healthy homes initiative jenae bjelland director, healthy homes bob scott director, energy services...

Healthy Homes Initiative

Jenae BjellandDirector, Healthy Homes

Bob ScottDirector, Energy Services

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Background

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• Basic premise - Housing conditions can significantly affect the health of the residents.

• Many healthy homes issues are due to substandard housing, prevalent in low-income communities

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Background

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 • Most people spend the vast majority of their time

indoors and the condition of their home affects their health particularly for children and seniors

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Identified health links to substandard housing

• Childhood lead poisoning• Respiratory diseases such as asthma• Fire and electrical safety issues• Increased risk of falls, injuries, rodent bites,

exposure to pesticides, indoor toxicants, tobacco smoke, and combustion gases

• Depression and quality of life issues

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7 Principles

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• Keep it dry• Keep it pest free• Keep it safe• Keep it maintained• Keep it clean• Keep it ventilated• Keep it contaminant free

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Major Focus On

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• household chemicals• moisture and mold• tobacco smoke• pests• insects

• rodents • CO• drinking water• waste water• hazards conducive to falls

and injuries

• Lead• Asthma• Radon

Also

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• Traditionally a more categorical approach has been prevalent

One issue focus, even in presence of multiple issues

• A more holistic approach is being promoted to address the broad range of housing deficiencies and hazards associated with unhealthy and unsafe homes.

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Major Players - Federal

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CDC Healthy Homes Objectives1. Increase public awareness by creating a national

dialogue on healthy housing and promoting health literacy about housing

2. Take actions to ensure that all Americans have access to healthy, safe, and affordable housing

3. Promote people’s physical and mental health through evidence-based healthy housing interventions

4. Invest in research that increases our understanding of the long-term economic benefits of healthy housing

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Major Players - Federal

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Office of the Surgeon General, HHS (OSG)Published a booklet in 2009: The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Promote Healthy Homes

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control, published 60 page Healthy Homes Strategic Plan in July 2009

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Major Players - Federal

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - many good reports and information on HH issues, Lead RRP Rule, IAQ, asbestos, etc.

Recent Report - Healthy Indoor Environment Protocols for Home Energy Upgrades coincides with VP Biden’s Recovery Through Retrofit and complements DOE’s Workforce Guidelines

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Main Players – National Organizations

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National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH)• NCHH conducts research to find scientifically valid

and practical strategies for making homes safe and healthy.

• Contractor in Phase 1 of DOE HHI Project Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI) Also called Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning • Did a survey on H&S in app. 16 WAP agencies• Recent report titled – “Identified Barriers and

Opportunities to Make Housing Green and Healthy Through Weatherization”

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DOE HHI Projects

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Program or Initiative

Lead Agency & Partners

Overview Timing

Healthy Homes Inter-Agency Working Group

Joint effort: DOE, HUD, EPA, DOL, HHS/CDC

Inter-agency collaboration to find and implement HH solutions

Ongoing

DOE “Healthy Weatherization” Project

DOE (WAP) Interviewed State WAP Offices and local agencies to identify H&S issues they encountered but had limited ability to address to size up and inform decision-making

Report being finalized

Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI)

HUD and Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning

Participating cities engage in pilots; additional cities in subsequent phases

Ongoing

Recovery Through Retrofit -- retrofit protocol development

CEQ (DOE developing retrofit protocols w/health considerations)

Developed voluntary national energy retrofit protocols with industry leaders and heavy WAP involvement, to be launched nationally

Draft completed, comment period until 1-07-2011

EPA Retrofit Protocol Development

EPA (with DOE, industry, and other agencies’ input)

Developed Healthy Indoor Environment Protocols for Home Energy Upgrades

Draft completed, comment period until 12-9-2010

Radon pilots DOE and EPA Participate in pilots that test radon levels In design phase

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DOE/WAP and Healthy Homes

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• Isn’t the connection obvious?

• WAP goes into hundreds of low-income houseseach year

• WAP already has a component for assessing health and safety problems

• WAP is partner of CSBG with basis and groundwork for mobilizing additional resources

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DOE/WAP and Healthy Homes

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When there are unresolved H&S issues

• The agency has to defer work until problems are resolved

• The agency does the best they can but household does not get full advantage of WAP

• Household does not get WAP services nor its H&S problems resolved

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DOE/WAP and Healthy Homes

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WAP H&S Measures are Often Effective

• With DOE and other WAP funds, WAP providers –o Usually can address health and safety issues

related to heating systemso Work lead safeo Can address some moisture problemso Can address some electrical and plumbing issueso Can add/repair ventilationo Provide some educational materialso And a host of other measures as per WPN 11-6

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DOE/WAP and Healthy Homes

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But there are several instances that are beyond the scope of WAP

• Remediation of lead and mold • Other IAQ problems• Major electrical and plumbing issues• Most structural and non-energy related H&S

issues

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WAP and Healthy Homes

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No WAP crew wants to leave conditions like these!

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DOE/WAP and Healthy Homes

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Questions the HH network asks in regards to WAP

• Poor roofs = substandard housing Why WAP doesn’t do more for poor roofs

• Why doesn’t WAP replace windows that have lead paint?

• WAP auditors could learn and identify other HH issues, WAP could consider more measures, agencies could set up better referral networks

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How far can/should WAP go to broaden Health and Safety

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• Primary focus of DOE WAP is energy efficiency H&S measures should either enable an EE measure to

be performed or insure that an EE measure does not create a new or compound an existing H&S issue

• H&S measures cost money but provide no energy savings

• Key metrics of current national evaluation are energy savings and energy savings per dollar invested

• Limited funds should not be diverted away from WAP EE focus

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What are the Post-ARRA Opportunities?

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Can / should the WAP and CSBG networks be proactive leaders in the national Healthy Homes movement?

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Contacts

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Jenae BjellandDirector, Healthy Homesbjelland@nascsp.org

202-624-5850

Bob ScottDirector, Energy Services

rscott@nascsp.org202-624-5867