Challenges and Opportunities in Creating Healthy Homes: Helping Consumers Make Informed Decisions
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Reference Guide
Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools REFERENCE GUIDE Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Indoor Environments Division, 6609J 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20460 (202) 564-9370 www.epa.gov/iaq American Federation of Teachers 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 879-4400 www.aft.org Association of School Business Officials 11401 North Shore Drive Reston, VA 22090 (703) 478-0405 www.asbointl.org National Education Association 1201 16th Steet, NW Washington, DC 20036-3290 (202) 833-4000 www.nea.org National Parent Teachers Association 330 North Wabash Avenue, Suite 2100 Chicago, IL 60611-3690 (312) 670-6782 www.pta.org American Lung Association 1740 Broadway New York, NY 10019 (212) 315-8700 www.lungusa.org EPA 402/K-07/008 I January 2009 I www.epa.gov/iaq/schools Introduction � U nderstanding the importance of good basic measurement equipment, hiring indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools is the professional assistance, and codes and backbone of developing an effective IAQ regulations. There are numerous resources program. Poor IAQ can lead to a large available to schools through EPA and other variety of health problems and potentially organizations, many of which are listed in affect comfort, concentration, and staff/ Appendix L. Use the information in this student performance. In recognition of Guide to create the best possible learning tight school budgets, this guidance is environment for students and maintain a designed to present practical and often comfortable, healthy building for school low-cost actions you can take to identify occupants. and address existing or potential air quality Refer to A Framework for School problems. -
Financial Literacy: an Essential Tool for Informed Consumer Choice?
NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES FINANCIAL LITERACY: AN ESSENTIAL TOOL FOR INFORMED CONSUMER CHOICE? Annamaria Lusardi Working Paper 14084 http://www.nber.org/papers/w14084 NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 June 2008 I would like to thank Keith Ernst, Howell Jackson, Kevin Rhein, Peter Tufano, and participants to the conference "Understanding Consumer Credit: A National Symposium on Expanding Access, Informing Choices, and Protecting Consumers," Harvard Business School, November 2007, and the conference "Consumer Information and the Mortgage Market," Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C., May 2008 for suggestions and comments. This paper builds on several projects I have written in collaboration with Olivia Mitchell, whom I would like to thank for her encouragement, support, and many suggestions. Audrey Brown provided excellent research assistance. Any errors are my responsibility. This paper was written while visiting Harvard Business School and I would like to thank them, and in particular Peter Tufano, for their hospitality. The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peer- reviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications. © 2008 by Annamaria Lusardi. All rights reserved. Short sections of text, not to exceed two paragraphs, may be quoted without explicit permission provided that full credit, including © notice, is given to the source. Financial Literacy: An Essential Tool for Informed Consumer Choice? Annamaria Lusardi NBER Working Paper No. -
Healthy Buildings
Healthy Buildings RECOMMENDATIONS & RESOURCES HEALTHY BUILDINGS: RECOMMENDATIONS & RESOURCES 2 Contents Air Quality 4 Water Quality 6 Green Cleaning 8 Access to Nature 10 Inspire Movement 12 Waste 14 Comfort 16 HEALTHY BUILDINGS: RECOMMENDATIONS & RESOURCES 3 Introduction We are all acutely aware that our indoor environment can have significant impact on our health. From HVAC filters that reduce our exposure to pathogens*, to enjoying safe drinking water, to feeling calm and comfortable in our spaces, we feel better when our surroundings support our health and wellbeing. While we all want healthy and safe indoor environments, do we know what constitutes a healthy building? Fortunately, there are numerous resources from expert organizations such as ASHRAE, USGBC, the CDC, and the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) that provide guidance for creating healthy indoor environments. This guide compiles high-level information from third party sources to help building tenants understand and advocate for quality indoor spaces. Given that we spend 90% of our time indoors, we should feel confident that these spaces support our quality of life. In this guide you will find seven areas of focus for a healthier building. While there are more categories to explore, these topics best consolidate critical focus areas. Use this guide to facilitate conversations with building or office management teams, and refer to additional resources for more detail and guidance around recommendations. *It should be noted that recommendations included in this guide do not ensure that building occupants will not get sick. These strategies do not cover all aspects and issues to consider in order to mitigate and reduce infection potential in an indoor environment. -
