Building, sick, syndrome

TABLE 18-7. Names applied to building-related illness  

TABLE 18-8. Building-related illnesses and their causes 

Source. Data collected from Bardana Jr. 1992 Bardana Jr. et al. 1988 Colligan 1981. 

TABLE 18-9. Common symptoms of sick building syndrome  

Decreased concentration and memory Ocular complaints, including dry eyes 

SBS has been associated with airborne biological and chemical components, including bioaerosols, VOCs released from building materials and furnishings, personal use products (e.g., perfumes), and environmental tobacco smokeJ2  

Many studies have been carried out to identify the symptoms associated with SBS. References [3-6] are representative of these. Table 12.1 was compiled from these and other sources as well as from the experiences of this writer with SBS. It should be noted that the symptoms listed in Table 12.1 are composites of many reports. All are not found at any one site. Also, though the symptoms are those self-reported by the occupants of the sick buildings surveyed, they have been given credence because multiple individuals, often without contact with one another, have reported identical symptoms. 

Paints currently used for indoor application are now almost exclusively waterborne. Most of these fall into the following categories [11]  

In addition to water, these paints contain biocides, surfactants, pigments, monomers, coalescing solvents, driers, and volatile additives [3, 12]. Volatile components contained in these include aldehydes, aliphatic hydrocarbons (straight chain and cychc), aromatic hydrocarbons, esters, ethers, glycol ethers, glycol ether esters, and halogenated hydrocarbons. Some of these materials are listed in Table 12.4. 

Exposure to waterborne paints is known to induce acute and chronic dermal, respiratory, and CNS effects [11]. All the chemicals listed in Table 12.4 are individually toxic [13] and mixtures of many of these are known to induce unanticipated toxic effects in humans [14]. 

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Avoiding sick building syndrome requires special consideration of building constmction and maintenance material used. Asbestos, organic solvents, paint sprays, dirty filters, moist environment caused by poorly maintained humidifiers, and dirty HVAC machinery have contributed to the deterioration of indoor air quahty. Nonstop quahty maintenance is required at all times. 

The condition is usually non-specific and seldom traced to a single cause. This has been termed sick building syndrome. Despite much research, little has been proven but the building features associated with the condition are ... 

HS(Gjl32 How to deal with sick building syndrome - guidance for employers, building owners and building... 

Sick Building Syndrome Term that refers to a set of symptoms that affect some number of building occupants during the time they spend in the building and diminish or go away during periods when they leave the building. Cannot be traced... 

Building related illness (BRl) Any health problem related to poor air quality, due to equipment malfunction or contaminants in buildings. See also Sick building syndrome (SBS). 

Tight building syndrome See Sick building syndrome (SBS). 

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) A varied group of pollutants that are liberated from certain synthetic building materials and fabrics. They are assumed to be responsible for some of the aspects of sick building syndrome. 

As the science of indoor air quality has matured, indoor air professionals have realized that many indoor air contaminants and the associated health effects are linked to specific types of buildings and their characteristics. For example, radon is primarily an indoor air concern in homes because of the ease with which it can be transported inside residential construction from the soil beneath. On the other hand. Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) primarily afflicts office building occupants who experience acute health and comfort effects that appear to be linked to time spent in a specific building. 

SICK BUILDING SYNDROME A group of symptoms more common in workers in certain buildings and which are temporarily related to working in them. Symptoms include lethargy, tiredness, headache also sore/dry eyes, dry throat, dry skin, symptoms suggestive of asthma, blocked or runny nose. Cause is multifunctional but does include agents encountered in the workplace. 

A case in which the toxin or appropriate metabolite is detected in urine, serum, or plasma, or detection of the specific toxin in environmental samples unless there could be a local source of the toxin (e.g., the molds that produce mycotoxins have been found in some residential and industrial settings, and the toxins have been implicated in some cases of "sick building" syndrome). 

Mahmoudi, M. and Gershwin M.E. Sick building syndrome. III. Stachybotrys chartarum. J. Asthma 37, 191, 2000. 

I did for all those years before I started my sick school syndrome consulting business. I wound up doing a lot of writing about nutrition and food. That kind of laid the groundwork because then I had the facility for writing when I learned about environmental illness and sick building syndrome and sick school syndrome. 

If I m having a bad day I sometimes still write, unless a reaction to a chemical is affecting my brain. When I can t think clearly, I can t write. And sometimes I feel so apathetic that I can t write. But I m thankful that I have the skill. I think education is so important to prevent others from getting this illness. I believe that chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, sick building syndrome and similar conditions with other names are all forms of MCS. They ll find that out with more studies. People just don t know what s wrong with them. They think they ve got asthma, depression, attention deficit disorder and a lot of other problems that can be related to chemical exposures. 

Chemical Sensitivity A Guide to Coping with Hypersensitivity Syndrome, Sick Building Syndrome and Other Environmental Illnesses. Bonnye L. Matthews. Jefferson, NC McFarland, 1992. 

Aheam DG, Crow SA, Simmons RB, et al. 1996. Fungal colonization of fiberglass insulation in the air distribution system of a multi-story office building VOC production and possible relationship to a sick building syndrome. J Ind Microbiol 16 280-285. 

Sundell J. 1996. What we know, and don t know, about sick building syndrome. ASHRAE Journal 38(6) 51 -57. 

Phenol and other volatile organic compounds were measured in the air of 50 homes or apartments in Finland (Kostiainen 1995). The average concentration was 0.23 ppb, with a range of 0-0.77 ppb. Phenol levels were not significantly higher in houses in which people complained of symptoms that resembled those of a sick building syndrome. 

Camarasa and Serra-Baldrich [94] reported allergic contact dermatitis after repeated contact with TPP-treated plastics. Meeker and Stapleton [95] indicated endocrine disruptive properties for TPP and TDCiPP, through a negative correlation with semen quality and thyroid hormone levels, respectively. Kanazawa et al. [71] associated mucosal symptoms of the sick building syndrome with high indoor exposure to TBP. These symptoms include irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat symptoms such as flushing, and mucosal symptoms such as irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat the latter symptoms were strongly associated with TBP levels in air and dust. 

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