Dander, Dust Mites, and Mold—Oh My!

PITTSBURGH—The indoors may seem like a refuge from environmental pollutants of the "great outdoors," but it is not without its own contaminants, such as tobacco smoke, mold, moisture, dust mites, lead, and animal dander. Pitt's Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) and Pitt's European Union Center (EUC), located within the University Center for International Studies, are gathering academicians and policy makers from European Union member states Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, and Poland as well as Canada and the United States to discuss methods for improving indoor environmental quality. The GSPH and EUC are cosponsors of a June 9 and 10 transatlantic policy conference, titled "Developing Policies to Improve Indoor Environmental Quality: Transatlantic Viewpoints," to be held at Pitt's Oakland campus.

The conference, which will consist of three sessions beginning at 8:30 a.m. each day, will address the difficulties in developing regulatory policies regarding indoor environmental qualities on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the steps necessary in developing policies to protect public health in the context of indoor environments. The sessions will explore current scientific knowledge of indoor environments and related health effects; public health interventions and economic considerations; and policy needs, impediments, and recommendations.

For more information and a detailed conference schedule, call 412-648-1110.

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