Impacts of Climate Change on Indoor Air Quality and Health

Image via WikipediaClimate Change, the Indoor Environment, and Health (in brief) (4 page pdf, source document is 348 pages, Committee on the Effect of Climate Change on Indoor Air Quality and Public Health; Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, June 2011)

Also discussed here: Climate Change Impacts Indoor Environment (1 page pdf, Carol Potera, Environ Health Perspect 119:a382-a382, Sep. 1, 2011)

The report reviewed today is a summary of a major report on the kinds of health issues that will likely arise indoors, as a result of climate change and actions taken to adapt to it. The main recommendation is to encourage research into building codes and standards which anticipate climate changes.

Key Quotes:

“Most people spend the majority of their time indoors, so it makes sense that people will experience climate change from a housing perspective,”

“major types of climate-induced indoor environmental problems:

• Indoor air quality. - changes in the outdoor concentrations of a pollutant due to alterations in atmospheric chem­istry or atmospheric circulation will affect indoor concentrations.
• Dampness, moisture, and flooding - Extreme weather conditions associated with climate change may lead to more frequent breakdowns in 2 building envelopes—the physical barrier between outdoor and indoor spaces followed by infiltra­tion of water into indoor spaces.
• Infectious agents and pests - Climate change may affect the evolution and emergence of infectious diseases, for example, by affecting the geographic range of disease vectors
• Thermal stress. - An increased frequency of extreme weather events may result in more fre­quent power outages that expose persons to poten­tially dangerous conditions indoors.
• Building ventilation, weatherization, and energy use. - Climate change may make venti­lation problems ..by prompting ..measures that limit the exchange of indoor air with outdoor air.”

Recommendations:

• ”Initiating or expanding programs to iden­tify populations at risk for health problems resulting from alterations in indoor environmental quality induced by climate change..
• Developing or refining protocols and test­ing standards for evaluating emissions from materials, furnishings, and appliances
• Facilitating research to identify circum­stances in which climate change mitiga­tion and adaptation measures may cause or exacerbate adverse exposures.
• Facilitating the revision and adoption of building codes that are regionally appropri­ate with respect to climate-change projec­tions
• Developing model standards for ventila­tion in residential buildings
• Implementing a public health surveillance system”

Related articles

• Darn climate coming indoors now (healthsass.blogspot.com)
• Climate change 'to hit insurance' (autonetinsurance.co.uk)
• Casa Quickie: Avoid Carpet Burn (casasugar.com)
• Investigate Your Indoor Air Quality (everydayhealth.com)
• Three Simple Steps for Improving Indoor Air Quality (prweb.com)
• AQS, GREENGUARD to Host Interactive Forums on Critical IAQ Issues, Unveil New Scientific Findings at Indoor Air 2011 (prweb.com)
• Notes from the Field: Help Clients with Environmental Sensitivities (vaned.typepad.com)
• Air Pollution : London ranks among worst European cities (environmentaleducationuk.wordpress.com)
• WASHplus Weeklies on sanitation and other topics (sanitationupdates.wordpress.com)
• Asbestos and chemicals lead to poor indoor air quality (electrocorpairpurification.wordpress.com)
• N.c. Green Travel: Taking Care of the Indoor Environment (centerforsustainabletourism.wordpress.com)