Healthy Building Industry Review Resources
Healthy Building Industry Review Resources Pacific Northwest National Laboratory December 31, 2019 Contact: Kevin Keene ([email protected]) PNNL-SA-159876 The Department of Energy and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory do not endorse any of the products, services, or companies included in this document. This industry review investigates existing resources for facility managers, owners, operators, and other decision-makers to make informed decisions relating to energy efficient buildings that also support occupant health and productivity. Healthy building practices have had limited adoption due to lack of awareness and limited research compared to energy efficiency. This review explores some of the most impactful existing resources for healthy buildings and their integration with energy efficiency. The focus is on the commercial and federal sector and healthy building categories that intersect with energy use New or Existing Name Type Summary IEQ Elements Sector Buildings? Energy Connection Reference The Financial Case for High Performance Business Case By applying financial impact calculations to findings from Lighting, Indoor Air Quality, Commercial Existing No https://stok.com/wp- Buildings over 60 robust research studies on the effect of HPBs in Thermal Comfort content/uploads/2018/10/stok_report_financial-case-for- three key occupant impact areas (Productivity, Retention, high-performance-buildings.pdf and Wellness), this paper arrives at the financial impacts below to help owneroccupants and tenants quantify the benefits of -
Sacrificing Privacy for Convenience: the Need for Stricter FTC Regulations in an Age of Smartphone Surveillance
Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary Volume 34 Issue 2 Article 6 12-15-2014 Sacrificing Privacy for Convenience: The Need for Stricter FTC Regulations in an Age of Smartphone Surveillance Ashton McKinnon Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/naalj Part of the Administrative Law Commons, Consumer Protection Law Commons, Privacy Law Commons, and the Science and Technology Law Commons Recommended Citation Ashton McKinnon, Sacrificing Privacy for Convenience: The Need for Stricter FTC Regulations in an Age of Smartphone Surveillance, 34 J. Nat’l Ass’n Admin. L. Judiciary 484 (2014) Available at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/naalj/vol34/iss2/6 This Comment is brought to you for free and open access by the Caruso School of Law at Pepperdine Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary by an authorized editor of Pepperdine Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. Sacrificing Privacy for Convenience: The Need for Stricter FTC Regulations in an Age of Smartphone Surveillance By Ashton McKinnon* TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................... 486 II. THE SMARTPHONE .................................................................... 488 III. APPS ........................................................................................ -
Unit 2. Lesson 5. Noise Pollution
ACOUSTICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Unit 2. Lesson 5. Noise Pollution Objectives: Upon completion of this unit, students will understand that noise pollution is more than loud noises. They will also learn what causes hearing damage and that animals, as well as humans, are subject to hearing loss. Vocabulary words: litter, pollution, loudness-related hearing loss, blast trauma What is Noise Pollution? Litter on the side of the road, is thought to be a sound so junk floating in the water, and intense that it could shatter smokes spewing into the glass, or crack plaster in rooms atmosphere from factory or on buildings. That is not so. smokestacks are obvious forms It can come from sources such of pollution. There are other as jet airplanes, constant types of pollution that are not droning of traffic, motorcycles, as obvious. Noise pollution is high-power equipment, or loud one form. What is noise music. pollution? It is defined as sounds, or noises, that are loud, annoying and harmful to the ear. Often, sound pollution How is Noise Pollution Harmful? Sound energy is transferred When sound reaches the through compressions and human ear, it causes structures rarefactions. to vibrate. Intense vibrations (Reference can rupture the eardrum, but lesson 1, if more often, loudness-related necessary.) hearing loss usually develops If the over time. When sound enters intensity is the ear, it is transferred to the very large, it can harm human brain as a nerve impulse. Each and animal ears, and do nerve is composed of tiny nerve damage to physical structures. fibers, surrounded by special fluid within the ear. -
Indoor Air Quality Factors in Designing a Healthy Building,” Annual
