Luis Ortiz, Assistant Professor, Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences (AOES), College of Science; Lucas RF Henneman, Assistant Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering, College of Engineering and Computing (CEC); Jenna Krall, Associate Professor, Global and Community Health, College of Public Health (CPH); Edward Maibach, Director, Center for Climate Change Communication (4C), and University Professor, Communication, College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS); Kathryn Thier, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 4C, CHSS; Jim Kinter, Professor, Climate Dynamics, Director, Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies (COLA), and Director, Virginia Climate Center, College of Science; and John Kotcher, Research Assistant Professor, 4C, Communication, CHSS, received funding for: “Arlington County - ENERGY-HEALTH-EQUITY Project – EJG2G.”
The researchers are studying indoor air quality in Arlington County homes and its impact on residents' health. The project, funded by Arlington County through a subaward from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will investigate how factors like building design, outdoor conditions, and a warming climate contribute to indoor air pollution and heat exposure. The team will investigate the linkages between indoor exposure to pollutants and heat and adverse impacts to health and create simulations of indoor air quality and heat to quantify how housing affects home environments. In addition, the team will join a broader team of Arlington County staff and community-based organizations (CBOs) to engage with community members about their needs for building interventions that both reduce their energy costs and improve their home environments.
The team will provide technical assistance to the project on indoor air environments in Arlington, within the context of a warming climate, and their impact on health. The aims of the collaborative work are to:
The team proposes to address these aims via three tasks.
First, Krall and Henneman will link indoor exposures, health, and equity.
Second, Ortiz and Henneman will design and carry out a series of simulation-based case studies to assess the sensitivity of indoor environments to a variety of building characteristics, emissions sources, and outdoor conditions, such as are typically found in Arlington County, as well as the implementation of adaptive measures.
Third, Maibach, Kotcher, and Thier will work collaboratively with the EHE decision-support tool design team to ensure that best communication and behavioral science practices are considered in the design of the tool.
The researchers received $121,229 from Arlington County on a subaward from the Environmental Protection Agency for this project. Funding began in Dec. 2024 and will end in March 2027.
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