Indoor Air Quality
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Sick Building Syndrome
The affected people had many and varied symptoms, but the cause was unknown. When the number of complaints grew, medical scientists began to search for the cause. Because the workers or the residents are usually without or with milder symptoms when they are outside of a particular building or a particular room, it is clear that the office or the home has to take the blame. But what is the precise source and what are the specific symptoms associated with it?
Results of an investigation conducted by the US National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) show some of the main areas of concern for Sick Building Syndrome: inadequate ventilation (52%), significant indoor pollution (16%), significant inside pollution from outside sources (10%), microbial contamination (5%), and building materials and furnishings (4%). About half of the test results show inadequate ventilation as a factor.
The staggering number of possible sources, the variety of symptoms, and the different reactions of individuals to the same cause, makes diagnosing Sick Building Syndrome a challenge.
The list of symptoms is long, but chiefly involves general discomfort, irritated mucous membranes in eyes, nose and throat, respiratory problems, and allergic reactions. Health problems may only be temporary during e.g. renovation or redecoration, when new or more pollutants are introduced to the indoor air.
We spend most of our lives indoors and our modern homes and offices are, therefore,
designed and constructed to be energy efficient and comfortable. Air conditioning,
heating systems, humidifiers, and air cleaners replace the 'old-
When these systems are poorly designed or maintained, or when they don't operate, indoor air pollutants quickly build up. In addition, building materials, furniture, cleaning substances, and pesticides add complex chemical mixtures to the indoor air. The air in our 'home sweet home' has become a chemical and dusty soup which causes illnesses that were unknown less than fifty years ago.
Within the last thirty years, an increasing number of office workers and building residents complained of discomfort, fatigue, headache, allergic reactions and other health problems.
Specific Health Problems
