Carl: Re: Federal agencies start summit on healthy homes

[Guest guest]

Carl,

Thank you so much for the input on this conference. Darlene

>

> > 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

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

> >

> >

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