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Sick Building Syndrome in an Office Building Formerly Used by a Pharmaceutical Company: A Case Study
Author(s) -
Engelhart Steffen,
Burghardt Harald,
Neumann Regine,
Ewers Ulrich,
Exner Martin,
Kramer Michael H.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
indoor air
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.387
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 1600-0668
pISSN - 0905-6947
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0668.1999.t01-1-00009.x
Subject(s) - sick building syndrome , christian ministry , indoor air quality , environmental health , indoor air , business , production (economics) , office workers , operations management , quality (philosophy) , architectural engineering , medicine , engineering , environmental engineering , philosophy , theology , epistemology , economics , macroeconomics
In the past two decades, a group of health problems related to the indoor environment – generally termed sick building syndrome (SBS) – has emerged. We present an investigation of SBS in employees of a ministry working in a naturally ventilated office building that formerly had been used by a pharmaceutical company. A preceding environmental monitoring had failed to identify the cause(s) for the complaints. We conducted a questionnaire‐based investigation and categorized the building sections and rooms according to their renovation status and their former use, respectively. The highest level of complaints was found among the employees working in rooms that in the past had been used for the production or storage of various pharmaceutical products suggesting that pharmaceutical odors may be a risk factor for SBS. Clinical laboratory tests did not show any unusual results. We conclude that the former use of a building for production and storage of pharmaceutical products should be considered as a possible risk factor for complaints about indoor air quality, e.g., when advising about or planning for renovations of buildings formerly used for production, handling, or storing of chemicals.