Deputy Director National Center for Healthy Housing Columbia, Maryland
Whether your idea of cooking is making a 5-course meal, popping popcorn, or something in-between, the activity of cooking creates airborne particles that can have an adverse impact on your health. Throw in a gas stove, and the byproducts of the cooking process can create serious respiratory risks and even increase the risk of cancer. Opening a window may not be enough to address these hazards, especially as we create tighter homes. This session will offer a brief overview of the hazards found in kitchens, the limitations of some mitigation approaches, and then offer practical, evidence-based guidance on ways to create safer kitchen indoor air for your clients. We will give tips on how people can get the most of whatever equipment they have and tips to the contractors on how to set people up for success. The session will discuss approaches for both single-family and multifamily properties.
Learning Objectives:
By attending this session, attendees will:
Be able to name contaminants generated in kitchens, their sources, and their health effects
Understand methods of kitchen contaminant mitigation that have been used with limited effect
Describe evidence-based approaches to reduce kitchen contaminant levels
