In this Section |
189206 Green and Healthy Housing AnalysisTuesday, October 28, 2008: 12:30 PM
Proponents of green building programs are increasingly emphasizing the indoor environmental aspects of their programs and their related occupant health benefits. Ideally, a home should be designed, constructed, and operated in a manner where all building goals are optimized - including environmental, energy, durability, affordability, and occupant health concerns. The National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) will report on an evaluation of major national green building and indoor air quality guidelines with its own set of recommended healthy housing criteria to assess the extent to which these programs protect residents from health and safety hazards. Results of the evaluation suggest that green building programs offer a significant opportunity to achieve public health benefits and have the potential to transform the housing market toward healthier building. The report suggests ways to strengthen the occupant health criteria for green building programs so that they may deliver greater benefits to those who are building and rehabilitating homes, and to the families who reside in them.
The speaker will also discuss a study which NCHH is conducting during the rehabilitation of affordable housing. The Minnesota Green Housing Rehabilitation demonstrates practical measures to reduce the number of children being exposed to indoor air pollutants and reduce the number of families exposed to asthma triggers. Preliminary results indicate occupants believed their rehabilitated homes were more comfortable (73%) and cleanable (63%) and that their health was better (37%). Environmental measurements have also been collected for Total VOCs, radon, and moisture.
Learning Objectives: Keywords: Environmental Health, Healthy Buildings
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Rebecca Morley is the executive director of the National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) where she leads NCHH’s multi-disciplinary staff in creating healthy and safe housing for children through practical and proven steps. She led the development of the National Healthy Homes Training Center and spearheaded NCHH’s work in the gulf coast following Hurricane’s Katrina and Rita. She has authored numerous articles and publications on the topic of housing-related health hazards. Before joining NCHH in 2002, Ms. Morley was a senior associate with ICF Consulting in Washington, DC where she advised clients, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and HUD on the development of lead poisoning prevention and healthy homes programs. Before joining ICF, Ms. Morley worked with HUD in a variety of posts, including the Office of the Secretary, the Office of Public Affairs, and the Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control. During her tenure at HUD, she was responsible for developing lead paint regulations and developing and overseeing children’s environmental health projects. She served on the President’s Task Force for Children’s Environmental Health Safety and contributed to HUD’s preliminary health homes initiative plan and strategic plan to eliminate childhood lead poisoning by 2010. She designed and implemented a national multi-million dollar healthy homes education campaign focused on injury prevention. Ms. Morley also served as a legislative fellow to U.S. Senator Jack Reed where she authored key components of the Kennedy Health Bill related to childhood lead poisoning and helped to establish a national childhood lead poisoning prevention week through a Senate resolution. She serves on the Board of the National Disease Clusters Alliance and on the Howard County Environmental and Sustainability Commission.
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation. |
 |
|
 |