Climate Change, the Indoor Environment, and Health

259 Pages·2011·1.3 MB·English

by  Institute of Medicine, Committee on the Effect of Climate Change on Indoor Air Quality and Public Health

Climate Change,
the Indoor Environment,
and Health

Committee on the Effe ct of Climate Change
on Indoor Air Qualit y and Public Health

Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice
Climate Change, the Indoor Environment, and Health
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street NW Washington, DC 20001

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the
National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of
Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the
committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for
appropriate balance.

This study was supported by a contract between the National Academy of Sciences and the US
Environmental Protection Agency via award No.. EP-D-09-071. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or
recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the
view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.

International Standard Book Number _______(Book)
International Standard Book Number _______(PDF)
Library of Congress Control Number: _______

Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street NW,
Washington, DC 20055; [phone] or [phone] (in the Washington metropolitan area);
Internet, http://www.nap.edu.

For more information about the Institute of Medicine, visit the IOM home page at: www.iom.edu.

Copyright 2011 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Cover credit: Thermal image of a residence in New Haven. © Tyrone Turner/National Geographic
Society/Corbis.

The serpent has been a symbol of long life, healing, and knowledge among almost all cultures and
religions since the beginning of recorded history. The serpent adopted as a logotype by the Institute of
Medicine is a relief carving from ancient Greece, now held by the Staatliche Museen in Berlin.

Suggested citation: IOM (Institute of Medicine). 2011. Climate Change, the Indoor Environment, and
Health. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

PREPUBLICATION COPY: UNCORRECTED PROOFS
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Climate Change, the Indoor Environment, and Health
PREPUBLICATION COPY: UNCORRECTED PROOFS
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Climate Change, the Indoor Environment, and Health

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in
scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general
welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to
advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of
Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a
parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing
with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of
Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and
recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent
members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts
under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal
government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is
president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community
of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government.
Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating
agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the
government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies
and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the
National Research Council.

www.national-academies.org

PREPUBLICATION COPY: UNCORRECTED PROOFS
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Climate Change, the Indoor Environment, and Health

COMMITTEE ON THE EFFECT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON INDOOR AIR QUALITY AND
PUBLIC HEALTH

JOHN D. SPENGLER (Chair), Akira Yamaguchi Professor of Environmental Health and Human
Habitation, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston,
Massachusetts
JOHN L. ADGATE, Professor and Chair, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health,
Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado
ANTONIO J. BUSALACCHI, JR., Director and Professor, Earth System Science Interdisciplinary
Center, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
GINGER L. CHEW, Epidemiologist, Division of Emergency and Environmental Health Services,
National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta,
Georgia
ANDREW HAINES, Professor of Public Health and Primary Care, London School of Hygiene and
Tropical Medicine, London, UK
STEVEN M. HOLLAND, Chief, Laboratory of Clinical Infectious Diseases; Chief, Immunopathogenesis
Section, LCID; Tenured Investigator, Immunopathogenesis Section, National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
VIVIAN E. LOFTNESS, University Professor, School of Architecture, Carnegie Mellon University,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
LINDA A. MCCAULEY, Dean, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta,
Georgia
WILLIAM W. NAZAROFF, Daniel Tellep Distinguished Professor, Vice-Chair for Academic Affairs,
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California
EILEEN STOREY, Surveillance Branch Chief, Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morgantown, West
Virginia

Program Staff

DAVID A. BUTLER, Senior Program Officer; Study Director
LAUREN N. SAVAGLIO, Research Associate
TIA S. CARTER, Senior Program Assistant
RACHEL S. BRIKS, Program Assistant
VICTORIA WITTIG, Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow
HOPE HARE, Administrative Assistant
NORMAN GROSSBLATT, Senior Editor
ROSE MARIE MARTINEZ, Director, Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice
PREPUBLICATION COPY: UNCORRECTED PROOFS
v
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Climate Change, the Indoor Environment, and Health
PREPUBLICATION COPY: UNCORRECTED PROOFS
vi
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Climate Change, the Indoor Environment, and Health
Reviewers

This report has been reviewed in draft form by persons chosen for their diverse perspectives and
technical expertise in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report
Review Committee. The purpose of the independent review is to provide candid and critical comments
that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the
report meets institutional standards of objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The
review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative
process. We thank the following for their review of the report:

Patricia Butterfield, Dean and Professor, Washington State University, Spokane
Peyton Eggleston, Professor Emeritus, Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center
Kristine M. Gebbie, Joan Hansen Grabe Dean (acting), Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing, Hunter
College, City University of New York; Professor, Flinders University School of Nursing and
Midwifery
Peggy L. Jenkins, Manager, Indoor Exposure Assessment Section, Research Division, California Air
Resources Board
Patrick Kinney, Associate Professor of Public Health, Division of Environmental Health Sciences,
Columbia University, School of Public Health
Donald Milton, Professor and Director, Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, University
of Maryland
Andrew K. Persily, Leader, Indoor Air Quality and Ventilation Group, Building Environment Division,
Building and Fire Research Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Thomas J. Wilbanks, Corporate Fellow, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions,
they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the
report before its release. The review of the report was overseen by Richard B. Johnston, Associate Dean
for Research Development, Professor of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine,
and Lynn R. Goldman, Dean, The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health
Services. Appointed by the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine, they were
responsible for making certain that an independent examination of the report was carried out in
accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered.
Responsibility for the final content of the report rests with the author committee and the institution.

PREPUBLICATION COPY: UNCORRECTED PROOFS
vii
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Climate Change, the Indoor Environment, and Health
PREPUBLICATION COPY: UNCORRECTED PROOFS
viii
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Climate Change, the Indoor Environment, and Health
Acknowledgments

This report could not have been prepared without the guidance and expertise of numerous persons.
Although it is not possible to mention by name all those who contributed to the committee’s work, the
committee wants to express its gratitude to a number of them for their special contributions.

Sincere thanks go to all the participants at the public meetings convened on June 7 and July 14, 2010.
The intent of the workshops was to gather information regarding issues related to climate change and
public health. The speakers, who are listed in Appendix A, gave generously of their time and expertise to
help to inform and guide the committee’s work. Many of them also provided additional information in
response to the committee’s myriad questions.

The committee extends special thanks to the dedicated and hard-working staff of the Institute of
Medicine’s Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice, who supported and facilitated its
work. Board Director Rose Marie Martinez helped to ensure that this report met the highest standards of
quality.

Finally, the committee members would like to thank the chair, John D. Spengler, for his outstanding
work, leadership, and dedication to this project.

PREPUBLICATION COPY: UNCORRECTED PROOFS
ix
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Climate Change, the Indoor Environment, and Health
PREPUBLICATION COPY: UNCORRECTED PROOFS
x
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.