. It also lists some
major sources of data on the characteristics of buildings, the indoor envi-
ronment, and public health and discusses how they might inform questions
about the intersection between them.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND DEPARTMENTS
The 2010 National Research Council report Informing an Effective
Response to Climate Change lists 19 US federal executive and legislative
branch bodies that are involved in or affected by decisions about climate
change (NRC, 2010). This section lists the entities that are most directly
involved in issues related to the intersection between climate change, the
indoor environment, and health and identifies some of their work. Chapter
8 provides additional detail on programs related to building weatherization
and energy efficiency.
US Environmental Protection Agency
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—the sponsor of the
present study—conducts and coordinates research on a broad array of is-
sues associated with climate change. Its purview includes both the outdoors
53
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54 CLIMATE CHANGE, THE INDOOR ENVIRONMENT, AND HEALTH
and some indoor environments.1 The bulk of EPA’s efforts are directed
toward research on and regulation of greenhouse gases, but the agency’s
Indoor Environments Division addresses climate-change questions as part
of its objective to protect the public’s health by promoting healthier indoor
environments.
One major initiative is the ENERGY STAR voluntary building-
certification program, which promotes the use of low-energy–demand
designs, construction, and appliances. EPA cites lower greenhouse-gas emis-
sions as one the benefits of certified homes (EPA, 2010e). The voluntary
Indoor airPLUS standard allows builders who have already met ENERGY
STAR requirements to apply an additional label to structures that have met
criteria that include resistance to outdoor water intrusion, mitigation of op-
portunities for indoor dampness, a heating, ventilating, and air-condition-
ing (HVAC) system that meets American Society of Heating, Refrigerating,
and Air-Conditioning Engineers standards for ventilation, and low-emission
building materials (EPA, 2009b).
In late 2010, the agency released a draft of voluntary Healthy Indoor
Environment Protocols for Home Energy Upgrades for public comment
(EPA, 2010b). The protocols were developed in conjunction with the De-
partment of Energy (DOE) Workforce Guidelines for Home Energy Up-
grades (DOE, 2011) and focus on potential health effects of weatherization
and other retrofits intended to promote energy efficiency. They touch on
such issues as moisture, emissions from building materials, and ventilation
and offer guidance on exposure assessment, mitigation, and adaptation
strategies.
EPA specifically addresses the subject of the present report in an In-
door Air Quality and Climate Readiness Web site that in late 2010 in-
cluded weatherization and indoor air-quality briefing material and links
to more general indoor environmental-health information (EPA, 2010d).
Several other information and education programs indirectly address build-
ing problems and exposures that have been associated with climate change
and the indoor environment and with remediation of their adverse effects.
The Agency’s Tools for Schools program, for example, seeks to “prevent
and solve the majority of indoor air problems with minimal cost and
involvement” (EPA, 2009a, p. i).2 As was the case with Indoor airPLUS,
actions address outdoor-water intrusion, indoor dampness, proper ventila-
tion, well-maintained HVAC systems, and low-emission building materials.
1 Workplace environmental problems are under the jurisdiction of the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration. This report touches on issues in offices but does not address in-
dustrial environments, which may also be adversely affected by climate change (Nilsson and
Kjellstrom, 2010).
2 These topics are also dealt with in the 2006 National Academies report Green Schools:
Attributes for Health and Learning (NRC, 2006).
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GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE-SECTOR INVOLVEMENT
A cooperative agreement program announced in late 2010 disseminated
$2.4 million to local government, educational institutions, and nonprofit
organizations for “demonstration, training, education, and/or outreach
projects that seek to reduce exposure to indoor air pollutants” and that
would yield measurable results (EPA, 2010c).
EPA’s Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program was initi-
ated in 1995 to evaluate environmental technologies and make them readily
available for the mass market for the benefit of the general public (EPA,
2011a). One of its main goals is to standardize testing among different
companies and products. One such standardization was of the accuracy of
technology that tests building pressure to determine whether contaminants
in buildings are due to vapor intrusion or to other product emissions (ETV,
2010). Another initiative investigates microorganism-resistant building ma-
terial for mold resistance, emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
and aldehydes, and moisture content (RTI International, 2008).
