Indoor Air Quality
6/12/25 @ 1:00PM
Pontalba Room
Environmental Justice communities are communities of color, indigenous and low income communities that experience adverse human health and/or environmental effects due to systemic discriminatory policies and underinvestment-live with multiple sources of pollution and health harms in addition to dangerous housing conditions and deferred maintenance. These conditions combined with extreme heat caused by the climate crisis and resultantly high energy bills, create dire economic and exacerbate health problems from fossil fuel appliances, lead exposure and asthma triggers. This session will lift up solutions created by and grounded in communities that are holistically addressing these issues.
The Basics
What does This mean?
People are facing increased indoor air pollution in their homes, schools, and workplaces. Indoor air pollution is caused by—but not limited to:
burning of fossil fuels
insufficient ventilation
humidity
temperature
Contaminants can include: allergens, asbestos, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, lead, mold, nitrous oxides, pesticides, radon, and smoke.
Why Does This Matter?
90% of our time is spent indoors!
2/3 of residential and commercial sector greenhouse gas pollution comes from burning fossil fuels
Can cause health issues such as respiratory disease, heart disease, cognitive deficits, and cancer.
Children are at significant health risk from indoor air pollutants
Significant disparities exist between public/mixed-use housing and private housing, race and ethnicity, and people living below or above the federal poverty level.
Environmental justice/low-income communities face the brunt—-smaller unit sizes means a higher toxicity, more people in a home means less oxygen, older homes mean worse ventilation (both venting out of the home and preventing outdoor air in), and energy burden might mean using the stove/oven for heating.
How can this advance equitable building decarbonization?
Decarbonization presents an opportunity to address not only the fuel of your building, but also how many pollutants you are exposed to. If addressed correctly, equitable building decarbonization can eliminate fossil-fuel pollution, reduce mold/mildew, and much more by addressing housing injustice and implementing much needed improvements in housing stock.