Carbon dioxide, particulates and subjective human responses in office buildings without histories of indoor air quality problems.

States that carbon dioxide measurements are commonly used to indicate fresh air in a building, also particulate levels. The study's aim was to evaluate the relationship between carbon dioxide and particulate levels and subjective human responses in office building without previous or present indoor air problems. Six separate ventilation zones were defined and carbon dioxide and particulate measurements taken with direct-reading instruments. A self-reporting questionnaire, designed in Sweden was used for the subjective human responses.

The sick building syndrome (SBS) in office workers. A case-referent study of personal, psychosocial and building-related risk indicators.

The Office Illness Project in Northern Sweden was completed in 1994. It comprised a screening questionnaire study of 4943 office workers and a case-referent study of Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) in 464 subjects. Female gender, asthma/rhinitis, high psychosocial work load, paper and visual display terminal work have all been related in previously published results to an increased prevalence of sick building syndrome symptoms.

Associations between type of ventilation and air flow rates in office buildings and the risk of SBS-symptoms among occupants.

A cross-sectional questionnaire and field study of 160 Swedish office buildings and 260-2649 respondents (with case controls and prevalence comparisons) was made to assess the possible links between ventilation types, outdoor air flow rates and symptoms of Sick Building Syndrome. The ventilation rates proved to be higher than those required by most building codes and consisted of outdoor air inflow of 17 14L/p and 2.0 1.3 air changes/h.

Sick building syndrome in a Canadian office complex.

There had been complaints of Sick Building Syndrome symptoms by employees in a large sealed office complex in Ottowa, Canada ever since it had opened. This prompted a comprehensive survey by questionnaire coupled with limited environmental measurements. Most respondents complained of irritation of the upper respiratory tract, the eyes and skin as well as various other health problems. These began shortly after coming to work in the building and were troublesome only during work; moving to other work in other parts of the complex made no difference.

Building-related asthma in Denver office workers.

An epidemiological study was instigated by reports from a Denver office building of cases of building-related asthma and hyper-sensitivity pneumonitis. The methodology used was a cross-sectional and self-administered questionnaire completed by workers in this building and a similar one in the suburbs. The Denver workers showed a much higher rate of respiratory disease than the suburban workers (512 compared to 281).

Outbreak of Japanese encephalitis on the island of Saipan, 1990.

This was a study of the possible causes of an outbreak of encephalitis on Saipan in October 1990. The virus was not isolated but patients seroconverted to Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus, suggesting the first known outbreak of the disease on American territory since 1947. Ten cases were found in a population of 40,000. In a survey after the outbreak, the prevalence of antibody to JE virus was 4.2% among 234 native Saipan residents. Risk factors for infection were age, crowded living conditions and lack of air conditioning.

Respiratory disease among military personnel in Saudi Arabia during operation Desert Shield.

Th is paper exmined whether US military personnel during Operation Desert Shield were adversely affected by respiratory disease due to crowded living conditions and high levels of suspended and blowing sand. The research was based on a questionnaire given to 2598 combatants stationed in North East Saudi Arabia for a mean of 102 days. Surface sand was analyzed from seven locations by scanning, electron microscopy and X Ray diffraction.

High prevalence of sick building syndrome in a new air-conditioned building in Italy.

This study compared the prevalence of sick building syndrome among two groups of public service workers in Perugia, central Italy. 525 were employed in an air conditioned building with fan-coil units in every room and 281 in three naturally ventilated buildings. All the subjects completed a questionnaire about work-related SBS symptoms with an occupational medicine specialist.

No difference in rates of absenteeism between workers in air-conditioned offices and naturally ventilated ones: a data base study.

Air conditioning systems are often held to have effects upon the workforce. This research tried to assess whether continuous exposure to air-conditioning during working hours had any observable effect on health or not. A comparison was made of absence due to sickness recorded by the employers' doctors over two years in two groups of workers employed in similar jobs in the French National Electric and Gas Company in Western France. One group spent most of their time in air conditioned offices but the other worked in a natural atmosphere.

The feasibility of using a double blind experimental cross-over design to study interventions for sick building syndrome.

The study of the causes of Sick Building Syndrome and its possible solutions have been bedevilled by methodological problems. This pilot study assessed the viability of using an expermental double blind cross-over study to overcome such difficulties. The experiment involved varying the rate of supply of outdoor air from 10 cubic feet per minute per person (cfmpp) to 20 cfmpp or 50 cfmpp by controlling the building's heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems.

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