EPA also partners with other federal agencies to conduct research. In
collaboration with the Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD), EPA conducted a national survey that measured allergens, includ-
ing mold, and pesticides in homes (Stout et al., 2009). The data have since
been used to examine the indoor environment and potential health risks to
occupants. It also cochairs the Federal Interagency Committee on Indoor
Air Quality with four other federal agencies.3 This committee coordinates
research and facilitates communication on indoor-air topics, including ex-
cessive dampness, mold, ventilation, emissions from building materials, and
“green buildings.”
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the principal biomedical
research arm of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
It conducts and sponsors investigations on a broad array of health topics
and fosters both basic and applied research. Climate-change–related work
at NIH falls principally under the aegis of the National Institute of Envi-
ronmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), which holds primary responsibility
for conducting and funding environmental health research. In 2010, that
institute released the results of an effort by the Interagency Working Group
3 The committee’s Web site notes that “the CIAQ is co-chaired by EPA, the Consumer Prod-
uct Safety Commission, the Department of Energy, the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Other federal
departments and agencies participate as members” (EPA, 2010a).
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56 CLIMATE CHANGE, THE INDOOR ENVIRONMENT, AND HEALTH
on Climate Change and Health4 (NIEHS, 2010). The stated purpose of A
Human Health Perspective on Climate Change was to (p. iv)
identify research needs for all aspects of the research-to-decision making
pathway that will help us understand and mitigate the health effects of
climate change, as well as ensure that we choose the healthiest and most
efficient approaches to climate change adaptation.
Among the research needs identified were studies addressing the health
effects of indoor dust on asthma exacerbation, including changes in dust
composition resulting from climate change (p. 15); how changes in temper-
ature and precipitation affect exposure to toxic chemicals (p. 19); the effects
of climate change on outbreak incidence, geographic range, and growth
cycles of insect pests and pathogens that cause human disease (p. 27); risk
factors for illness and death associated with acute exposure to extreme heat
events and chronic exposure to increased average temperatures; and the
health benefits of the use of environmental design principles to reduce the
high thermal mass of urban areas (p. 31). The report also called for research
aimed at anticipating, detecting, and responding to climate-change–induced
and –exacerbated health problems and identifying vulnerable populations.
In July 2010, NIH announced that it would operationalize those recom-
mendations by providing research funding through a program intended
to “examine the differential risk factors of populations that lead to or are
associated with increased vulnerability to exposures, diseases and other
adverse health outcomes related to climate change” (NIH, 2010).
NIEHS collaborates with EPA to support several Children’s Environ-
mental Health Research Centers, which conduct and support studies of
the effects of environmental exposures. As noted later in this chapter, it
cooperated with the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Of-
fice of Lead Hazard Control to conduct the National Survey of Lead and
Allergens in Housing. The study gathered data on indoor allergen exposure
that allowed NIEHS to “assess the magnitude of levels of indoor allergens
in the United States housing stock” and “evaluate differences in population
exposure to allergens based on factors such as region/geography, ethnicity,
socioeconomic status, and housing type” (NIEHS, 2011).
4 The working group comprised representatives of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, HHS’s Office of the Secretary, EPA, the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis-
tration, NIEHS, NIH’s Fogarty International Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, the Department of State, the US Department of Agriculture, and the US
Global Change Research Program.
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GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE-SECTOR INVOLVEMENT
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which also
falls under the aegis of HHS, takes a public-health approach to climate-
change–related work that includes (CDC, 2009b)
• T
racking data on environmental conditions, disease risks, and dis-
ease occurrence related to climate change.
• E
xpanding capacity for modeling and forecasting health effects that
may be climate-related.
• E
nhancing the science base to understand the relationship between
climate change and health outcomes better.
• I
dentifying locations and population groups at greatest risk for
specific health threats, such as heat waves.
