Re: Federal agencies start summit on healthy homes

[Guest guest]

Darlene and group,

I'm at this conference, along with IAQA. Today was mostly the

heads of the sponsoring organizations kicking off the conference

with speeches: EPA, CDC, HUD and the U.S. Surgeon General.

They are emphasizing inter-agency and private sector cooperation

with the emphasis on the public health of people, not buildings or

saving the earth. The lead paint compaign with its combination of

education and then laws has been successful so they are trying to

replicate that with other indoor environment exposures - including

moisture and MOLD. This is part of what is different from other

conferences and what is especially encouraging.

However, they also agree that until there is enough science by the

" right " authorities (whatever that means) and/or demand by the

broad society, they are powerless to compel landlords and property

managers, for example, to act if they don't want to.

The hope is that conferences like this, taken back to local public

health, will gradually change the social perception of indoor

exposures so people will act prior to legal action. As this change

in attitude is attained then laws and regulations are easier to

pass and enforce. Each step supporting the other.

BTW, the assumptions, data and needs presented by all four

government departments are totally contrary to the ACOEM Mold

Position Statement. Or, I should say, ACOEM is contrary to them.

The efforts are still idealistic and long-term but at least it's

in the right direction by the highest levels of government. And

they aren't passively waiting for laws to be passed.

Think about society's shift in attitude on drunk driving and

cigarettes, for example, and how that (slowly) occurred.

I'll let you know more over the next two days as they move into

the technical sessions.

Carl Grimes

Healthy Habitats LLC

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On Mon Sep 15 21:50:47 CDT 2008, Darlene <darlenesb2000@...>

wrote:

> Updated document.write(niceDate('9/14/2008 8:48 PM'));1d 5h ago

>

> By Koch, USA TODAY

> The U.S. government is ramping up efforts to

> promote the building of healthy homes free of lead, chemicals,

> mold,

> moisture and pests.

>

>

> Four federal agencies are hosting the first

> national summit on the topic, beginning Monday in Baltimore.

> Several

> U.S.-funded studies will be unveiled that show how renovations in

> Cleveland, Seattle and New Orleans lowered the risk of asthma and

> other

> health problems for residents.

>

> " Health doesn't happen in the hospital. It

> happens at home, " says Gerberding, director of the Centers

> for

> Disease Control and Prevention. " Our goal isn't to be Big

> Brother, but

> people are asking for advice and information. "

>

> The healthy-home initiative has been growing for

> a decade, prompted largely by a push to remove lead from homes.

> It's

> merging with efforts to build energy-efficient homes.

> " We're trying to build a consensus among

> environmentalists, builders and health advocates, " says Jon Gant,

> head

> of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office

> of

> Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control. " We've hit a home run

> with lead, " says Gant,

> noting that the number of kids with lead poisoning fell from

> 890,000 in

> 1992 to 310,00 in 2002. He says the U.S. government wants to use

> what's

> been learned about lead abatement to tackle other health

> problems.

>

> This week's three-day summit is likely to draw

> more than a thousand participants — the largest gathering of

> people

> working to make homes healthier, says Morley, executive

> director of the National Center for Healthy Housing, a non-profit

> group.

> " We have more people at higher levels interested

> in this, " she says, but she adds that the government has yet to

> substantially increase funding.

>

> The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is

> using existing funds to develop a program, Indoor Air Package,

> that

> will give homes a seal of approval if they use certain building

> techniques to protect against radon, pests and pollutants.

>

> The package, in use in five states, will be

> launched nationally as early as next year, says Tom ,

> director of

> the EPA's indoor air program. He says it builds on the EPA's

> Energy

> Star program, which began in 1992 to promote efficient

> appliances.

>

> says he wants to ensure that energy efficiency is achieved

> without sacrificing health.

> A report this month by Morley's group found that

> all major green-building programs, including those of the EPA and

> the

> U.S. Green Building Council, have features designed to improve

> resident

> health but do not include injury prevention.

> http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-09-14-healthyhome_N.htm?csp=34

>

>

>

>

>