Authorizing the Committee on the Environment to conduct public hearings to investigate the relationship between poor Indoor Environmental Quality and high incidences of childhood asthma.

WHEREAS, The Committee on the Environment is responsible for all matters relating to air and water quality in the City of Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) refers to the quality of a building's environment in relation to the health and wellbeing of those who occupy space within it; and

WHEREAS, IEQ is determined by many factors, including lighting, air quality, and damp conditions; and

WHEREAS, Asthma is a respiratory condition that affects over 25 million Americans and is the most common chronic disease among children according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and

WHEREAS, Childhood asthma affects 8.3% of all children in the United States and is significantly more prevalent in low-income and minority communities as it affects over 14% of African American children; and

WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Department of Public Health estimated in 2014 that the child asthma hospitalization rate in Philadelphia in 2010 was higher than 10%, a rate which had more than doubled since 2000; and

WHEREAS, Indicators of IEQ including mold associated with water leaks, poor ventilation and pest infestation have been linked to the development of childhood asthma; and

WHEREAS, The 2009 American Community Survey indicated that Philadelphia had a higher prevalence of substandard housing conditions than the national average and conditions such as water leaks and pest infestation were found at higher rates in low-income and minority households; and

WHEREAS, Research from the National Institutes of Health has shown that children living in homes with reported water leaks were over 150% more likely to develop asthma than those living in homes without leaks; and

WHEREAS, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation estimates that approximately forty percent of diagnosed asthma among children can be attributed to exposures to residential factors; and

WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Department of Public Health has engaged in efforts to abate residential conditions that contribute to childhood asthma development, including the Healthy Homes Healthy Kids Program; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That Council’s Committee on the Environment is hereby authorized to hold hearings to investigate the relationship between poor Indoor Environmental Quality and high incidences of childhood asthma.

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