• C
ommunicating the health-related aspects of climate change, in-
cluding risks and ways to reduce them, to the public, decision-
makers, and health-care providers.
One component of the work is the Climate-Ready States and Cities
Initiative. The initiative is intended to support health-department efforts
to assess, plan for, and build capacity to respond to climate-change–related
health effects (CDC, 2010a). Eight states5 and two cities6 were awarded
grants totaling $5.25 million in 2010 to pursue projects. Many of them
listed issues related to the indoor environment, such as heat-stress morbid-
ity and mortality, as subjects to focus on, but indoor environmental quality
does not appear to be among the concerns being addressed.
CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) seeks to
improve the nation’s health status by avoiding diseases and disability caused
by noncommunicable environmental factors (CDC, 2011a). It assigns high
priority to vulnerable populations—specifically, children, the elderly, and
people who have disabilities. NCEH’s activities include lead-poisoning
prevention and environmental-health workforce development and capacity-
building. Its climate-change–related work includes prevention of carbon
monoxide (CO) poisoning from home electricity generators during power
outages.
CDC also collects surveillance data on diseases related to environmen-
tal changes via its National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network
(CDC, 2010b). The network includes monitoring of home contaminants—
as of 2010, lead and CO. Although it was not designed to investigate
climate-change effects, the director of CDC’s Division of Environmental
5 Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, and
Oregon.
6 New York City and San Francisco.
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58 CLIMATE CHANGE, THE INDOOR ENVIRONMENT, AND HEALTH
Hazards and Health Effects asserted in 2007 that it would be “an excellent
tool” for such purposes (Late, 2007).
CDC has also provided funding for research projects on such topics as
adverse exposures and health problems related to extreme weather events
(Brandt et al., 2006; CDC, 2006).
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
examines the health consequences of occupational environments. NIOSH
has conducted extensive research to evaluate the effects of indoor environ-
ments on occupant health and to characterize the factors that contribute
to poor health outcomes. No specific research focuses on climate change
and occupational-health issues, but the institute has investigated adverse
respiratory health effects resulting from damp or water-damaged occupa-
tional environments (Cox-Ganser et al., 2005, 2009; Park et al., 2006) and
has developed tools to assess indoor moisture to guide preventive actions.
Investigators also examine the products of indoor chemistry7 and their
health effects (Anderson et al., 2010) and seek to determine the mechanisms
by which indoor molds stimulate allergic responses (Green et al., 2009).
NIOSH conducts research into the effects of “green” jobs on health, rec-
ognizing the new exposures and conditions associated with jobs designed
to support activities that lead to energy efficiency and less environmental
effect.
More generally, the potential for increased heat stress in indoor occu-
pational environments has been flagged as a health and productivity issue
in other countries (Kjellstrom et al., 2009a,b).
Department of Energy
DOE research activities include energy efficiency, clean-energy technol-
ogy, and greenhouse-gas emission reduction. The department’s Building
Technologies Program does not identify climate change as a motivating fac-
tor but conducts work that addresses the topic through programs that seek
to reduce energy demands and promote good indoor air quality. Research
and development initiatives include support of revisions of ventilation and
building codes; improvement of exposure-assessment, ventilation, filter-
ing, and air-cleaning technologies; source reduction of VOCs; and better
7 Indoor chemistry refers to the oxidation-reduction, acid-base, hydrolysis, decomposition,
and other reactions that occur in indoors as a result of the interaction between various chemi-
cals in the air, furnishing, floor and wall coverings, cleaning supplies and other constituents
of the indoor environment.
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GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE-SECTOR INVOLVEMENT
understanding of the effects of energy-efficiency measures on health and
productivity (DOE, 2010). Much of the work is conducted by the Indoor
Environment Division of DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
(LBNL, 2010). DOE’s extensive work in weatherization and energy effi-
ciency in buildings is addressed in Chapter 8.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUD’s climate-change–related work focuses on the built environment
and sustainable building practices—specifically measures to reduce energy
consumption (HUD, 2010d). Among its efforts are Sustainable Communi-
ties Regional Planning Grants, which include predisaster mitigation plans
and climate-change–impact assessments among the eligible activities (HUD,
2010b). HUD’s Sustainable Communities Initiative promotes green building
design and construction, but, although it mentions improved public health
as a benefit of the program, that is not its focus (HUD, 2010c).
