Energy efficiency, indoor air quality, & health: a simulation study of multifamily housing in Boston, Massachusetts

Residential energy efficiency is a major priority in the United States and abroad due to concerns related to climate change and the economic impacts of energy consumption. Energy retrofits can provide direct private and public savings as well as population health co-benefits as a result of reduced emissions from residential combustion and electricity generating units (EGUs). However, retrofits such as weatherization may also lead to reduced air exchange rates and accumulations of indoor-sourced pollutants. To protect indoor air quality (IAQ) and resident health, current building standards recommend coupling weatherization measures with ventilation; however, the combined impacts of these measures on energy costs, resident health, and general population health across diverse housing conditions have not been well-established. In this study, we used the multizone airflow and IAQ analysis program CONTAM to simulate the IAQ impacts of a real-world energy intervention in a specific low-income, low-rise multifamily housing complex. We evaluated the differential impact of indoor source activities, such as cooking and smoking, on indoor concentrations of PM2.5 and NO2. By co-simulating the CONTAM model with the energy simulation software EnergyPlus, we also examined the potential energy and IAQ trade-offs of meeting energy and ventilation building standards in a typical gas-heated midrise multifamily building. Lastly, we linked IAQ and energy simulation results from the midrise multifamily building to an energy-to-emissions model and health impact model to estimate the impacts of interventions on direct energy costs and monetized resident health and general population health. All building templates were located in Boston, MA. Overall, we found that combined investments in weatherization and ventilation retrofits could lead to energy savings and IAQ-related benefits; however, the direction and magnitude of benefits and/or disbenefits varied by intervention type and intensity, season, indoor source activity, and baseline ventilation parameters. Results suggest that some combinations of retrofits that provide energy savings may also lead to IAQ disbenefits for certain multifamily subpopulations, such as smokers in buildings without whole-building ventilation or filtration. We also found that weatherization interventions without ventilation upgrades led to increases in indoor PM2.5 levels and monetized resident health disbenefits that greatly outweighed direct energy savings and population health benefits. Together, results emphasize the importance of holistic energy-efficient interventions that explicitly consider IAQ and health. Our analytical framework can be utilized in future trade-off analyses to inform health-protective, cost-effective implementation approaches and building standards

Cross-platform, Public Domain Simulation Tools for Performing Parametric IAQ and Energy Analysis

As building design is being driven towards lower energy use, the relationship between indoor air quality (IAQ) and energy becomes more important due in large part to reduced building envelope leakage, which can lead to higher indoor pollutant levels. Simulation tools that can analyze building design measures that aim to improve IAQ and energy use are necessary for evaluating potential trade-offs involving such measures. This paper will present the use of CONTAM and EnergyPlus, coupled using co-simulation, to perform parametric analysis of IAQ and energy impacts. Both of these tools are available in the public domain and provide cross-platform methods to evaluate both IAQ and energy use. Applications and workflow using these tools and available building models will be presented, including various energy and IAQ related measures that can be addressed with them. In particular, we present a framework for addressing energy measures (envelope tightening, insulation, and mechanical ventilation) and IAQ-related parameters (indoor/outdoor sources, ventilation rate, and filtration) in multi-family housing and effects on occupant exposure via a cohesive simulation environment that minimizes inter-domain coupling issues

Exposure contrasts of pregnant women during the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Exposure to OBJECTIVES: This paper reports exposure reductions achieved by a liquified petroleum gas (LPG) stove and fuel intervention for pregnant mothers in the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) randomized controlled trial. METHODS: The HAPIN trial included 3,195 households primarily using biomass for cooking in Guatemala, India, Peru, and Rwanda. Twenty-four-hour exposures to RESULTS: Median postrandomization exposures of particulate matter (PM) with aerodynamic diameter DISCUSSION: Postinterventio

Liquefied petroleum gas or biomass for cooking and effects on birth weight

BACKGROUND: Exposure during pregnancy to household air pollution caused by the burning of solid biomass fuel is associated with adverse health outcomes, including low birth weight. Whether the replacement of a biomass cookstove with a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cookstove would result in an increase in birth weight is unclear. METHODS: We performed a randomized, controlled trial involving pregnant women (18 to \u3c35 years of age and at 9 to \u3c20 weeks\u27 gestation as confirmed on ultrasonography) in Guatemala, India, Peru, and Rwanda. The women were assigned in a 1:1 ratio to use a free LPG cookstove and fuel (intervention group) or to continue using a biomass cookstove (control group). Birth weight, one of four prespecified primary outcomes, was the primary outcome for this report; data for the other three outcomes are not yet available. Birth weight was measured within 24 hours after birth. In addition, 24-hour personal exposures to fine particulate matter (particles with a diameter of ≤2.5 μm [PM RESULTS: A total of 3200 women underwent randomization; 1593 were assigned to the intervention group, and 1607 to the control group. Uptake of the intervention was nearly complete, with traditional biomass cookstoves being used at a median rate of less than 1 day per month. After randomization, the median 24-hour personal exposure to fine particulate matter was 23.9 μg per cubic meter in the intervention group and 70.7 μg per cubic meter in the control group. Among 3061 live births, a valid birth weight was available for 94.9% of the infants born to women in the intervention group and for 92.7% of infants born to those in the control group. The mean (±SD) birth weight was 2921±474.3 g in the intervention group and 2898±467.9 g in the control group, for an adjusted mean difference of 19.6 g (95% confidence interval, -10.1 to 49.2). CONCLUSIONS: The birth weight of infants did not differ significantly between those born to women who used LPG cookstoves and those born to women who used biomass cookstoves. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; HAPIN ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02944682.)

