Revised Environmental Assessment : Proposed BPA Regionwide Weatherization Program.

Technical Report · Tue Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1981

OSTI ID:6079785

BPA proposes a 10-year program to encourage the weatherization of electrically-heated homes in the Pacific Northwest. Utilities may choose between two financial incentives: no-interest loans to finance weatherization within a BPA program package, or rebates to utilities for energy saved through utility designed and administered programs. This weatherization program may result in the degradation of indoor air quality and result in hazards to human health due to measures which reduce air infiltration in residence. As infiltration into residences is reduced, pollutants given off by building components, contents, and household activities accumulate in the air inside. Conversely, indoor concentrations of pollutants generated outside are reduced. Potentially hazardous indoor air pollutants include: radon and radon decay products, formaldehyde, particulates (including asbestos), nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons (especially benzo(a)pyrene), pesticides, organic chemicals, bacteria, and viruses. Research is underway at BPA and in numerous other locations to obtain measurements of pollutant concentrations and infiltration rates, to test the effectiveness of mitigation measures, and to better define the relationships between air infiltration, pollutant concentrations, and human health. With the exception of the indoor air quality impacts on human health, all of the potential adverse impacts of the program are minor. Five alternatives are considered in this Environmental Assessment.

• Research Organization: Bonneville Power Administration, Portland, OR (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6079785
• Report Number(s): DOE/NBM-6007218; ON: DE86007218
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
200200* -- Fossil-Fueled Power Plants-- Waste Management
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290300 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Environment
Health
& Safety
296000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Electric Power
530300 -- Environmental-Social Aspects of Energy Technologies-- Environmental Impact Statements-- (-1987)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION
Dwellings - Energy conservation - Environmental aspects
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
POLLUTION
PUBLIC UTILITIES
WEATHERIZATION