Sick building syndrome exposures

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. 

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. 

Molliave, L. (2000b) Volatile organic compounds and the sick building syndrome, in Environmental Toxicants. Human Exposures and Their Health Effects, 2nd edn (ed. M. Lippmann), John Wiley Sons, Inc., New York, USA, pp. 889-903. 

Stachybotrys chartarum (previously also called S. atrd), the fungal cause of stachybotryotoxicosis and sick building syndrome, is a black mold. There are two toxic chemo-types of S. chartarum, one elaborating highly toxic macrocyclic trichothecenes and the other less toxic atra-nones and simple, but not macrocychc, trichothecenes (Andersen et al, 2002). Exposure may be by ingestion, e.g. exposure to contaminated straw, or inhalation as when mold grows in water-damaged homes or air ducts. 

Sick building syndrome (SBS) is a term used to describe office worker discomfort and medical symptoms related to buildings and pollutant exposures, work organization, and personal risk factors. A wide range of definitions exists. Symptoms commonly considered integral parts of the syndrome are listed in Table 1. In recent years, with increased understanding, odors have generally been dropped from the list and chest symptoms have been included under mucous membrane irritation. 

Formaldehyde is a major contributor to many cases of sick building syndrome. It is a very toxic chemical that is corrosive to the skin, eyes, and the respiratory system. Acute or chronic exposure can result in difficulty breathing and even brief exposures can induce asthmatic reactions in sensitized individuals. 13 Exposures to mixtures of formaldehyde and lipophilic chemicals can result in unanticipated toxic effects. 14 Formaldehyde is an animal carcinogen, a suspected human nasal cancer carcinogen 29 and suspected human leukemogen. 3°1... 

Table 17.1 Chemicals of Exposure in a Sick Building Syndrome Simulation Study on Healthy Volunteers,[4,51 and the Kow Values of These Chemicals...

Lilis R Diseases associated with exposure to chemical substances organic compounds, in Public Health and Preventive Medicine. Edited by Last JM, Wallace RB. Norwalk, CT, Appleton Lange, 1992, pp 403-454 Lyles WB, Greve KW, Bauer RM, et al Sick building syndrome. South Med J 84 65-71, 1991... 

Chester AC, Levine PH The natural history of concurrent sick building syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome. J Psychiatr Res 31 51-57,1997 Cone J, Suit TA Acquired intolerance to solvents following pesticide/solvent exposure in a building a new group of workers at risk for multiple chemical sensitivities. Toxicol Ind Health 8 29-39,1992... 

Medical attention has focused on the Sick Building Syndrome, where inhalational exposure to a wide variety of chemicals used in the construction and maintenance of modern buildings may be making some individuals sick. The one common denominator among these individuals (as well as in other cases of MCS) is inhalational exposure and a central role for our sense of smell... 

Norback D., Edling C., Wieslander G. and Ramadhan S. (1993) Exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the general Swedish population and its relation to perceived air quality and sick building syndrome. Proceedings of Indoor Air 93, Helsinki, Finland, Vol. 1, 573-578. 

Many suspicions, but only a small amount of scientific data demonstrate a correlation between environmental diseases , e. g., sick building syndrome and solvent exposure. 

Historians of medicine have paid important and considerable attention to how microbes have become objects of fear, management, and regulation since the advent of germ theory, shaping the habits of popular culture as well as the practice of medicine for over a century. We understand far less about how chemical exposures similarly came to populate the twentiefh-century world as cultural objects of attention and practice. Sick building syndrome exemplifies the ways ej osures became part of everyday American fife. 

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