Spengler, J.D. and Chen, Q. 2000. “Indoor air quality factors in designing a healthy building,” Annual Review of Energy and the Environment, 25, 567-600. Indoor Air Quality Factors in Designing a Healthy Building John D. Spengler School of Public Health, Harvard University, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115; e-mail: [email protected] Qingyan (Yan) Chen Building Technology Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139; e-mail: [email protected] KEY WORDS: regulations, contaminant sources, building materials and systems, ventilation models, design tools Shortened title: IAQ in Designing a Healthy Building Abstract Current guidelines for green buildings are cursory and inadequate for specifying materials and designing ventilation systems to ensure a healthful indoor environment, i.e. a “healthy building,” by design. Public perception, cultural preferences, litigation trends, current codes and regulations, rapid introduction of new building materials and commercial products, as well as the prevailing design-build practices, pose challenges to systems integration in the design, construction and operation phases of modern buildings. We are on the verge of a paradigm shift in ventilation design thinking. In the past, thermal properties of air within a zone determined heating, ventilating, and air- conditioning (HVAC) specifications. In the future, occupant-specific and highly responsive systems will become the norm. Natural ventilation, displacement ventilation, microzoning with subfloor plenums, along with the use of point of source heat control and point of use sensors, will evolve to create a "smart" responsive ventilation-building dynamic system. Advanced ventilation design tools such as the modeling of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) will be used routinely. -
Monitoring the Acoustic Performance of Low- Noise Pavements
Monitoring the acoustic performance of low- noise pavements Carlos Ribeiro Bruitparif, France. Fanny Mietlicki Bruitparif, France. Matthieu Sineau Bruitparif, France. Jérôme Lefebvre City of Paris, France. Kevin Ibtaten City of Paris, France. Summary In 2012, the City of Paris began an experiment on a 200 m section of the Paris ring road to test the use of low-noise pavement surfaces and their acoustic and mechanical durability over time, in a context of heavy road traffic. At the end of the HARMONICA project supported by the European LIFE project, Bruitparif maintained a permanent noise measurement station in order to monitor the acoustic efficiency of the pavement over several years. Similar follow-ups have recently been implemented by Bruitparif in the vicinity of dwellings near major road infrastructures crossing Ile- de-France territory, such as the A4 and A6 motorways. The operation of the permanent measurement stations will allow the acoustic performance of the new pavements to be monitored over time. Bruitparif is a partner in the European LIFE "COOL AND LOW NOISE ASPHALT" project led by the City of Paris. The aim of this project is to test three innovative asphalt pavement formulas to fight against noise pollution and global warming at three sites in Paris that are heavily exposed to road noise. Asphalt mixes combine sound, thermal and mechanical properties, in particular durability. 1. Introduction than 1.2 million vehicles with up to 270,000 vehicles per day in some places): Reducing noise generated by road traffic in urban x the publication by Bruitparif of the results of areas involves a combination of several actions. -
Light Pollution by Stephen Davis − 2/26/08
1 Prepared for SAB's review of EPA "Report on the Environment (2007)" [minor changes 3/11/08] Light Pollution by Stephen Davis − 2/26/08 One thing the EPA has been pushing is its "Green Lights" program. Using energy efficient light bulbs is not good enough: a) When too much light is being used, b) When aimed improperly, or c) When nobody is there to use it.[1] This is "Light Pollution!" And there is way too much of it costing the USA some $4.5 billion or more annually. This energy and money could be put to far better use. [2,3] Light Pollution and all its ramifications are missing from the EPA "Report on the Environment."[4,5] The #1 and #2 problems in Congress, needing immediate attention, are the economy and climate change. Both are directly related to energy independence and homeland security.[6] There is a connection between Light Pollution and what Congress considers as in our best interests. Unfortunately, government hasn't been watching were the money goes and how it is spent. We need accountability[7,8] and awareness[9] at all levels right down to the common man on the street before it's too late and we are all looking for life boats. What happened to "conservation" − the word that is never to be spoken?[10,] What if the money and other resources aren't there, or could they be put to better use elsewhere? The federal government can lead the way and get others involved through policy, guidance, and monitoring. -
Reducing Light Pollution in a Tourism-Based Economy, with Recommendations for a National Lighting Ordinance
