![]() ![]() Infiltration of outdoor contaminants: e.g., vehicle exhaust.Indoor contaminants: e.g., fumes from pesticides or office equipment.Inadequate ventilation: Results in “low levels of multiple contaminants.”.A NIOSH survey of 203 indoor spaces with SBS complaints found the following causes in order of frequency: Once you know what causes Sick Building Syndrome, it's not Sick Building Syndrome anymore, but rather a specific and solvable problem. Since the causes of Sick Building Syndrome are unknown by definition, your first job as a building manager is to determine the said cause. The key point is that one must take employee and tenant claims of health effects seriously, regardless of whether everyone is experiencing the same symptoms to the same degree. Some people may be exposed to more contaminants in the building than others and they may experience symptoms earlier than other people, or experience more severe symptoms.” For instance, someone with allergies sitting right next to a moldy air conditioning vent is far more likely to experience symptoms than someone without allergies sitting across the room. According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), “Some people may be more sensitive than others or have pre-existing health conditions. However, not everyone in the building needs to experience these symptoms for something to be wrong. ![]() Signs of Sick Building SyndromeĪccording to the EPA, the main sign of Sick Building Syndrome is people in the building complaining of non-life-threatening symptoms such as “headache eye, nose, or throat irritation dry cough dry or itchy skin dizziness and nausea difficulty in concentrating fatigue and sensitivity to odors.” We will use the official EPA definition for this article: “The term ‘sick building syndrome’ (SBS) is used to describe situations in which building occupants experience acute health and comfort effects that appear to be linked to time spent in a building, but no specific illness or cause can be identified.” In general, Sick Building Syndrome sufferers tend to feel better shortly after leaving the building. The term “Sick Building Syndrome” is sometimes used inconsistently (often, it is confused with the subject of the next article, Building-Related Illness). Business owners, are your employees complaining of headaches, nausea, or fatigue when they work from the office? Building managers, do your tenants call you to fix the HVAC system when nothing seems broken? If so, your employees and tenants may be suffering from Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). ![]()
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