Characterization of indoor air quality and "sick buildings"

Notes the increased attention being paid to "sick buildings" of the irritating type. Occupants complain of deteriorated indoor air and subtle medical symptoms that may be related to the indoor air. The problem seems to coincide with energy economising. To evaluate the actual quality of the air in a building it is necessary to conduct field studies with mobile investigation units, taking representative air samples for immediate sensory and chemical analysis.

Sick buildings - a new environmental problem.

Defines "sick buildings" and describes sensory symptoms reported. Both laboratory research and field trials have been carried out, using a mobile environment chamber, gas dosing equipment, an air analysis laboratory and computer systems. Pattern analysis of indoor air samples indicate importance of interrelationship between a large number of chemical substances and several different sensory perceptions. Lists current research.

Case study of a sick building

Demonstrates that complaints by office staff about their physical environment are not necessarily caused by physical deficiencies. Trying to reduce the level of complaints by adjusting heating ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems can therefore be an unrewarding task. Greater attention needs to be placed on - communications between management, those responsible for running HVAC systems and staff. Staff need the feeling that they can influence, if not control, their environment. Staff should also have more realistic expectations about their thermal comfort.

Sick building syndrome

Random samples of the workforces of an air conditioned and naturally ventilated building were interviewed using a doctor administered questionnaire. Large and statistically significant excesses of work-related nasal symptoms, irritation of the eyes, dry throat, headache, dry skin andlethargy were detected in the air conditioned building compared to the naturally ventilated building. In the air conditioned building, over 36% of those interviewed were suffering from a single symptom and few workers were symptom free.

An office environment - problems and improvements

The employees in a large office in Trondheim were complaining about headache, tiredness, sickness, allergic reactions in eye and nose, dry skin, respiratory diseases etc., and as usual they believed that their inconvenience was due tothe ventilating system. However, preliminary investigations did not verify this assumption, although it was evident that the heating and ventilating system was part of the problems. Measures included reduction of room temperature, antistatic treatment of carpets, and replacement of noisy ceiling diffusers.

Mould growth inside buildings

The mould growth inside buildings merits study both in its own right as a natural phenomenon, and because it easily becomes airborne and might pose ahealth problem for certain individuals. The numbers and types of the airborne mycoflora inside buildings depend on air exchange with the outside and the presence of an endogenous mould population. Without intramural mould sources, indoor mould spore levels do, to a major degree, reflect outdoor levels.

The office environment - how dangerous?

During the past few years it has become apparent that office environment problems have reached epidemic proportions. The Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Community Medicine in 1963 was empowered by the State Legisl

Controlling indoor air pollution from tobacco smoke - models and measurements

Examines the effects of smoking rate, ventilation, surface deposition, and air cleaning on the indoor concentrations of respirable particulate matter and carbon monoxide generated by cigarette smoke. A general mass balance model is presented which has been extended to include the concept of ventilation efficiency. Following a review of the source and removal terms associated with respirable particulates and carbon monoxide, we compare model predictions to various health guidelines.

Radon emission - from materials or the ground?

The problem of radon emission in buildings first came to light at the end of the 1970s, when a report by the Swedish National Institute of Radiation Protection revealed high radon daughter concentrations in some houses. Temporary limits on permitted concentrations in different types of dwellings were imposed in Sweden. They were related to the age of dwellings, due to the known historical use of alum shale in lightweight concrete.

Coping with radon

Notes that the Department of the Environment is considering the implications of imposing limits for the maximum annual dose of radiation to which occupants of existing and new homes should be exposed, as recommended by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution in its report of 1984. Describes radon's properties and origins in buildings, where levels are at least ten times higher than outdoors. The occupants of some homes, chiefly on granitic soils, receive up to 100 times the national average dose from radon. Explains the units used when discussing radon.

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