Healthful Homes, Schools, & Workplaces
Healthier buildings means healthier communities.
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Visit the links we’ve supplied to learn more.
Download our educational resources and share them with families, schools, and communities. Start with our Fast Look Checklists.
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The spaces where we live, learn, and work have a profound influence on our health. The quality of indoor air, drinking water, building materials, ventilation, lighting, cleaning products, and other environmental factors can affect respiratory health, cognitive function, comfort, productivity, and overall well-being
Because Americans spend approximately 90% of their time indoors, the quality of the environments where we live, learn, and work plays an important role in protecting health and preventing disease. Homes, schools, and workplaces should support health rather than contribute to unnecessary environmental exposures.
For more than two decades, EHHI has examined how indoor environments affect human health. Through research, education, and policy engagement, we work to promote healthier buildings and reduce environmental exposures in the places where people spend their everyday lives.
Why It Matters
Environmental exposures inside homes, schools, and workplaces are often overlooked because they are less visible than outdoor pollution. Yet indoor environments may contain pollutants from building materials, furnishings, cleaning products, pesticides, combustion sources, mold, moisture, and inadequate ventilation.
Children may be especially vulnerable because schools are where they spend a significant portion of their day during critical periods of development. Likewise, workplace environmental quality can influence employee health, productivity, and well-being.
Creating healthier indoor environments benefits individuals, families, educators, employers, and communities while helping reduce preventable environmental health risks.
What You Should Know
Indoor Air Quality Matters
Indoor air may contain pollutants from cooking, heating systems, cleaning products, tobacco smoke, mold, combustion appliances, and building materials. Improving ventilation and reducing indoor pollutants can have immediate health benefits. Learn more at these websites: ALA, CDC
Healthy Schools Support Healthy Children
School environments influence learning, attendance, respiratory health, and overall well-being. Air quality, drinking water, cleaning products, playgrounds, and building maintenance all influence healthy learning environments. Learn more at these websites: EPA, NIEHS
Building Materials and Consumer Products Can Affect Indoor Environments
Building materials, furnishings, flooring, paints, and household products may release chemicals into indoor environments. Choosing safer materials and maintaining good ventilation can help reduce exposure. Learn more at these websites: EPA, NIESH
Mold and Moisture Require Attention
Excess moisture and mold can contribute to respiratory symptoms, allergies, and asthma. Addressing water intrusion promptly helps maintain healthier indoor environments. Learn more at these websites: EPA, CDC
Prevention Matters
Many indoor environmental health risks can be reduced through proper building maintenance, ventilation, moisture control, informed product choices, and regular inspection. Learn more at these websites: EPA (overview), EPA (protecting air quality)
Our Work
EHHI has examined how homes, schools, and workplaces influence human health through research, education, and policy engagement.
Areas of work have included:
- Healthy schools
- Indoor air quality
- Diesel exhaust and school buses
- Artificial turf
- Building materials
- Consumer products
- Mold and moisture
- Healthy homes
- School environmental health
- Workplace environmental quality
Through reports, educational materials, scientific reviews, and policy recommendations, we have helped increase public understanding of healthier indoor environments and opportunities to reduce environmental exposures.
Featured Resources
Please download and read these important publications.
Our Recommendations
Creating healthier indoor environments requires collaboration among families, schools, employers, builders, facility managers, and policymakers.
National Government
- Continue supporting research on healthy buildings and indoor environmental quality.
- Update indoor air quality guidance for schools, childcare facilities, and public buildings.
- Encourage the use of safer building materials with lower chemical emissions.
- Expand funding for healthy school and healthy building initiatives nationwide.
State & Provincial Government
- Adopt indoor air quality standards for schools and public buildings.
- Support routine testing of school drinking water and indoor air quality.
- Encourage radon testing programs for homes, schools, and childcare facilities.
- Promote healthy building practices in state-funded construction and renovation projects.
Local Government
- Encourage schools to inspect and maintain HVAC systems regularly.
- Support community programs that improve parks, playgrounds, and public buildings.
- Promote integrated pest management in schools and municipal buildings.
- Educate residents about healthier homes, schools, and workplaces through local outreach programs.
Individuals
To help reduce your exposure to plastics, microplastics, and nanoplastics, you can:
- Change HVAC filters according to manufacturer recommendations.
- Use kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans to improve ventilation.
- Test your home for radon if recommended in your area.
- Address water leaks and mold as soon as they are discovered.
- Choose low-VOC paints, flooring, and building materials during renovations.
- Remove shoes at the door to reduce tracking pesticides, lead, and other contaminants indoors.
- Use fragrance-free or lower-toxicity cleaning products.
- Vacuum regularly using a HEPA-filter vacuum.
- Test private well water regularly if your home relies on a private well.
- Check local air quality forecasts before outdoor activities during wildfire smoke or poor air quality events.
- Encourage your child's school or workplace to maintain healthy indoor environments through parent-teacher organizations and the like.
- Download our Fast Look Checklists to help create healthier indoor environments.
Current Developments
Explore these authoritative websites for the latest developments in emerging research, policy developments, and environmental health issues affecting the places we live, learn, and work.
- Healthy Schools Initiatives: Schools continue improving ventilation and drinking water quality.Visit ScienceDirect.
- Healthy Building Design: Architects and engineers are incorporating healthier building materials. Visit Nature.
- Indoor Environmental Quality: Research continues to examine healthier indoor environments and productivity. Visit Harvard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is indoor air quality important?
Indoor air quality can affect respiratory health, allergies, asthma, comfort, and overall well-being because people spend the vast majority of their time indoors. Visit EPA to learn more.
What factors indicate a healthful school environment?
Healthy schools provide clean air, safe drinking water, well-maintained buildings, appropriate ventilation, and healthy learning environments. Visit EPA to learn more.
How can I improve the health of my home?
Actions such as improving ventilation, addressing moisture problems, changing air filters, testing for radon, and choosing safer household products can improve indoor environmental quality. Visit EPA to learn more.
Are healthier workplaces good for business?
Research suggests that healthier workplaces can improve employee well-being, reduce absenteeism, and enhance productivity. Visit CDC to learn more.
Do Americans spend a lot of time indoors?
Americans spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors, making indoor environmental quality an important public health issue. Because so much of our daily lives are spent inside homes, schools, and workplaces, improving these environments can play an important role in protecting health and preventing disease.
Download our Fast Look Checklist to help create healthier indoor environments.