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Sick building syndrome

Short answer

Sick building syndrome involves non-specific symptoms such as headache, eye irritation and fatigue that occur in a building and disappear on leaving, with no identifiable disease. Building-related illness has a diagnosable cause, e.g. Legionnaires' disease or asthma from mould, and may persist after leaving. Causes include poor ventilation, VOCs and biological contaminants.

Write short notes on sick building syndrome and building-related illness.

Sick building syndrome (SBS) is a set of non-specific symptoms experienced by occupants of a building that appear while they are in the building and disappear soon after they leave, and for which no specific cause or disease can be identified. It is mostly reported in air-conditioned, tightly sealed offices.

Symptoms

  • Headache, fatigue, dizziness, difficulty concentrating
  • Irritation of eyes, nose and throat, dry cough, skin dryness and itching
  • Nausea and sensitivity to odours

Causes

  • Inadequate ventilation and poor distribution of fresh air
  • Chemical contaminants from furniture, carpets, paints, copiers and cleaning agents (VOCs, formaldehyde)
  • Biological contaminants: mould, bacteria in ducts and drip trays
  • Poor temperature and humidity control, poor lighting and noise, job stress

Building-related illness (BRI)

Here the symptoms can be diagnosed and traced to a specific cause in the building, and they may continue after leaving. Examples: Legionnaires' disease, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, humidifier fever, asthma from mould.

Remedies

  • Increase fresh air supply and maintain the HVAC system (clean filters and ducts)
  • Remove or reduce the source (low-VOC materials, no smoking)
  • Control humidity at 30-60%, and clean regularly

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

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