Sick Building Syndrome: When Good Air Goes Bad

SICK BUILDING SYNDROME:
When Good Air Goes Bad

SSC White Paper

A Brief Introduction to Sick Building
Syndrome

An Introduction to SBS

While the consequences of
outdoor air pollution have
been topics of public concern
for decades, the threats of
poor indoor air quality (IAQ)
are lesser known. Outdoor
elements such as ozone
depletion, greenhouse gas
emissions, and smog are
widely discussed and harmful
to the planet—but what about
the air we breathe inside?

www.sustainabilityconsulting.com
Copyright © 2012, Strategic Sustainability Consulting. All rights reserved.


 Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
and sick building syndrome (SBS)
aren’t as well known as the
previously mentioned threats, yet
anyone who works or lives indoors
is susceptible to the health effects
of poor indoor air quality.
 With Americans spending 90% of
their lives indoors, and more than
half of that at work, it is imperative
that your business’ IAQ be at its
best.



 Oftentimes the air quality indoors is
worse than that outside, contrary to
popular belief.
 The EPA has even declared
compromised IAQ to be one of the
top five environmental health risks
of our time.



 This complimentary paper presents
the employee health and
productivity risks of poor IAQ while
examining the potential
consequences to a business’s
bottom line, if the indoor
environment is not properly
maintained.
 Additionally, this paper will
introduce the Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED)
standards for monitoring indoor
spaces and provide solutions to
combat poor IAQ.


Defining Sick Building Syndrome

Defining SBS

Poor IAQ often leads to Sick
Building Syndrome (SBS), a
condition exhibited in
employees through symptoms
such as headaches, fatigue,
lack of concentration, and
dizziness. These symptoms will
present themselves only when
the individual is in the effected
building.


Defining SBS

 If the symptoms do indeed persist
outside of the office, chances are the
individual has Building Related Illness
(BRI).
 With SBS the symptoms cannot be tied
to a specific illness, making it a
precursor to BRI.
 BRI not only affects employees when they leave the office,
but possibly the rest of their life.
 In severe cases if SBS is not treated and does turn into BRI,
the consequential illness may even be fatal.


The Symptoms

Symptoms appear shortly
after an individual enters
the building

A pattern of Symptoms dissipate once
the individual leaves the
symptoms can often building

be detected in a Symptoms return upon
re-entering the building
building that is Symptoms will affect
suffering from SBS. multiple individual
throughout the building
You may be suffering
from Sick Building
Syndrome!


The Symptoms

Signs of SBS
Headaches Eye irritation
Lethargy/fatigue Upper respiratory problems

Humidifier fever Lower respiratory problems

Chest pains Swelling
Skin rashes Difficulty concentrating
Dry cough Dizziness
Nausea Sensitivity to odors


The Symptoms

Certain individuals prove to be
more at risk to SBS than others.
A few examples being:
 Smokers
 Young people
 Females
 Those prone to allergies

Learn more by downloading the
complete paper, “Sick Building
Syndrome: When Good Air Goes
Bad”


The Root of the Problem:
Poor Indoor Air Quality

Building Factors

The root cause of poor IAQ can originate
from a variety of building factors. These may
include poor or inadequate ventilation, low
relative humidity rates and percentages as
well as faulty mechanical system design and
construction.


Building Factors

 Ventilation systems are vital to the health and comfort of building
occupants as they are not only responsible for air distribution, but
also for replacing used air inside the building with fresh air from
outside.

 Humidity levels of many offices are also vital in providing balanced
IAQ. Spaces suffering from SBS will have their humidity at 25% or
less, when this number should be closer to 30-35%.

 Building lighting and electrical equipment can also cause adverse
effects in occupants. The constant flickering of fluorescent lights
can cause feelings of lethargy and headaches.


Volatile Organic Compounds

VOCs are airborne chemical
contaminants originating from
either outdoors or indoors, or from
biological contaminants such as
bacteria, molds, or pollen.

The health effects of VOCs vary
depending on the amount of
exposure and time spent exposed
but can be devastating to the
employee in the long run if not
properly managed.


