Buildings Can Get Sick Too

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We are used to doctors labelling poorly understood diseases as "syndromes."  But in recent years there has been an increasing awareness that buildings can get "sick" too.  Since 1982 the World Health Organization has formally recognized a condition called the "sick building syndrome."

The sick building syndrome is a convenient term used to describe the range of symptoms which for no obvious reason are associated with particular buildings.  Sometimes the complaints are wide spread throughout the building.  SBS is different from specific building related illnesses such as Legionnaire’s disease, where the illness can be clearly diagnosed and attributed directly to some airborne building contaminant.

Studies conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over the last twenty-five years have shown measurable levels of over a hundred known carcinogens in modern offices and homes.

Unfortunately, the long term effects of low doses of the type of contaminants found in some modern offices is not known.  Clearly a sick building can’t be cured with a quick dose of medicine sprayed around the room.  The best approach is to reduce indoor pollution by introducing a significant number of live plants to improve indoor air quality, as well as increased ventilation rates.

So next time you feel better outside the building than in it, check whether it’s the building that needs a remedy.