As the effects of climate change increase, so too will building weatherization and energy-efficiency projects. But as shifting weather patterns drive more people indoors, a new report warns that climate mitigation initiatives could create unhealthy indoor environments.
Released by the Institute of Medicine in June, the report finds that weatherization to improve energy efficiency is spurring a rapid introduction of untested new materials and building retrofits. Mitigation initiatives such as adding blown-in insulation to walls or using certain caulks to seal around doors and windows can limit or alter air flow. The reduced air exchange can concentrate indoor pollutants such as chemical emissions and environmental tobacco smoke.
“America is in the midst of a large experiment in which weatherization efforts, retrofits and other initiatives that affect air exchange between the indoor and outdoor environments are taking place, and new building materials and consumer products are being introduced indoors with relatively little consideration as to how they might affect the health of occupants,” said John Spengler, PhD, chair of the committee that wrote the report and a professor of environmental health and human habitation at the Harvard School of Public Health.
The report is key because the amount of research on indoor air quality and climate change is small. In developed countries such as the United States, people spend the majority of their time indoors, such as at work, at school and at home.
“The indoor environment affects comfort, health and productivity,” the report's authors write.
According to the report, the outdoor environment “permeates indoors.” While tightly sealed buildings can protect occupants from alterations in weather patterns such as heavy rains or high temperatures, decreased ventilation rates will increase concentrations of indoor-emitted pollutants. A mix of climate change-related factors such as indoor dampness, poor ventilation, excessive temperatures, emissions from untested building materials and equipment such as back-up power generators can combine to create a range of unexpected health problems, the report said.
Climate change may also result in shifting patterns of exposure to pesticides as occupants and building owners respond to infestations of pests such as termites, according to “Climate Change, the Indoor Environment, and Health,” which was commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The report calls on EPA to join with the Department of Energy and other public and private agencies to ensure that climate change and the materials and methods used in building weatherization and energy-efficiency retrofits do not create new indoor health problems or worsen existing ones such as mold-causing dampness, secondhand smoke and chemical emissions from building materials. The report also urges EPA to coordinate with other groups to ensure that public health concerns are considered when revising and adopting building codes and standards for ventilation and emissions-testing protocols.
“Experience suggests that some of the effects could be negative,” Spengler said. “An up-front investment to consider the consequences of these actions before they play out and to avoid problems where they can be anticipated will yield benefits in health and in averted costs of medical care, remediation and lost productivity.”
For more information or to download the report, visit www.iom.edu.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
