Study on sick building syndrome in office environment

Abstract

Prevalence of harmful natural and artificial substances combined with poorly ventilated interiors can lead to various building related health problems among those who spend long periods indoors. A group of symptoms of unclear etiology divided into mucous membrane symptoms related to eyes, nose, throat, dry skin, together with general symptoms of headache and lethargy due to poor indoor air quality is defined as Sick Building Syndrome. Literature revealed many evidence of indoor air quality and other symptoms that affect to staff in office buildings in Sri Lanka. Thus purpose of this study is to appraise the impact of sick building syndrome on building occupants in an office environment. Case study was selected as the research approach. Semi structured interviews were conducted with responsible parties on indoor air quality and occupants of three selected office buildings. Case studies revealed that uncomfortable indoor environment and unsystematic maintenance of existing indoor air caused prevalence of symptoms related to sick building syndrome among building occupants, such as lethargy and eye irritation. Results showed that occupants in three office buildings bore many common symptoms while working in same premises in same timing pattern. Further, findings showed that three office buildings that are already affected with sick building attributes have in fact complied with existing Indoor Environment Quality standards. This study discusses approaches to identify sick building syndrome in working environments and standards to mitigate unhealthy conditions in buildings. This study enhances the comprehension on sick building syndrome and attributes that can be applied to evaluate impact of poor indoor environment quality on sick building syndrome.