Quick Dips

Sick Building Syndrome

Leifer, Dr David

While sick building syndrome (SBS) has become a recognised term, appropriate management practices are lacking in an area where accurate, effective diagnosis and response remains difficult. Researchers at the University of Auckland have discovered that there are a number of factors at work.

SBS is not the same as a building-related illness (BRI). SBS symptoms disappear soon after vacating the "sick" building, whereas building-related illnesses endure and the effects of the causes can be diagnosed by medical practitioners.

The symptoms of SBS are non-specific, and include nasal stuffiness, irritation and runniness; dry, itchy or burning eyes; dry skin; lethargy; headaches; exacerbated disorders such as asthma, exzema and so on. One report includes "tiredness in the evening" as a symptom -- on the strength of which we could all conclude that we work in sick buildings!

In any large group there will be a small number of people who are highly sensitive to at least one of the factors in the environment, and a small number who are virtually immune to them. Add to this the effect that work stress has on an individual's threshold of tolerance, and a very confusing picture emerges.

Indoor air quality has dominated the building health debate as studies have indicated that ensuring a building's ventilation system is working properly cures about 90% of the complaints. This is due to the removal or dilution of contaminants present in the air.

It is worth noting that filtration systems on air-conditioning plant are generally provided to protect the equipment, rather than the occupant's health. Moreover, it is the small-sized respirable particles which we would like to exclude, but which are the ones which most easily slip through filters.

Ironically, conventional vacuum cleaners lift small particles from the carpet where they have settled and disperse them back into the respirable zone from which they will slowly settle to the floor overnight.

Although air quality is important, the full picture of building health includes temperature, daylighting, acoustics, electromagnetic radiation and ergonomic furniture. Even the geometrical form of the space, and colours of surfaces can be shown to effect individual's perceptual abilities.

Health and Safety in the Workplace legislation was enacted to curtail the excesses of some building owners. However, some "cowboys" are still there ignoring the legislation, whilst serious building owners are trying to find ways of satisfying the requirements of the Act.

In many respects the legislation demands that the prudent employers should be monitoring their employees health to a point irreconcilable with privacy legislation. Moreover, technologies for monitoring some potential hazards and airbourne contaminants don't yet exist.

The monitoring exercise undertaken by the university suggests that sick buildings are more often a case of poor management, rather than caused by something inherent in the building itself.

Dr David Leifer is in the Department of Architecture at the University of Auckland.