HUD also cooperates with DOE on the implementation of its Weath-
erization Assistance Program (WAP), identifying low-income properties
(public housing, assisted housing, and others given special status under
the enabling legislation) that are eligible for weatherization funds. A 2009
Memorandum of Understanding between the agencies streamlined the pro-
cess for evaluating candidate properties for the program. HUD estimates
that approximately 3 million housing units are potentially eligible for as-
sistance (HUD, 2010a).
Federal Emergency Management Agency
FEMA, a part of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS),
has responsibility within the federal government to “build, sustain, and
improve [the nation’s] capability to prepare for, protect against, respond
to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards” (FEMA, 2010c). This includes
providing guidance on identifying and remediating problematic dampness
and mold (FEMA, 2003), and responding to flood (FEMA, 2010a) and
hurricane (FEMA, 2010b) damage. FEMA also collects and disseminates
disaster epidemiology data and cooperates with agencies at all levels of
government including Department of Homeland Security and Office for
Interoperability and Compatibility in developing technical standards and
specifications, and prioritizing emergency development.
The agency’s Fiscal Years 2011–2014 strategic plan states that “chal-
lenges posed by climate change, such as more intense storms, frequent
heavy precipitation, heat waves, drought, extreme flooding, and higher sea
levels, have the potential to change significantly the types and magnitudes
of hazards faced by communities and the emergency management profes-
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60 CLIMATE CHANGE, THE INDOOR ENVIRONMENT, AND HEALTH
sionals serving them” (FEMA, 2011). It has taken and is continuing to take
several steps to respond to these challenges. These include a research effort
initiated in 2009 to evaluate the potential effect of climate change on flood
risk, and hence flood insurance (Lehmann, 2009).
US Global Change Research Program
The US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) serves as the
coordinating body for federal research on climate change and its effects
on society (USGCRP, 2011). It comprises EPA, the Agency for Interna-
tional Development, the US Departments of Agriculture, the Department
of Commerce,8 the Department of Defense, DOE, HHS, the Department of
State, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Transportation,
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science
Foundation, and the Smithsonian Institution. The USGCRP has produced
a series of reviews of scientific evidence, including a 2009 assessment
of the state of scientific knowledge regarding global climate-change ef-
fects in the United States (USGCRP, 2009). The program maintains an
Interagency Crosscutting Group on Climate Change and Human Health
(CCHHG), but the present committee could not identify any work that
it has published that explicitly addresses indoor environmental quality or
building-related issues.
GOVERNMENT HOUSING AND HEALTH DATA COLLECTION
Various agencies and organizations conduct or sponsor studies that
collect pieces of information useful in assessing the relationships between
buildings, the environment, and health. Each of the existing surveillance
systems noted below is designed to achieve specific goals related to build-
ings or public health, through, for example, monitoring of trends in pesti-
cide use in homes, assessing the household costs of energy use, or examining
changes in how people live and work in their buildings. The text below
briefly summarizes the information that they collect and identifies poten-
tial opportunities and limitations in using them to assess potential effects
of climate change on the indoor environment and occupant health. A
thorough examination of methods and variables—a task beyond the scope
of the present committee—would be needed to draw detailed conclusions
concerning how to implement such a survey.
8 Including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE-SECTOR INVOLVEMENT
Housing and Building Surveys
American Housing Survey
The American Housing Survey (AHS) is conducted by the Census
Bureau for HUD and includes apartments, single-family homes, mobile
homes, housing characteristics, equipment, corresponding costs, and com-
munity characteristics, such as income and recent migration. The AHS is
conducted in odd-numbered years and surveys the same housing units each
time for comparison purposes. Every 6 years, specific data are collected
on almost 50 metropolitan areas throughout the United States (US Census
Bureau, 2008).
