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Max Kirk, Ph.D., Washington State University
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Brian Lamb, Washington State University
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Shelley Pressley, Washington State University
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Tom Jobson, Washington State University
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Von Walden, Washington State University
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Diane Cook, Washington State University
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Madeline Fuchs, Washington State University
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Patrick O'Keeffe, Washington State University
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Yibo Huangfu, Washington State University
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Nathan Lima, Washington State University
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Beiyu Lin, Washington State University
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Weather patterns around the globe have been influenced by climate change, often contributing to adverse effects in outdoor air quality. Efforts to improve energy efficiency in homes and buildings have led to tighter structures. However, these changes can also produce negative consequences for indoor air quality (IAQ) and human health. One of the dramatic effects of climate change and weather is the increase in destructive wildfires, such as those experienced in the Pacific Northwest over the summers of 2014 and 2015. Much literature and conjecture predict that these types of fires are expected to increase in intensity, not only in the Northwest, but in other wildfire-prone areas as well. This raises the following questions: What is the expected performance of homes and IAQ under forecast changes in weather patterns predicted by climate change? What chemicals were present in smoke that traveled hundreds of miles from the fires and infiltrated IAQ test homes? What was the IAQ in these test homes before, during, and after the wildfire events? This paper presents data for two houses during periods with and without wildfire impacts with very high levels of smoke in the region.
