Burning fossil fuels for heating and water heating in Oregon homes and buildings generates as much lung-damaging nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution as the state’s cement manufacturing and power generation combined. Communities of color across the state are disproportionately impacted by air pollution from homes and buildings.
That’s the conclusion of a new report, Oregon’s Hidden Air Pollution Problem: Fossil Fuels in Buildings, from Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, Verde, Beyond Toxics, Oregon Sierra Club and RMI. State and regional policymakers in Oregon can gradually eliminate this pollution by setting a healthy air standard for HVAC and water heating equipment. Such a standard would ensure only pollution-free technologies could be sold or installed in homes when a fossil fuel heating system burns out.