RAPID: Understanding the Interrelationships Among Floods, Building Characteristics, Mold Growth and Occupants’ Asthma Symptoms in the Aftermath of Hurricane Ida

建筑物内广泛潮湿和霉菌生长是洪水最常见但被忽视的间接影响，对人类呼吸健康产生不利影响，特别是在哮喘患者中。由于气候变化、基础设施老化和人口快速增长，这些事件所构成的威胁预计在未来将加剧，使更广泛的社区面临洪水。目前，人们对洪水特征和驱动因素、建筑和暖通空调系统特性(例如通风率)、人类行为(例如在家中度过的时间)以及建筑环境，特别是在住宅建筑中易受霉菌生长(例如哮喘症状)之间的相互关系缺乏了解。飓风艾达是一次损失巨大的灾难性事件，它为研究这些相互关系创造了难得和独特的机会，因为它在短时间内造成了不同程度的洪水，并影响了人口结构和哮喘流行程度各不相同的广泛社区。这一快速反应研究补助金(RAPID)项目将收集美国西部、南部、中部和东北部地区飓风艾达过后的关键数据，以研究上述淹没或被水破坏的住宅建筑的相互关系。收集的数据和确定的关系可用于指导建筑设计师和职业健康科学家建立有弹性的室内环境，为开发洪水引发的霉菌生长和哮喘风险模型提供基础，帮助公共卫生官员和应急管理人员更好地了解洪水对健康的间接影响，并支持制定人口中心灾害管理的及时战略。我们的跨学科团队试图回答以下科学问题：(1)什么洪水特征和驱动因素、建筑和暖通空调系统特性以及人类行为导致住宅建筑中霉菌生长水平更高？(2)洪水过后，住在被水淹没或被水破坏的房子里对居民的哮喘症状有何影响？为了回答这些问题，我们将调查飓风艾达的后果，并收集必要的关键数据，以检查位于新奥尔良、纽约市和费城大都市地区的被水破坏和淹没的木制独栋房屋中与霉菌生长相关的人类呼吸道健康风险。我们将探索影响受灾难性飓风事件影响的两个遥远地区被淹没或被水破坏的建筑物中霉菌生长的一系列全面因素。将使用在线调查、全面问卷调查、房屋检查和现有数据集相结合的方式来收集有关洪水、呼吸健康和建筑环境的信息。该项目将开发一个统一的经验数据库，其中包括洪水特征和驱动因素、建筑和暖通空调系统属性、人类行为、霉菌生长和哮喘症状，这对于促进对洪水对建筑环境中人类呼吸健康影响的科学理解至关重要。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Extensive dampness and mold growth in buildings are some of the most common, yet overlooked indirect impacts of floods, which adversely affect the human respiratory health, particularly among asthmatic individuals. Threats posed by these events are anticipated to intensify in the future due to the climate change, aging infrastructures and rapid population growth, exposing a broader range of communities to flooding. There is currently a lack of understanding on interrelationships among flood characteristics and drivers, building and HVAC system properties (e.g., ventilation rates), human behaviors (e.g., time spent in homes) and vulnerability to mold growth (e.g., asthma symptoms) in the built environment, particularly in residential buildings. Hurricane Ida, a catastrophic event with huge losses, created a rare and unique opportunity to study these interrelationships since it caused various flood intensity levels within a short timeframe and affected a wide range of communities with diverse demographics and asthma prevalence. This Grants for Rapid Response Research (RAPID) project will collect critical data in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida across West South Central and Northeastern Regions of the US in order to study the abovementioned interrelationships in submerged or water-damaged residential buildings. The collected data and identified relationships can be used to guide building designers and occupational health scientists to establish resilient indoor environments, provide a foundation to develop flood-induced mold growth and asthma risk models, assist public health officials and emergency managers to have a better understanding of indirect health-related impacts of floods and support the development of timely strategies for disaster management in population centers. Our interdisciplinary team seeks to answer the following scientific questions: (1) what flood characteristics and drivers, building and HVAC system properties and human behaviors cause higher levels of mold growth in residential buildings? and (2) how does living in submerged or water-damaged houses after floods affect asthma symptoms among the residents? To answer these questions, we will investigate the aftermath of Hurricane Ida and collect critical data required for examining human respiratory health risks associated with mold growth in water-damaged and submerged wooden single-family houses located across New Orleans, New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas. We will explore a comprehensive range of factors influencing mold growth in submerged or water-damaged buildings of two distant regions affected by a catastrophic hurricane event. A combination of online surveys, comprehensive questionnaires, home inspections and existing datasets will be used to collect information on flooding, respiratory health and built environment. The project will develop a unified empirical database of flood characteristics and drivers, building and HVAC system properties, human behaviors, mold growth and asthma symptoms, which is essential to advance the scientific understanding of flood impacts on human respiratory health in the built environments.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.