Sick Building Syndrome
Introduction
People spend the majority of their lives indoors,
much of this time at their workplace. At the
workplace they are often cocooned for eight
hours or more each working day in a climatically
controlled, artificially lit environment. They are
surrounded by synthetic floor and wall coverings,
laminated furniture and high-tech equipment.
Typically such an environment accumulates bacteria,
dust, fungi, vapours and other pollutants. In addition,
there may be discomfort from inadequate or
unsuitable lighting, inappropriate thermal conditions
or excessive noise.
What is sick building syndrome?
Almost everyone occasionally suffers common
symptoms such as headaches, a dry throat or
sore eyes but there are occasions when people
in particular buildings experience these sorts of
symptoms more often than is usual. Symptoms tend
to increase in severity with the time spent in the
building and improve over time or disappear when
the person is away from the building. This is often
described as sick building syndrome (SBS).
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