A substantial problem with the AHS from the standpoint of gathering
information on the effects of climate change on indoor environments is
that it is administered to the same housing unit every other year, whether
or not the same residents live in the unit. Because the US population is rela-
tively mobile, comparisons within this survey can be inconsistent (Acevedo-
Garcia et al., 2004). Furthermore, renovations of a housing unit could have
changed in ways that are material to the consideration of indoor environ-
mental quality—for example, the purchase of a window air-conditioning
unit or installation of new double-pane windows. A change of occupants
of a housing unit would also mean changes in how the unit is used, which
could influence and possibly confound variables used to evaluate indoor
environmental quality.
American Healthy Homes Survey
EPA and HUD collected questionnaire and environmental data on
a stratified, nationally representative sample of 1,131 US residences in
2005–2006 (Stout et al., 2009). Exposure measurements in the homes
included pesticides, allergens, fungi, lead, and arsenic (Stout et al., 2009).
The study built on a previous effort by HUD and NIEHS that measured
lead and allergens in homes (Arbes et al., 2003; Cohn et al., 2004, 2006;
Thorne et al., 2005). A future data collection planned to take place before
2020 will assess progress toward the Healthy People 2020 goals regard-
ing environmental exposures in noninstitutional US homes (Department of
Health and Human Services, 2009).
Residential Energy Consumption Survey
The US Energy Information Administration conducts the Residential
Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), a probability-sample survey that col-
lects energy-related data on occupied primary housing units (Energy Infor-
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62 CLIMATE CHANGE, THE INDOOR ENVIRONMENT, AND HEALTH
mation Administration, 2009). The first RECS was conducted in 1978; the
most recent, in 2005, collected data on 4,381 households in housing units
statistically selected to represent the 111 million housing units in the United
States. Another wave of collection started in January 2011; its results are
to be posted in late 2011 and early 2012 (Energy Information Administra-
tion, 2009). The collected data include physical characteristics, heating and
cooling equipment, demographic characteristics of residents, and types of
fuels used. Data are collected via three methods: in-person interviews with
residents, in-person or telephone interviews with rental agents for units
some or all of whose energy costs were included in the rent, and mail-in
questionnaires from utility companies and suppliers.
Large Analysis and Review of European Housing and Health Status
In 2002–2003, the World Health Organization conducted the Large
Analysis and Review of European Housing and Health Status (LARES), a
cross-sectional survey to improve knowledge of the effects of housing on
residents’ physical well-being and mental health (Bonnefoy et al., 2007).
Eight cities representing northern, southern, eastern, and western Europe
participated. The sample in each city was randomly generated from resident
registries, the local tax registry, or the national health insurance registry.
LARES used three survey instruments: an inhabitant questionnaire that
described residents’ perceptions of their dwellings, a health questionnaire
for inhabitants to report their health status (and that of children less than
12 years old), and a visual inspection by a trained surveyor (Bonnefoy et
al., 2007). No physical measurements—such as temperature, humidity, and
chemical or biologic exposures—were recorded. Teams of two technicians
visited 3,373 dwellings and collected data on the health status of 8,519
inhabitants (Bonnefoy et al., 2007). LARES focused on such subjects as
indoor air quality, noise effects, indoor dampness, and domestic accidents
(WHO, 2011). The study examines indoor air environments and their con-
nection to the building, but the data were centered on occupant perceptions
of indoor air quality rather than on measurements, and climate-change–
related factors were not assessed (WHO, 2011).
Health and Environment Surveys
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
is the most detailed large-scale survey of health status in the United States,
with questionnaire, mental-health assessment, physical examination, labo-
ratory, and some environmental data collected at home. The survey is na-
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GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE-SECTOR INVOLVEMENT
tional in scope and samples a representative population; it includes targeted
“oversampling” to obtain sufficient data on various minority populations
at different times.
The primary purpose of NHANES is to generate data that can be
analyzed at a national level. However, coding schemes are available for
researchers that provide information about subjects’ locations by latitude
and longitude, census tract and block, county, and state.
