Building codes should be updated to protect residents from the harmful health impacts of indoor cooking, according to a new report from the Environmental Law Institute (ELI).
Reducing Exposure to Cooking Pollutants: Policies and Practices to Improve Air Quality in Homes provides policymakers with information to help people in their communities protect themselves from being exposed to particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and other harmful pollutants inside their homes.
“Any type of cooking—from boiling water to frying food—will generate some amount of cooking pollution,” said ELI Staff Attorney Amy Reed, in a news release. “Fortunately, proper ventilation practices, which can remove those harmful cooking pollutants, are well established and readily available.”
Updated building codes should mandate kitchen ventilation in all new residential construction. Jurisdictions should establish minimum ventilation performance standards to ensure that exhaust systems can remove a sufficient share of the pollutants emitted during cooking immediately after they are emitted.
ELI also says policymakers should increase public awareness of both the health risks from cooking pollutants and the solutions that are available.
Related Stories
| Jan 18, 2012
Report analyzes residential hurricane codes in 18 states
The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) released a new report analyzing residential building codes in 18 hurricane-prone coastal states along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Coast.
| Jan 18, 2012
Death in Chicago high-rise apartment fire blamed on fire code
The death of a Chicago woman who stepped off her elevator into a blazing inferno last week has underscored the need for fire sensors in elevators.
| Jan 18, 2012
California approves open cell spray foam for energy efficiency standards
The California Energy Commission (CEC) now recognizes open-cell spray foam as an accepted insulation in its 2008 Building Energy Efficiency Standards.
| Jan 5, 2012
Building to LEED standards now an 'easy call' from cost standpoint
Once seen as a cost burden, building to LEED standards is now an "easy call," according to Dan Probst, chairman of energy and sustainability for real estate management and development firm Jones Lang LaSalle.
| Jan 5, 2012
Minnesota's GreenStep Cities program aids communities in winning grants
GreenStep Cities, a Minnesota initiative, was designed to provide greater recognition to the state's communities for achievements in meeting sustainability standards and goals.
| Jan 5, 2012
Some ADA accessibility rules change in 2012
Some changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act go into effect beginning March 15, 2012.
| Jan 5, 2012
Ontario's stringent energy code has builders concerned over indoor air quality
Some Ontario builders are worried that new building code requirements with stricter energy efficiency measures could lead to poor indoor air quality.
| Jan 5, 2012
New law bars Defense Department from new LEED certifications
The Defense Department will not be allowed to use any money to certify its buildings LEED Gold or Platinum, under a law President Obama signed Dec. 31.
| Jan 5, 2012
Some ADA accessibility rules change in 2012
Some changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act go into effect beginning March 15, 2012.
| Jan 3, 2012
New SJI Rule on Steel Joists
A new rule from the Steel Joist Institute clarifies when local reinforcement of joists is required for chord loads away from panel points. SJI members offer guidance about how and when to specify loads.