Effects of a LPG stove and fuel intervention on adverse maternal outcomes: A multi-country randomized controlled trial conducted by the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN)

Household air pollution from solid cooking fuel use during gestation has been associated with adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes. The Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial was a randomized controlled trial of free liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stoves and fuel in Guatemala, Peru, India, and Rwanda. A primary outcome of the main trial was to report the effects of the intervention on infant birth weight. Here we evaluate the effects of a LPG stove and fuel intervention during pregnancy on spontaneous abortion, postpartum hemorrhage, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and maternal mortality compared to women who continued to use solid cooking fuels. Pregnant women (18-34 years of age; gestation confirmed by ultrasound at 9-19 weeks) were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 1593) or control (n = 1607) arm. Intention-to-treat analyses compared outcomes between the two arms using log-binomial models. Among the 3195 pregnant women in the study, there were 10 spontaneous abortions (7 intervention, 3 control), 93 hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (47 intervention, 46 control), 11 post postpartum hemorrhage (5 intervention, 6 control) and 4 maternal deaths (3 intervention, 1 control). Compared to the control arm, the relative risk of spontaneous abortion among women randomized to the intervention was 2.32 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.60, 8.96), hypertensive disorders of pregnancy 1.02 (95% CI: 0.68, 1.52), postpartum hemorrhage 0.83 (95% CI: 0.25, 2.71) and 2.98 (95% CI: 0.31, 28.66) for maternal mortality. In this study, we found that adverse maternal outcomes did not differ based on randomized stove type across four country research sites

Emission-line stars discovered in the UKST H-alpha survey of the Large Magellanic Cloud; Part 1: Hot stars

We present new, accurate positions, spectral classifications, radial and rotational velocities, H-alpha fluxes, equivalent widths and B,V,I,R magnitudes for 579 hot emission-line stars (classes B0 - F9) in the Large Magellanic Cloud which include 469 new discoveries. Candidate emission line stars were discovered using a deep, high resolution H-alpha map of the central 25 deg2 of the LMC obtained by median stacking a dozen 2 hour H-alpha exposures taken with the UK Schmidt Telescope. Spectroscopic follow-up observations on the AAT, UKST, VLT, the SAAO 1.9m and the MSSSO 2.3m telescope have established the identity of these faint sources down to magnitude R~23 for H-alpha (4.5 x 10^-17 ergs cm^2 s^-1 Ang). Confirmed emission-line stars have been assigned an underlying spectral classification through cross-correlation against 131 absorption line template spectra covering the range O1 to F8. We confirm 111 previously identified emission line stars and 64 previously known variable stars with spectral types hotter than F8. The majority of hot stars identified (518 stars or 89%) are class B. Of all the hot emission-line stars in classes B-F, 130 or 22% are type B[e], characterised by the presence of forbidden emission lines such as [SII], [NII] and [OII]. We report on the physical location of these stars with reference to possible contamination from ambient HII emission. Along with flux calibration of the H-alpha emission we provide the first H-alpha luminosity function for selected sub-samples after correction for any possible nebula or ambient contamination. We find a moderate correlation between the intensity of H-alpha emission and the V magnitude of the central star based on SuperCOSMOS magnitudes and OGLE-II photometry where possible. Cool stars from classes G-S, with and without strong H-alpha emission, will be the focus of part 2 in this series.Comment: 24 pages (main paper) 36 figures, 6 tables; Appendix Tables: 22 pages, MNRAS, 201

Fault seal analysis of a natural CO2 reservoir in the Southern North Sea

AbstractA geomechanical and fault seal analysis of the fault-bound natural CO2 reservoir of the Fizzy Field, Southern North Sea, shows that reactivation of, and leakage along the bounding fault is unlikely. Reservoirs are juxtaposed along the fault but shale-gouge ratio calculations indicate that the fault rock prohibits across-fault leakage of CO2. This study illustrates that, even though the fault is orientated favourably for reactivation relative to present day stress and uncertainties about the geometries remain, fault seal is not the limiting factor in retention of CO2 at the Fizzy field

Tamoxifen for prevention of breast cancer: extended long-term follow-up of the IBIS-I breast cancer prevention trial

© Cuzick et al. Open Access article distributed under the terms of CC BY.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(14)71171-

Effects of a LPG stove and fuel intervention on adverse maternal outcomes: a multi-country randomized controlled trial conducted by the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN)

Household air pollution from solid cooking fuel use during gestation has been associated with adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes. The Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial was a randomized controlled trial of free liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stoves and fuel in Guatemala, Peru, India, and Rwanda. A primary outcome of the main trial was to report the effects of the intervention on infant birth weight. Here we evaluate the effects of a LPG stove and fuel intervention during pregnancy on spontaneous abortion, postpartum hemorrhage, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and maternal mortality compared to women who continued to use solid cooking fuels. Pregnant women (18-34 years of age; gestation confirmed by ultrasound at 9-19 weeks) were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 1593) or control (n = 1607) arm. Intention-to-treat analyses compared outcomes between the two arms using log-binomial models. Among the 3195 pregnant women in the study, there were 10 spontaneous abortions (7 intervention, 3 control), 93 hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (47 intervention, 46 control), 11 post postpartum hemorrhage (5 intervention, 6 control) and 4 maternal deaths (3 intervention, 1 control). Compared to the control arm, the relative risk of spontaneous abortion among women randomized to the intervention was 2.32 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.60, 8.96), hypertensive disorders of pregnancy 1.02 (95% CI: 0.68, 1.52), postpartum hemorrhage 0.83 (95% CI: 0.25, 2.71) and 2.98 (95% CI: 0.31, 28.66) for maternal mortality. In this study, we found that adverse maternal outcomes did not differ based on randomized stove type across four country research sites