Environmental Factors

Biological contaminants can
come from a variety of sources
from a dirty carpet to a pool of
water in the ventilation system.

Sometimes even outdoor
pollutants can get trapped
indoors. Consider an air intake
duct that is close to a road or
designated smoking area.


The Effects of Sick Building Syndrome :
Beyond the Common Cold

Effects on Your Bottom Line

 Lost Capital
 SBS contributes to a lack of
concentration, leading to increased
absenteeism, negatively affecting
productivity.
 If an employee’s symptoms become
severe to the point that multiple visits
to the doctor must be made,
insurance claims, workers
compensation, or even litigation will
mean serious financial consequence
for the business owner.


Annual Economic Impacts
Contaminant-Related Health Care Costs of Costs from Absence due Estimated Economic Estimated Economic
Health Effect Effects due to Work or to Illness & from Other Consequence for Indoor Benefits Possible from
Non-work Exposure Performance Losses due Workforce due to Work or Improved Indoor Work
to Work or Non-work Non-work Exposures Environments
Exposures

Communicable $10 billion in health care $19 billion in absence $32 billion $3 to $4 billion (estimate
respiratory infections: costs from work; $3 billion has substantial
building-influenced, from reduced uncertainty)
occupant sources (e.g., performance at work
influenza, common cold,
tuberculosis)

Asthma, hypersensitivity, Asthma, $2.6-$2.8 Asthma, $340 million; $3.9-$4.1 billion $200-$600 million
pneumonitis, and allergic billion; allergic rhinitis, allergic rhinitis, $377 (estimate has substantial
disease, building related $580 million; other, not million; other, not uncertainty)
estimated estimated

Nonspecific building- Unknown (effects from $20-$70 billion (effects $20-$70 billion (effects $4-$70 billion (estimate
related symptoms (acute work exposures only) from work exposures from work exposures has substantial
effects of indoor only) only) uncertainty)
exposures or conditions,
including SBS)

Respiratory infections: Legionnaires’ disease: Legionnaires’ disease: Greater than $30-$50 Tens of millions of dollars
building sources $26-$40 million in health $5-$8 million in absence million
(Legionnaires’ disease, care costs; Pontiac fever: from work; Pontiac fever:
Pontiac fever, fungal minimal health care costs; unknown absence costs
infections) fungal infections: (1-week/case); fungal
unknown costs infections: unknown costs

Health effects of $30-$140 million in Costs of absence from $30-$140 million (costs $30-$140 million (costs
environmental tobacco health care costs for work & other performance of absence from work & of absence from work and
smoke cardiovascular disease losses not estimated other performance losses other performance losses
and lung cancer (effects not estimated; effects not estimated)
from work exposures from work exposures
only) only)

Solving the Problem and Final Thoughts

Solving the Problem

 First, the building must be prepared and equipped to deal with all
sources of poor IAQ.
 Second, the occupants must take responsibility of maintaining the
building and its protection systems against SBS.
 The Environmental Protection Agency provides four types of solving
and preventing poor IAQ:
Pollution source Increasing
removal or ventilation
modifications rates

Education and
Air cleaning
communication


Solving the Problem

 If the source of indoor
contaminants is known, it
should be promptly removed. If
this is not possible, than the
source should be sealed or
stored away from building
occupants.

 Increasing ventilation rates and
air distribution within a
building is an easy way to solve
IAQ issues, so long as the
source of the problem is not
within this system.

Solving the Problem

 Air cleaning is another option,
although efficient filters can be
costly initially.

 Education and communication
also allow for the discomfort or
health issues of employees to
be heard and corrected, before
BRIs develop.


Final Thoughts

Poor IAQ has very real consequences, to both employee
health and your bottom line. If a business owner fails to
realize this, their productivity may be greatly compromised.
Understanding SBS means staying one step ahead of it, and
ultimately keeping your workforce and business at maximum
efficiency.


Download the complimentary white paper in it’s
entirety by visiting the SSC website today:
Sick Building Syndrome: When Good Air Goes Bad

What are your thoughts? Join the
conversation on twitter @jenniferwoofter!

Sick Building Syndrome: When Good Air Goes Bad

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