The survey could be enhanced in a number of ways to assess the effects
of climate change. As Chapter 4 notes, there are outdoor air pollutants such
as particulate matter and ozone whose levels may be affected by climate
change, and outdoor levels influence indoor levels. One approach would
be to collect valid, nationally representative air-toxics exposure data that
could be linked in time and space to human health outcomes data. Previous
important work in this field has been limited to community-level studies or
the use of historical NHANES human health data linked to geographically
interpolated air-toxics exposure data. The latter method has scientific value
and has been used to support analyses of both NHANES and US National
Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data. However, it has limitations, and there
is a need for improved data collection.
NHANES also has the ability to measure concentrations of a wide va-
riety of specific chemicals in blood and urine, and it does this for a number
of environmental analytes of interest—such as lead, mercury, and organo-
chlorines. In the past, blood concentrations of VOCs were also measured.
It is therefore a primary source of national-level environmental-health data
on the United States. NHANES has already conducted environmental sam-
pling in homes during one cycle (2005–2006), and this could be repeated
and expanded. Data collected included dust concentrations of dust mite,
cockroach, dog, cat, rat, mouse, Alternaria, and Aspergillus allergens and
serum concentrations of IgE antibodies to these antigens (Gergen et al.,
2009; Visness et al., 2009). A summary of the NHANES environmental-
health data is published in CDC’s National Report on Human Exposure to
Environmental Chemicals (CDC, 2011b) and in numerous peer-reviewed
journal articles. NHANES also has the ability to perform direct air toxin
exposure monitoring of individual participants for short periods (24–48
hours), but this data collection requires more extended efforts and costs
than local environmental monitoring. Data on VOCs in the breathing zone
of participants were collected from 2005 to 2010 (CDC, 2009a).
National Health Interview Survey
NHIS is a multistage probability-sample survey conducted by CDC’s
National Center for Health Statistics (CDC, 2009c). It reaches 75,000–
100,000 persons in the United States each year and collects a wide ar-
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68 CLIMATE CHANGE, THE INDOOR ENVIRONMENT, AND HEALTH
regarding environmental and public-health considerations for buildings.
Its Specification 01350 establishes goals and provides guidelines for en-
ergy and material use in buildings; indoor air quality, including nontoxic
performance standards for cleaning and maintenance products; and other
occupant health and sustainability considerations (CalRecycle, 2011).
Specification 01350 includes provisions for evaluating VOC emissions
from indoor sources. The testing is intended to limit health effects of
exposure to VOCs and occurs at multiple stages during construction. It
evaluates emission data on large-surface-area materials by using standard
exposure scenarios for estimating VOC emissions and area-specific air
flow rates. Specific VOCs are considered as separate pollutants to estimate
possible health effects on building occupants more accurately. That means
of measuring VOCs and indoor air quality has since been incorporated
into sections of the draft International Green Construction Code and is
influencing other green-building certification and labeling schemes (Levin,
2010). Levin’s 2010 EPA white paper addresses Specification 01350 in
greater detail.
The state’s Green Building Standards Code (CalGreen) is intended
to improve public health and safety through planning and design, energy
efficiency, water efficiency and conservation, material conservation and
resource efficiency, and environmental quality measures (California Build-
ing Standards Commission, 2010). The codes apply to state-regulated and
owned buildings and structures, including public elementary and secondary
schools and California State University buildings, as well as other buildings
such as low-rise residential buildings and acute care hospitals and clinics
(California Building Standards Commission, 2010). Among its provisions
are mandatory measures that require low-emitting materials and coatings
(based on Specification 01350 and other limits) and voluntary measures
regarding indoor air quality.
The California Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Resources Board
has regulatory authority to evaluate and control air toxics under the state’s
1983 Toxic Air Contaminant Identification and Control Act (Cal/EPA
ARB, 2009). In 2009, that authority was used to promulgate an airborne
toxic control measure to reduce formaldehyde emissions from composite
wood products used in home construction, finishing, and furniture (Cal/
EPA ARB, 2011).
