EPA awards indoor air quality research grants to 9 universities

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that Harvard University won nearly $1 million of the $8 million in grants awarded to nine universities to study the effects of climate change on indoor air quality and public health.

“The indoor air quality and health program at Harvard’s School of Public Health was initiated almost 40 years ago and was early in its understanding of the importance of the indoor environment,” Harvard Principal Investigator and Professor of Environmental Sciences Petros Koutrakis said. “Until then, most of the air quality policies and research programs had focused on outdoor air. We are very excited about the opportunity to investigate the potential impact of climate change on the indoor environment where we spend over 85 percent of our time.”

Harvard’s project will focus on indoor air quality in Boston, Massachusetts and Atlanta, Georgia.

The other grant winners were:  University of Colorado at Boulder, Florida State University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rutgers University, Portland State University, University of Oregon, and Washington State University.

“This research will help us better understand the effects of climate change on indoor air quality,” EPA New England Regional Administrator Curt Spalding said. “Learning how air quality, climate and energy interact in an indoor environment will help us design buildings that better protect people’s health.”