Indoor environmental and air quality characteristics, building-related health symptoms, and worker productivity in a federal government building complex

Abstract

Building Health Sciences, Inc. (BHS), investigated environmental conditions by many modalities in 71 discreet areas of 12 buildings in a government building complex that had experienced persistent occupant complaints despite correction of deficiencies following a prior survey. An online health survey was completed by 7,637 building occupants (49% response rate), a subset of whom voluntarily wore personal sampling apparatus and underwent medical evaluation. Building environmental measures were within current standards and guidelines, with few outliers. Four environmental factors were consistently associated with group-level building-related health complaints: physical comfort/discomfort, odor, job stress, and glare. Several other factors were frequently commented on by participants, including cleanliness, renovation and construction activities, and noise. Low relative humidity was significantly associated with lower respiratory and "sick building syndrome"-type symptoms. No other environmental conditions (including formaldehyde, PM10 [particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <10 μm], or mold levels, which were tested by 7 parameters) correlated directly with individual health symptoms. Indicators of atopy or allergy (sinusitis, allergies, and asthma), when present singly, in combinations of 2 conditions, or together, were hierarchically associated with the following: increased absence, increased presenteeism (presence at work but at reduced capacity), and increase in reported symptom-days, including symptoms not related to respiratory disease. We found that in buildings without unusual hazards and with environmental and air quality indicators within the range of acceptable indoor air quality standards, there is an identifiable population of occupants with a high prevalence of asthma and allergic disease who disproportionately report discomfort and lost productivity due to symptoms and that in "normal" buildings these outcome indicators are more closely associated with host factors than with environmental conditions. We concluded from the experience of this study that building-related health complaints should be investigated at the work-area level and not at a building-wide level. An occupant-centric medical evaluation should guide environmental investigations, especially when screening results of building indoor environmental and air quality measurements show that the building and its work areas are within regulatory standards and industry guidelines.

External eye symptoms in indoor environments

“…Reported eye irritation, for example burning and dry or red eyes, is among top two to three reported symptoms in indoor environments as shown in several epidemiological studies in offices, and aircraft . The symptoms are also among the most commonly reported complaints in the eye clinic, and dry eye disease (DED) is the most common cause of chronic eye irritation in patients over age of 50 .…”

“…The prevalence of DE symptoms is between 20% and 40% in offices depending on the recall period; for instance, 1 week, 4 weeks, and 3 months for aircraft . The shorter the recall period the lower is the prevalence.…”

Investigation of A Potted Plant (Hedera helix) with Photo-Regulation to Remove Volatile Formaldehyde for Improving Indoor Air Quality

“…Serious health problems are related to sick building syndrome, which is usually associated with the quality of indoor air (Mullen et al, 2016;Mandin et al, 2017). In urban areas, most citizens have long-term exposure to large amounts of harmful chemicals indoors, whether it's at home or working at the office (Zheng et al, 2011;Shi et al, 2015;Lukcso et al, 2016). People are usually exposed to a higher intake or breathe in a greater concentration of air pollutants because these pollutants are more prevalent in indoor than outdoor environments (Zhang et al, 2017).…”

“…People spend more time indoors, while outdoor air pollution has caused serious hazards to health (Zhang et al, 2017). Understanding and controlling indoor air quality can help reduce the risk of indoor health concerns, especially Legionnaires' disease (Sundell, 2017), respiratory allergy (Guan et al, 2016;Lukcso et al, 2016) and children's asthma (Huang et al, 2016).…”

Why Are Naturally Ventilated Office Spaces Not Popular in New Zealand?

“…While there are various factors associated with thermal comfort of which air temperature, humidity, air velocity, etc., are involved, this study concentrated on those that represent an impact on a person's thermal comfort [50]. These factors are namely: These factors have been established by research to have an influence on a person's thermal comfort and thus performance, especially in office environments [51,52]. For instance, Bordass [53] found an effect of temperature extremity (too hot or too cold) and air fluctuation on occupants' comfort in office environments.…”