City Initiatives
Many larger cities have or are developing climate-action plans, typically
centered on infrastructure protection in coastal areas. Almost all public-
health departments have plans in place to deal with heat-wave emergencies.
Two of the more comprehensive efforts are summarized briefly below.
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GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE-SECTOR INVOLVEMENT
In 2008, New York City used a grant from the Rockefeller Founda-
tion to establish a Panel on Climate Change as part of a larger effort to
establish a long-term sustainability plan. The panel released a report in
2010 that took a risk-management approach to adaptation questions. It
included a series of climate-change–related considerations that the authors
believed should be taken in account in revising infrastructure design and
performance standards, such as those for buildings (NYC Panel on Climate
Change, 2010). Four primary hazards were identified—coastal flooding and
storm surge, inland flooding, heat waves, and extreme wind events—all of
which are also addressed in the city’s natural-hazard mitigation plan (NYC
Office of Emergency Management, 2009).
Chicago’s Climate Change Action Plan includes the promotion of build-
ing design, construction, and operation practices that enhance energy effi-
ciency and human health outcomes. The city requires that new government
buildings conform to LEED Silver certification standards (Chicago Climate
Task Force, 2008). The urban heat-island effect is a concern for the city,
which experienced an extreme heat event in 1995 that resulted in more than
400 deaths in excess of the number otherwise expected (CDC, 1995; Kaiser
et al., 2007). The action plan mentions that steps will be taken to identify
at-risk populations and promote innovation to ameliorate heat islands, but
it offers no specifics. A private-sector initiative, the Chicago Community
Loan Fund, provides low- and middle-income housing financing and en-
courages the use of energy-efficient building standards and nontoxic and
low-emission materials in the design and construction of affordable housing
(Chicago Community Loan Fund, undated).
INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was created under
the auspices of the UN Environment Programme and the World Meteo-
rological Organization to review and assess research and information on
climate change to enhance worldwide understanding of the topic (IPCC,
2010). Discussion of indoor air quality issues in its fourth report, which
was published in 2007, focused on indoor biomass combustion and its ad-
verse effects on human health (Metz et al., 2007). The report called indoor
air pollution “a key environmental and public health peril for countless of
the world’s poorest, most vulnerable people” and advocated the adoption
of cleaner-burning cooking stoves both to prevent health problems and to
limit greenhouse-gas emissions. For developed countries, it noted that “the
diffusion of new technologies for energy use and/or savings in residential
and commercial buildings contributes to an improved quality of life and in-
creases the value of buildings” (Metz et al., 2007). A fifth report was under
development in early 2011. It will emphasize socioeconomic vulnerability to
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70 CLIMATE CHANGE, THE INDOOR ENVIRONMENT, AND HEALTH
the effects of climate change and implications of sustainable development
and risk management (IPCC, 2010).
PRIVATE SECTOR
The private sector plays a considerable role in issues of climate change,
the indoor environment, and health. A few examples are listed below. White
papers commissioned by EPA in support of the present study provided
detailed information on industry and professional-organization initiatives
regarding building materials and product-testing regimens (Levin, 2010),
green-building rating systems (Srebric, 2010), and energy-conservation
codes for commercial and residential buildings (Mudarri, 2010). All those
are discussed elsewhere in this report.
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating
and Air-Conditioning Engineers
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning
Engineers (ASHRAE) is a professional organization that serves to advance
the science of sustainable heating, ventilating, refrigeration, and air con-
ditioning (ASHRAE, 2011). Its membership is drawn from private-sector,
academic, and government professionals. ASHRAE has considerable in-
volvement in indoor air-quality issues, in particular through standards11
that it and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) have devel-
oped for proper ventilation of commercial and residential buildings and
the maintenance of thermal comfort in buildings. The standards, although
voluntary and advisory, have been adopted into many building codes. The
organization has also published the Indoor Air Quality Guide, which offers
design and construction strategies to improve indoor air quality that go be-
yond those specified in codes and standards (ASHRAE, 2009b). ASHRAE’s
involvement in climate-change issues includes its GreenGuide—which pro-
vides information on sources of green design, construction, and operation
practices (2010)—and a 2009 climate-change position document focused
on reducing building emissions of greenhouse gases (2009a).
