You are here:
Cultural and Technical Evaluation of Heating Alternatives to Improve Indoor Air Quality on the Navajo Nation
Citation:
Champion, W., P. Charley, K. Stewart, B. Klein, A. Denny, J. McKenzie, P. Solomon, AND L. Montoya. Cultural and Technical Evaluation of Heating Alternatives to Improve Indoor Air Quality on the Navajo Nation. AAAR Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, October 20 - 24, 2014.
Impact/Purpose:
The National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division (HEASD) conducts research in support of EPA mission to protect human health and the environment. HEASD research program supports Goal 1 (Clean Air) and Goal 4 (Healthy People) of EPA strategic plan. More specifically, our division conducts research to characterize the movement of pollutants from the source to contact with humans. Our multidisciplinary research program produces Methods, Measurements, and Models to identify relationships between and characterize processes that link source emissions, environmental concentrations, human exposures, and target-tissue dose. The impact of these tools is improved regulatory programs and policies for EPA.
Description:
In the Navajo Nation it is estimated that 62% of households use wood as their primary means of heating1. A 2010 study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Diné College found that in Shiprock, NM, the largest town in the Navajo Nation (pop. = 8,300)2, heating is often with wood stoves that are old, in poor condition, improperly vented, or inappropriate for the fuel used (coal)3. The USGS study suggested that the burden of respiratory disease in Shiprock may be reduced by changing indoor home heating behavior and by improving stove quality. This poster presents the results of a study evaluating the options available to reduce public health and environmental impacts from wood and coal use for home heating in the Navajo Nation. The methods and results of this study may be useful for decision makers in other communities heavily reliant on solid fuels for heating, particularly in rural communities and other Native American Nations.
