Keynote Presenter:  

Eileen Storey, M.D., M.P.H
National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health

8:15 a.m., Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Augusta Civic Center, Augusta, Maine

Amid the considerable research on how climate change may affect public health, one subject has received relatively little attention—the impact of climate change on indoor environments. As the world’s climate changes, buildings that were designed to operate under the “old” climatic conditions may not function well under the “new”—affecting the health of those who live, work, study, or play in them.

The 2012 Conference Keynote Presentation features Dr. Eileen Storey, Chief of the Surveillance Branch of the Division of Respiratory Disease Studies at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Dr. Storey will present the findings of a recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report that summarizes the current state of scientific understanding of the effects of climate change on indoor air and public health.  The IOM report concludes that climate change influences indoor environmental quality, warranting attention and action.

Highlights of Dr. Storey's presentation include:

• Poor indoor environmental quality is creating health problems today and impairs the ability of occupants to work and learn.
   
• Climate change may worsen existing indoor environmental problems and introduce new problems.
   
• There are opportunities to improve public health while mitigating or adapting to alterations in indoor environmental quality induced by climate change.

Following Dr. Storey's presentation, a responder panel of Maine practitioners will provide insight into what this information might mean for Maine.

The Responder Panel:
 

Michael Pulaski, Ph.D., LEED AP BD + C
Thornton Tomasetti Fore Solutions
Portland, Maine
 

Leslie Walleigh, M.D., MPH
Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention
Augusta, Maine

About Eileen Storey, MD, MPH

Eileen Storey, MD, MPH is Chief of the Surveillance Branch of the Division of Respiratory Disease Studies at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Branch summarizes information relating to the incidence, prevalence, and mortality of occupational respiratory diseases; describes patterns of specific diseases within occupations and industries; and develops methods to monitor specific working populations at risk for respiratory disease.

Prior to joining NIOSH, Dr. Storey was on the faculty at the University of Connecticut Health Center, where she practiced occupational medicine, taught medical students and public health students, and conducted research focused on indoor environments and respiratory disease. As Chief of the Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, she directed the Center for Indoor Environments and Health.

She was a member of the Institute of Medicine Committee on the Effect of Climate Change on Indoor Air Quality and Public Health. The IOM issued a report “Climate Change, the Indoor Environment, and Health” in 2011.

Dr. Storey completed her Medical Degree and MPH at Harvard University in 1978, Internal Medicine training at West Virginia University in 1981, and is board certified in Internal Medicine and Occupational Medicine.