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Indoor Air Pollutants and Sick Building Syndrome: A Case Study and Implications for the Community Health Nurse
Author(s) -
Tsacoyianis Rosemary
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
public health nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.471
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1525-1446
pISSN - 0737-1209
DOI - 10.1111/j.1525-1446.1997.tb00411.x
Subject(s) - sick building syndrome , indoor air , environmental health , public health , indoor air quality , product (mathematics) , medicine , community health , nursing , environmental science , environmental engineering , geometry , mathematics
Indoor air pollutants and sick building syndrome are only recently gaining recognition as a public health concern. Unfortunately, however, most nurses feel ill equipped to address such environmental health issues. This article begins with a review of literature on indoor air pollutants and sick building syndrome, followed by a case study of occupant illness in a school since the onset of a school construction and renovation project. Included in the case study is an in‐depth analysis of Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) and Product Data Sheets, conducted to examine the potential health effects resulting from product use in the indoor environment. The results of the analysis indicate that a significant number of products used in the project may have induced the reported occupant symptoms. The conclusion of the case study is that building occupants were exposed to multiple products that have numerous acute overexposure health effects and unknown long‐term health effects, and thereby placed occupants at an ill‐defined health risk. The review of literature and case study findings demonstrate the imminent need for community health nurses to assume a proactive role in promoting environmental health. Nursing implications are provided to guide the community health nurse's role in cases of sick building syndrome.