The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the University of Colorado Boulder $1 million to evaluate the impacts of climate change, including increased wildfires, on indoor air quality and health in low-income Denver area neighborhoods.
A team of faculty and students will evaluate the effects of weatherization programs, including changes in respiratory health that may be tied to indoor air pollution created by wildfires, said CU-Boulder Professor Shelly Miller, principal investigator on the project. Studies have shown that as temperatures in Colorado and the West rise from manmade, heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and drought conditions continue, wildfires will continue to increase.