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Health & Safety... Making it workIndoor Air Pollution Taking Stock of the Office Air The photocopy machine is pumping out ozone fumes, and the pressboard office furniture is leaking formaldehyde gas. There are exotic organics in the synthetic carpets and drapes, volatile solvents in the cleaning cupboard, and toxic toner cartridges in the secretary’s desk. Secondhand tobacco smoke is building in the cafeteria, carbon monoxide on the loading dock, and dust and mould in the ventilation shaft. It’s enough to make a body sick. The experts call it Sick Building Syndrome, or SBS for short. If you’re affected - and not everybody is sensitive to the levels of airborne contaminants found in many offices - SBS can make your work life miserable, sap your effectiveness, and maybe even cost you your job. Symptoms commonly include headache, dizziness, nausea, a runny nose, burning eyes, a scratchy throat, and/or a dry, persistent cough. One co-worker can’t shake that lingering cold. Another suffers from dry, itchy skin and periodic rashes. Some complaints are more subjective: general fatigue, for instance irritability, nervousness, or trouble concentrating as the day drifts by. The symptoms are typically transient. They slowly surface Monday morning, peak in the afternoon, and begin to fade away shortly after quitting time. Even sticking your head out the window into the relatively fresh air outside may offer some temporary relief. That is if you can find a window that opens in your modern, sealed, energy-efficient, climate-controlled building. Building-Related Illness (BRI) is another, more serious manifestation of the same architectural phenomenon. It’s easier to diagnose; its victims suffer from clinically definable illnesses, such as legionnaire’s disease, humidifier fever, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, or asthma. In addition, flu-like symptoms may appear, including watery eyes, sneezing and coughing, shortness of breath, fever, lethargy, dizziness and digestive problems. The cause of BRI can usually be traced back to the viruses, bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms that infest and even thrive in humidifying and air conditioning systems. Unfortunately, recovery often involves more than simply popping out for some fresh air. Poor Ventilation Chief Cause According to figures compiled by the United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), poor ventilation is the most common cause of SBS and BRI. In approximately 450 sick building investigations conducted through 1986, NIOSH inspectors found badly designed, installed or inadequately maintained air conditioning, humidifying and ventilation systems to be at fault in 52 percent of the cases. The second largest category, contamination from sources inside the building, accounted for 17 percent of SBS incidents. NIOSH staff documented high levels of secondhand tobacco smoke, combustion gases from the cafeteria, and fumes from dozens of dangerous chemical products. What are some of these toxic villains? Well, there’s the ammonia emitted by blueprint machines and some cleaning solvents; benzene and toluene found in rubber cement, stencil fluid, copier toner, liquid erases and some cleaners; ethylene oxide and other sterilant gases used to sterilize humidifying and air conditioning systems; boiler additives include diethyl ethanolamine; methyl alcohol is used in spirit duplicating machines; PCBs may still be stored in electrical transformers and capacitors; pesticides are often sprayed in the building and on office plants; trichloroethylene may be found in correcting fluids, inks, adhesives and cleaning compounds; and trinitrofluorenone (TNF) and nitropyrenes may be contained in the toners for photocopy machines. Car exhaust, gasoline fumes, boiler gases and other outdoor pollutants sucked inside by the ventilation intake ducts played a prominent role in 11 percent of the NIOSH investigations. Viruses, bacteria and other biological agents were singled out five percent of the time. While most of these beasts lurk in the ventilation and humidification systems, water-damaged carpets and furniture can be another microbiological breeding ground. Emissions from construction materials - insulation products, plywood resins, glues, adhesives and caulking compounds - were identified as the primary cause of occupants’ health problems in just three percent of cases. And 12 percent of the time, NIOSH investigators were unable to nail down the cause of the workers’ complaints. Something in the Air There have been a lot of SBS and BRI horror stories in the popular press over the past few years. The toxic culprit or contamination source is not always obvious. The investigator has to narrow down the field of suspects before calling in the lab technicians. Analyzing for trace levels of hundreds of compounds is expensive, time-consuming and, ultimately, not very helpful in curing a sick building. Indoor air quality experts recommend you start with a walk through the building to catalogue all the potential air pollution sources, followed by a careful survey of your employee’s health complaints. Finally, based on this information, conduct a meticulous sampling program to inventory the levels of those chemicals most likely responsible for the symptoms described. Traditional approaches may prove inconclusive. Instead, listen to your co-workers and trust your instincts. When staff in one office complained of a “dead skunk-like smell”, thousands of dollars were wasted on sophisticated and fruitless air tests. Finally, a small section of wall was removed to reveal ... a dead skunk. This article by William Glenn appeared in OSH Canada-May/June 1992 and is reproduced here thanks to the kind permission of Southam Information & Technology Group, a division of Southam Business Communications Inc. August 1993 Publish Date: 19-MAR-2007 10:30 AM |
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