REDUCING LIGHT POLLUTION IN A TOURISM-BASED ECONOMY, WITH RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A NATIONAL LIGHTING ORDINANCE Prepared by the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST) Kimberley N. Lake and Karen L. Eckert __________________________________________________________ WIDECAST Technical Report No. 11 2009 Cover photos: Tree-mounted double spotlights at the Frangipani Beach Resort, with new hotel construction in the background (photo by Kimberley Lake); Leatherback sea turtle hatchling attracted by beachfront lighting and unable to find the sea (photo by Sebastien Barrioz). For bibliographic purposes, this publication should be cited as follows: Lake, Kimberley N. and Karen L. Eckert. 2009. Reducing Light Pollution in a Tourism-Based Economy, with Recommendations for a National Lighting Ordinance. Prepared by the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST) for the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Government of Anguilla. WIDECAST Technical Report No. 11. Ballwin, Missouri. 65 pp. ISSN: 1930-3025 Copies of the publication may be obtained from: Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST) 1348 Rusticview Drive Ballwin, Missouri 63011 Phone: + (314) 954-8571 Email: [email protected] Online at www.widecast.org REDUCING LIGHT POLLUTION IN A TOURISM-BASED ECONOMY, WITH RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A NATIONAL LIGHTING ORDINANCE Kimberley N. Lake Karen L. Eckert 2009 Lake and Eckert (2009) ~ Reducing Light Pollution in a Tourism-Based Economy ~ WIDECAST Technical Report 11 PREFACE AND INTENT For more than two decades, the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST, www.widecast.org), with Country Coordinators in more than 40 Caribbean nations and territories, has linked scientists, conservationists, natural resource users and managers, policy-makers, industry groups, educators, and other stakeholders together in a collective effort to develop a unified management framework, and to promote a region-wide capacity to design and implement science-based sea turtle conservation programs. -
Ecology of the Cardiovascular System: Part II –A Focus on Non-Air R Related Pollutants
Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine 29 (2019) 274–282 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tcm Ecology of the cardiovascular system: Part II –A focus on non-air R related pollutants ∗ J.F. Argacha, MD, PhD a, , T. Mizukami a, T. Bourdrel b, M-A Bind c a Cardiology Department, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, VUB, Belgium b Radiology Department, Imaging Medical Center Etoile-Neudorf, Strasbourg, France c Department of Statistics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Keywords: An integrated exposomic view of the relation between environment and cardiovascular health should Noise consider the effects of both air and non-air related environmental stressors. Cardiovascular impacts of Bisphenol ambient air temperature, indoor and outdoor air pollution were recently reviewed. We aim, in this second Pesticides part, to address the cardiovascular effects of noise, food pollutants, radiation, and some other emerging Dioxins Radiation environmental factors. Electromagnetic field Road traffic noise exposure is associated with increased risk of premature arteriosclerosis, coronary Endothelium artery disease, and stroke. Numerous studies report an increased prevalence of hypertension in people Oxidative stress exposed to noise, especially while sleeping. Sleep disturbances generated by nocturnal noise are followed Hypertension by a neuroendocrine stress response. Some oxidative and inflammatory endothelial reactions are observed Coronary artery disease during experimental session of noise exposure. Moreover, throughout the alimentation, the cardiovascular Stroke system is exposed to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) as dioxins or pesticides, and plastic associated chemicals (PACs), such as bisphenol A. -
Indoor Humidity and Human Health: Part II--Buildings and Their Systems
UC Berkeley Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) Title Indoor humidity and human health: part II--buildings and their systems Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7tw5877b Authors Arens, Edward A Baughman, Anne Publication Date 1996 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ 4.0 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California 3952 I door Humidityarid Numar Health: Part F=Sui dings Their Systems Edward A. Arens, Ph.D. Anne V. Baughman Member ASHRAE Student MemberASHRA E ABSTRACT fromtotally unrelated sources. For example,field studies have shownthat mildewcan form at as low as 10%relative humidity This paper continues a review of the humidity effects on (RH)in sorne cases, whereas in others RHvalues as high health as addressed in indoor ventilation and environmental 95%have not produced biological activity (Pasanen et al. standards. Part I identified a numberof health-related agents 1991a, 1991b). Clearly there are other’ factors at work that are affected by indoor humidit3; commonsites of contam- producingthese observations. Evenif the surface moisture is ination with#~ buildings, and commonremediation measures. caused by air humidityalone, the relationship betweenthese Part II discusses the physical causes of moisture-related two maybe a complexfunction of surface temperatures, mate- health problemsin buildings, subdividing them by climate and rials, textures, and exposureto air’ movement.In addition, the mechanicalsystem type. It examinesstudies done on moisture surface maybe in a part of the building or’ its mechanical problems in these differ#zg environments, showing that hz system where temperatures differ’ from those in the main most, if not all, cases the causesof the problemare only indi- airspace, resulting in different rates of condensation/evapora- rectly related to indoor humidity #~ the space.