Sick Building Syndrome

A malaise that affects occupants of a contaminated building during the time they spend in the building and then diminishes during periods when they are away from the building. Cannot be traced to specific pollutants or sources within the building. The occupants complain of irritation in the eyes, nose and throat. Manifestations also include a general feeling of mental tiredness and a sense that there is a persistent odor in the space. See also Building-Related Illness.
Indoor air pollution, despite rumors to the contrary, is a source-dominated problem. Traditionally, planners think that correcting the air quality in a building means changing, adjusting, increasing or decreasing ventilation. Although ventilation is often used as the panacea for the sick building, facility users cannot cure the problem until the sources of indoor air pollution are controlled.
Planners should do a "walk-through" analysis of their HVAC system, including HVAC control strategies, if inadequate indoor air quality is reported. The initial investigation should also include available documentation of potential pollution sources and building occupant concerns. Planners should also account for the impact of lighting, acoustics, ergonomics and interpersonal relationships on sick building syndrome complaints.
Ventilation systems can cause their own potential problems in a sick building environment. It is important that outdoor air used to dilute pollutants actually gets down to the occupant of a workspace. A common ventilation design problem is that locating supply and return air in the ceiling can prevent the ventilation air from mixing throughout the space. The better design puts the inlet and outlet systems at different levels in the room. The design requires more expensive construction but provides better ventilation to remove pollutants.
During the first six months of operation, a building should provide excess ventilation. Increased ventilation rates help overcome the problems associated with emission from construction materials (off-gassing), a major cause of sick building syndrome.

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