AMBIENT OZONE, HVAC FILTERS, AND BUILDING RELATED SYMPTOMS

Recent studies suggest the reactions between ozone and indoor materials and contaminants caninfluence human health and perceived indoor air quality within a building. This analysis uses datafrom the U.S. EPA Building Assessment Survey and Evaluation (BASE) study to determine if there is anassociation between increasing outdoor ozone concentrations and increased reporting of BuildingRelated Symptoms (BRS) by occupants. Multiple logistic regression (MLR) models, which adjustedfor personal, workplace and environmental variables, revealed statistically significant (p

Sick building syndrome: ventilation aspects.

Many occupants of a Swedish office building reported symptoms typical of sick building syndrome (SBS). Tests showed that the supply airflows were inadequate, but there was poor air movement in the rooms. Much of the supply air never reached the occupants but went direct to the exhaust system. Reducing the temperature of the supply air improved its dispersion. Instead of rising, the air sank towards the floor and then circulated through the entire room.

Negative impact of air pollution on productivity: previous Danish findings repeated in new Swedish test room.

The objective of this study was to test a new office space where the environmental conditions could be well controlled- a "field laboratory", located at Mid Sweden University in 6stersund. To test the laboratory, the same experiment that had been carried out earlier at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) was repeated. A further objective was to test whether the earlier results from DTU showing a negative impact of increased indoor air pollution on perceived air quality, Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) symptoms and performance could be repeated.

Productivity and indoor environment.

Surveys in several office buildings have shown that crowded work places, job dissatisfaction and physical environment are the main factors affecting productivity. the data was produced and analyzed using occupational stress indicator in conjunction with the analytical hierarchical process. thermal problems, stuffiness, sick building syndrome factors and crowded work places were most frequent complaints. the results suggest that the productivity could be improved by 4 to 10% by improving the office environmental conditions.

What causes sick building syndrome - sick workroom or sick dwelling?

The cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted in spring 1998 among indoor workers of 6 buildings in town Tartu, Estonia. The goal of this pilot study was to evaluate magnitude of possible problems related to indoor air quality in Estonian nonindustrial workrooms as well as in those workers' dwellings. Therefore, the questionnaire included questions about perceived indoor environment for both workplaces and homes.

Preventive measures and intervention on carpet removal and ventilation improvement in eleven schools.

An intervention study in eleven schools with approximately 1000 children age twelve to thirteen has been carried out in the period 1997 to 1999. Four schools with poor ventilation standard, three schools with carpets and four reference schools participated. In the schools with carpets, these have been removed and in the schools with poor ventilation systems, these have been upgraded to Norwegian standards for new buildings. A questionnaire was answered three times during a two-week period, asking how indoor environment-related symptoms were perceived.

Ranking of selected indoor chemical pollutants.

Numerous scientific studies show that indoors are the source of potentially harmful substances called indoor air pollutants. They come from various sources. Indoor levels are often much higher than outdoor level and most people spend the bulk of their time indoors. As indoor air pollution is relatively new problem, health and comfort problems are associated with it. The starting point for studies on constituents of the indoor environment is to realize that the problem to be solved is complex.