Anyone who would like to comment about a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program to prevent health issues by promoting indoor air quality has until this spring to share their thoughts.
EPA announced its proposed updates to the Indoor airPLUS program, which aims to advance indoor air quality protection, according to a Feb. 1 news release. EPA will accept public comment on the updates to the program until April 3.
"Indoor airPLUS homes are healthier by design, improving indoor air quality and comfort," EPA said in the release. "Labeled homes can help reduce the likelihood of common and serious health problems like heart disease, cancer, asthma, allergies, respiratory issues, headaches and more through comprehensive indoor air quality approaches."
Features of the proposed program update "include changes to the training requirements for verifiers, a Home Certification Organization model to improve quality assurance and a five-year expiration date to the new Indoor airPLUS labels and specifications for voluntary recertification by the home/building owner after the five-year expiration," the news release said.
Indoor airPLUS is EPA's voluntary partnership and labeling program for new home builders to help improve indoor air quality through requiring construction practices and product specifications requirement to minimize exposure to contaminants and airborne pollutants. Improving indoor air quality in homes helps to reduce the likelihood of health issues and respiratory ailments, according to the news release.
"Builders that participate in the program must use construction practices designed to minimize exposure to airborne pollutants and contaminants in the home," the news release said. "The indoor airPLUS program also requires that these practices are inspected and certified by qualified verifiers."
Proposed updates includes a labeling program and other proposals based on feedback from a December 2020 public comment opportunity about on revised construction specifications. The latest proposal also seeks to encourage broad industry participation for indoor air quality protections while also "strengthening program integrity with an improved verification and quality assurance framework," the news release said.
Proposed updates include two options for builders, Indoor airPLUS Certification and Indoor airPLUS Gold, the release reported. The former focuses on improving indoor air quality without requiring ENERGY STAR certification, while the latter includes advanced protections for indoor air quality in addition to ENERGY STAR certification.
The proposed program update also includes changes to training requirements for verifiers, a Home Certification Organization model for quality assurance and a five-year expiration date for the Indoor airPLUS labels and specifications, according to the release.
After the 60-day comment period ends, EPA plan to release its final Indoor airPLUS Certification and Gold specifications in January. During the first year of implementation, builders may continue to use the current construction specifications or start using new two-tier specifications, if they are finalized. EPA anticipates current construction specifications will sunset by January 2025, the release reported.
"These dates are subject to change," the news release said.
