Federal agencies start summit on healthy homes

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Federal agencies start summit on healthy homes

Sun, 14 Sep 2008

USA Today*

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

csp=34

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.