In office buildings all across the country, employees sometimes come to work feeling fine and leave the office feeling ill and exhausted. This doesn’t necessarily mean that these employees are sick of their jobs, but in many cases it does mean that their job is literally making them sick due to what is called “sick building syndromeā€¯ (SBS).

Definition

Sick building syndrome, also called multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), is used to describe situations in which building occupants experience acute health and comfort effects that appear to be linked to the time spent in a building.

It is a condition in which various symptoms reportedly appear after a person has been exposed to any of a wide range of chemicals. The exposure may occur as a major event, such as a chemical spill, or from long-term contact with low-levels of chemicals, such as in an office with poor ventilation. As a result of exposure, people with SBS develop sensitivity and have reactions to the chemicals even at levels most people can tolerate.

Causes

The interesting thing is that no specific cause can be identified. The complaints may be localised in a particular room or zone, or may be widespread throughout a building. In contrast, the term “building-related illness” (BRI) is used when symptoms of diagnosable illness are identified and can be attributed directly to airborne building contaminants.

According to the World Health Organisation, about one-third of new buildings worldwide are not fit for human use due to severe indoor air pollution that arises from release of toxic chemicals from carpets, wall coverings, ceiling tiles, cleaning agents, copy machines, computers, marking pens, books, paints, adhesives, mold growths at water-damaged sites and personal care products such as perfumes and after shave.

Symptoms

There are many symptoms which can be caused by the toxic effects of indoor air pollutants: headaches, dizziness, concentration problems, loss of memory, confusion, severe fatigue, burning eyes, burning nose, sinus irritation and infection, sore throat, hoarseness, difficulty breathing, wheezing, cough, palpitations, nausea, diarrhoea, weakness, paralysis, numbness, twitching and disruption of menstrual cycle.

Frequently the symptoms develop within seconds or minutes of entering the building but may take hours or days to disappear after leaving that building.

Prevention

You can’t get rid of your job, but you want to get rid of your illness. So what can you do?

You can tackle the issue in one of two ways. Prevent it or cure it. If you are in an existing building that is free from issues, you can take steps to prevent it from being contaminated in the first place. For example, have your company replace water-stained ceilings and floor units to prevent the spread and contamination of molds. Only use chemical compounds like paints, adhesives and solvents in well-ventilated areas so that you limit the amount of pollutants you are exposed to. Encourage cross-ventilation by opening windows in adjacent and opposing offices.

If you are in a building that is already affected, take steps to cure it. You may want your employer to opt for an ozone generator, which blasts high levels of ozone into the contaminated rooms and kills the molds and bacteria growing there. If you’ve ever treated your house for fleas, this process is similar. You must first leave the building before the generator is set off so that you are not breathing in the toxins. Then the generator is set off and releases ozone blasts that destroy the culprits. Within a few short hours, the toxicity will leave the building along with the bacteria and molds that were causing SBS in the first place.

Our Employee Wellbeing Programme (EAP) is available 24 hours a day if you want to know more about sick building syndrome.