Sick Building Syndrome: What Is It? How Do I Avoid It?

What Is Sick Building Syndrome?

Sick building syndrome (SBS) is when a building's poor indoor air quality causes occupants to suffer from short-term or long-term health problems. Symptoms may include headaches, irritation in the eyes, nose or throat, fatigue, dizziness, nauseau, dry and itchy skin, coughing, and difficulty concentrating. Obviously, these symptoms can seem linked to a number of illnesses, but it may be sick building syndrome if the occupants cannot pinpoint the cause of the problem and feel relief after leaving the building. Occupants from one area of a building may complain of illness, or all occupants may suffer if the indoor air quality of the entire building is poor.

Why Does It Occur?

Causes of sick building syndrome (and poor indoor air quality) include poor ventilation, chemical contaminants, and biological contaminants. Sometimes, the effects of these problems are short-term, but a building can also suffer from long-term problems due to these issues.

The World Health Organization reported in 1984 that up to 30% of new and remodeled buildings had occupants that complained due to poor air quality. This may be because buildings were designed without consideration for indoor air quality, or the building is being operated differently from how it was designed, resulting in poor air conditions.

Poor ventilation. It is believed that the oil embargo in the 1970s caused buildings to be built "tight", with little room for air to escape, to improve heating efficiencies. This reduced ventilation and trapped contaminants, like fungus, indoors, and caused poor indoor air quality. Now, ventilation standards require a higher amount of outdoor air indoors, which reduces many problems, including SBS.

Contaminants. The largest source of indoor air contaminants is from building materials. Many new building materials emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are harmful to occupant health when emitted in large quantities. These offgas from materials such as paints, floors, furniture, sealants, cleaning supplies, and others. The newer the material, the more it will offgas VOCs. However, there are many materials on the market that are emit low or no VOCs.

Other contaminants include those from the outdoors, like car exhaust and cigarette smoke, which can come in through poorly placed vents. Additionally, contaminants like mold and fungus can form anywhere with stagnant water, like in vents and humidifiers.

How to Avoid Sick Building Syndrome

The best way to avoid SBS completely is to design and construct a building with good indoor air quality. Many green building codes, certification programs and standards dictate minimum indoor air quality levels that are ideal for occupant health. Measures may include minimum levels of ventilation, use of low emitting building materials, proper location of vents, etc.

For example, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system requires minimum indoor air quality performance for all certified buildings. The minimum for the 2009 New Construction rating system is "Mechanical ventilation systems must be designed using the ventilation rate procedure as defined by ASHRAE 62.1-2007, or the applicable local code, whichever is more stringent", and "naturally ventilated buildings must comply with ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2007, Paragraph 5.1 (with errata but without addenda¹)", according to the US Green Building Council. The rating system also awards points for achieving optional credits that improve indoor air quality, such as the use of low emitting materials (which emit few or no volatile organic compounds), increased ventilation, and construction indoor air quality management plans.

In general, building to meet LEED or other green building standards that address indoor air quality is a good measure for avoiding SBS.

However, many buildings that are already constructed may suffer from indoor air problems and resulting SBS in its occupants. In this case, an indoor air quality test should be conducted. Typically, an investigator will perform a walkthrough and gather information about the building's occupants, their complaints, the building's HVAC system, and possible sources of air contaminants. While an air sample can determine the amount of pollutants in the air, it may not neccessarily lead to the cause - the walkthrough is more effective for finding the source.

Once the source(s) is found, the building manager can work to correct it. Often, an experienced indoor air quality professional will be able to recommend solutions after finding the source of the contaminants. Treatments may include air purifiers, improved ventilation, or removing the source of the contaminant.