11 Standard 62: Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality and Standard 55: Thermal
Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy. A third document addressing how ven-
tilation, the thermal environment, and other building characteristics jointly influence indoor
environmental quality—Guideline 10: Interactions Affecting the Achievement of Acceptable
Indoor Environments—was under development in early 2011.
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GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE-SECTOR INVOLVEMENT
LEED
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)—a compo-
nent of the US Green Building Council, a building-trades association—pro-
mulgates voluntary certification standards for buildings that emphasize the
reduction of climate-change effects. The standards include consideration of
indoor air quality, but they focus primarily on increasing buildings’ water
and energy efficiency and decreasing their greenhouse-gas emissions and
other aspects of their environmental footprint. Chapter 8 addresses LEED
standards in greater detail.
Insurance Industry
A 2008 Ernst & Young study identified potential climate change as the
greatest strategic risk facing the property and casualty insurance industry
(Ernst & Young, 2008). Segments of the industry have been heavily in-
volved in climate-change issues, particularly those related to reinsurance12
(Nutter, 2010). The firm Swiss Re has published reports on the topic, ad-
dressing primarily the vulnerability of buildings and other infrastructure to
catastrophic weather events (Swiss Re, 2002, 2010). Munich Re maintains
NatCatSERVICE, which it characterizes as the most comprehensive global-
loss database and which tracks the incidence of hurricanes, heat waves,
flash floods, and other extreme weather events as part of a larger effort in
cataloging natural catastrophes (Munich Re, 2003). There is a small litera-
ture on the effect of climate change on the insurance industry’s business
(Mills, 2005, 2007).
American Red Cross
American Red Cross emergency response and disaster preparedness
programs offer relief and development assistance to millions of people
annually who are affected by natural disasters. Their emergency response
programs provide financial assistance to stimulate the local economy; relief
supplies such as food, shelter materials, and hygiene kits; and trained volun-
teers who assess needs and implement critical relief services (ARC, 2011).
The Red Cross works closely with FEMA to assist the US government agen-
cies and community organizations in planning, coordinating, and providing
mass care services for communities influenced by disasters (ARC, 2010).
12 Reinsurance, simply put, is insurance that insurance companies take out to protect them-
selves against the risk of unusually large or numerous payouts on policies that they write.
Reinsurance can become important when catastrophic events occur, especially if there is an
anomalous number of them during a relatively short period.
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72 CLIMATE CHANGE, THE INDOOR ENVIRONMENT, AND HEALTH
Disaster epidemiology data developed by Red Cross/Red Crescent
societies are used by government and other bodies for policy and plan-
ning purposes. Internationally, the Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre
concentrates on the humanitarian effects of climate change and extreme
weather events. The Centre’s mission is to educate and advocate for di-
saster risk reduction and climate adaptation; analyze relevant weather
forecast data on all timescales; and incorporate understanding of climate
risks into Red Cross/Red Crescent strategies, plans and procedures (RC/
RCCC, 2011).
OBSERVATIONS
The preceding sections illustrate a fundamental problem. Multiple parts
of government and the private sector have a stake in issues of climate
change, indoor environmental quality, and public health, but no one body
has assumed or attempted to assume the lead responsibility. As a result,
there is a lack of leadership in identifying potential hazards, formulating
solutions, and setting research and policy priorities.
The present report cannot solve that problem. Its aim is instead to high-
light important issues for decision-makers and the scientific community. In
approaching that aim, it seeks to draw special attention to
• W
ays in which the information needed to make informed decisions
is lacking.
• W
ays in which initiatives aimed at reducing climate-change risks
have the potential to inadvertently exacerbate problems in the in-
door environment.
• H
ow it may be possible to achieve a healthier indoor environment
at lower cost, with lower emissions, or both than is currently the
case.
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