Indoor air quality legislation introduced in Congress
The new legislation is introduced in Congress the Indoor Air Quality and Healthy Schools Act. It would establish an assessment and strengthen indoor air quality (IAQ) across the nation including schools and childcare facilities. This bipartisan measure introduced by Congressmen Paul D. Tonko (D-NY) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA).
This would increase the role of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) in assessing indoor air contaminants that pose health risk. With a goal to identify strategies to mitigate them and increasing and awareness around IAQ. This comes at a time after the COVID-19 pandemic and increased volatile wildfires has increased concern for IAQ nationwide.
The bill would allocate $100,000,000 per year through 2030 for the EPA to establish and run the program.
- Study and develop a science-based IAQ index aimed at informing action to the public of IAQ status and level of concern.
- Establish and regularly update a list of indoor contaminants of concern and create guidelines to reduce exposure risks for these contaminants.
- Provide technical assistance and grants to state and local governments, local educational agencies, housing authorities, nonprofits to develop and implement programs to assess and improve IAQ.
- Conduct a national assessment of IAQ in schools and childcare facilities.
- Identifying one or more voluntary certifications for buildings that achieve exemplary IAQ performance.
The U.S Green Building Council (USGBC) supports this bill.
“If enacted, would support access to healthier indoor environments for more people and communities,” stated a representative in a press release.
