The presence of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) in indoor air has in past decades often been associated with adverse health effects such as sensory irritation, odour and the more complex set of symptoms called the Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). More recently, a possible link between the increase in the prevalence of allergies throughout the industrialized areas of the world and exposure to elevated concentrations of VOCs has been suggested. In many cases, the total VOC (TVOC) is used as a measure of the concentration of air pollution and, by extension, as a measure of the health risk in non‐industrial buildings. However, the TVOC concept has been questioned for a number of reasons, including the facts that it is an ambiguous concept, that individual VOCs making up the whole can be expected to give rise to different effects in people and that researchers have been using different definitions and interpretations of TVOC. This means that simple addition of the quantities of individual VOCs may not be relevant from a health point of view. Twelve researchers from the Nordic countries have reviewed the literature on VOC/TVOC and health. A search of the literature resulted in the identification of about 1100 articles, of which 120 were selected for further examination. A final review of the articles reduced their number to 67 that contained data on both exposure and health effects. The group concluded that indoor air pollution including VOC is most likely a cause of health effects and comfort problems in indoor environments in non‐industrial buildings. However, the scientific literature is inconclusive with respect to TVOC as a risk index for health and comfort effects in buildings. Consequently, there is at present an inadequate scientific basis on which to establish limit values/guidelines for TVOC, both for air concentrations, and for emissions from building materials. The group concluded that continued research is required to establish a risk index for health and comfort effects for VOC in non‐industrial buildings.

Gender, psychosocial, and physical environment factors were related to symptoms and perceived indoor climate.

Thermal climate in university buildings may be associated with both perceptions and physiological signs. Reduced night time air temperature, increased difference in air temperature between day and night, and fast changes in air temperature might impair indoor environment. This may have implication for energy-saving policies. It might be difficult to identify the exposure behind, and find the reason why, some buildings are defined as 'problem buildings'.

BackgroundAfter an explosion and fire in two tanks containing contaminated oil and sulphur products in a Norwegian industrial harbour in 2007, the surrounding area was polluted. This caused an intense smell, lasting until the waste was removed two years later. The present study reports examinations of tear film break up time among the population. The examinations were carried out because many of the people in the area complained of sore eyes. The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between living or working close to the polluted area and tear film stability one and a half years after the explosion.MethodsAll persons working or living in an area less than six kilometres from the explosion site were invited to take part in the study together with a similar number of persons matched for age and gender living more than 20 kilometres away. Three groups were established: workers in the explosion area and inhabitants near the explosion area (but not working there) were considered to have been exposed, and inhabitants far away (who did not work in the explosion area) were considered to be unexposed. A total of 734 people were examined, and the response rate was 76 percent. Tear film stability was studied by assessing non-invasive break-up time (NIBUT) using ocular microscopy. In addition Self-reported Break Up Time (SBUT) was assessed by recording the time the subject could keep his or hers eyes open without blinking when watching a fixed point on a wall. Background information was obtained using a questionnaire. Non-parametric Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney-tests with exact p-values and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed.ResultsBoth NIBUT and SBUT were shorter among the male exposed workers than among the inhabitants both near and far away from the explosion area. This was also found for SBUT among males in a multiple logistic regression analysis, adjusting for age and smoking.ConclusionsReduced tear film stability was found among workers in an area where an explosion accident had occurred.