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In the News!

In support of the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air, EPA has awarded pilot project grants to eleven non-profit organizations to implement innovative, community-based programs to reduce indoor air pollution from household energy use.  Read more...

EPA Launches the First Annual National Environmental Leadership Award in Asthma Management for Health Plans and Health Care Providers.  Read more...

Indoor Air Quality TOPICS

Asthma  |  IAQ Tools for Schools  |  Mold  |  Radon  |  Smoke-free Homes  |  Partnership for Clean Indoor Air

Essential IAQ - read The Inside Story: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality; read about the IAQ Building Evaluation and Assessment Tool (I-BEAM)
asthma and IAQ ASTHMA  Asthma afflicts about 20 million Americans, including 6.3 million children.  Since 1980, the biggest growth in asthma cases has been in children under five.  In 2000 there were nearly 2 million emergency room visits and nearly half a million hospitalizations due to asthma, at a cost of almost $2 billion, and causing 14 million school days missed each year.
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EPA launches the First Annual National Environmental Leadership Award in Asthma Management for Health Plans and Health Care Providers

A new awards program has been launched that recognizes health plans and health care providers for leadership in addressing management of environmental triggers as part of a comprehensive asthma management program.  You are invited to apply for an award and demonstrate how your work helps to improve the quality of care for people with asthma. Winners will receive national recognition of their achievements. We are accepting applications until February 15, 2005.  To learn more about the awards program, or to apply, visit the awards website at www.asthmaawards.info/ exiting EPA


IAQ Tools for Schools IAQ TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS  Twenty percent of the U.S. population, nearly 55 million people, spend their days in our elementary and secondary schools. In the mid-1990s, studies show that 1 in 5 of our nation's 110,000 schools reported unsatisfactory indoor air quality, and 1 in 4 schools reported ventilation -- which impacts indoor air quality -- as unsatisfactory. Students are at greater risk because of the hours spent in school facilities and because children are especially susceptible to pollutants. 
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The 5th Annual Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools National Symposium is December 2-4, 2004 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, DC.  Read More...

Read about Mercury in schools...

Read about our web-based tool - IAQ Design Tools for Schools - which provides both detailed guidance as well as links to other information resources to help design new schools as well as repair, renovate and maintain existing facilities.
 


mold picture MOLDS  Molds are part of the natural environment. Molds reproduce by means of tiny spores; the spores are invisible to the naked eye and float through outdoor and indoor air. Mold may begin growing indoors when mold spores land on surfaces that are wet. There are many types of mold, and none of them will grow without water or moisture. 
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radon RADON  You can't see radon, you can't smell it or taste it, but it may be a problem in your home.  Radon is estimated to cause many thousands of deaths each year. That's because when you breathe air containing radon, you can get lung cancer. In fact, the Surgeon General has warned that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States today. 
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smoke-free homes SMOKE-FREE HOMES  Secondhand smoke affects everyone, but children are especially vulnerable because they are still growing and developing. EPA has created a national Smoke-free Home Pledge Initiative to motivate parents to protect their children.
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Take the Smoke-free Home Pledge Today!
 


The Partnership for Clean Indoor Air

EPA awards pilot project grants to eleven non-profit organizations to implement innovative, community-based programs to reduce indoor air pollution from household energy use.

In support of the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air, EPA has awarded pilot project grants to eleven non-profit organizations to implement innovative, community-based programs to reduce indoor air pollution from household energy use.  The 70 members of the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air are working together to address the increased environmental health risk faced by the more than 2 billion people in the developing world who burn traditional biomass fuels indoors for cooking and heating.  This increased exposure results in an estimated 2 million premature deaths each year, largely among women and children.

The pilot projects will demonstrate effective approaches for addressing social and cultural barriers to adopting improved cooking and heating practices, developing local markets for improved technology, meeting design and performance guidance for improved technology, and monitoring reduced exposure.  The $1.3 million in funding is being provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the EPA.  Go to www.epa.gov/iaq/pcia.html for more information on the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air and the grants.

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