Issue link: https://hi.iaq.net/i/191637
Climate Change, the Indoor Environment, and Health 9 Key Findings, Guiding Principles, and Priority Issues for Action This chapter builds on the foundation laid in Chapters 1–8 to draw out the overarching themes of the report and present its primary recommendations. OVERVIEW OF THE COMMITTEE'S WORK The committee's statement of task charged it to summarize the current state of scientific understanding of the effects of climate change1 on indoor air and public health. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the report's sponsor, provided three examples of key questions to address: • • • W hat are the likely impacts of climate change in the United States on human exposure to chemical and biological contaminants inside buildings, and what are the likely public health consequences? W hat are the likely impacts of climate change on moisture and dampness conditions in buildings, and what are the likely public health consequences? W hat are the priority issues for action? While there is substantial scientific literature on the effects of outdoor environmental conditions on the indoors, of indoor environmental condi1 This report uses the term climate to refer to prevailing outdoor environmental conditions— temperature, humidity, wind, precipitation, sea level, and other phenomena—and climate change to refer to modifications in those outdoor conditions that occur over an extended period of time. 239 Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.