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Sick building syndrome in a Canadian office complex
J C McDonald1, B Armstrong, J Bénard
1School of Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
Archives of Environmental Health
|September 1, 1993
Summary
Employees in a large office complex reported significant health issues, including respiratory and skin irritation. These symptoms were linked to the office layout, not poor environmental conditions like ventilation.
Area of Science:
- Occupational health
- Environmental medicine
- Building science
Background:
- A sealed office complex experienced persistent employee health complaints since its initial occupation.
- Symptoms reported included upper respiratory tract irritation, eye and skin irritation, and other non-specific complaints.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cause of widespread health complaints among employees in a large sealed office complex.
- To correlate reported symptoms with environmental measurements and office design modifications.
Main Methods:
- Conducted a comprehensive questionnaire survey of employees.
- Performed limited environmental measurements (ventilation, temperature, humidity).
- Analyzed symptom prevalence based on work area (cubicles vs. open/closed offices).
Main Results:
- Most employees reported work-related irritations, with symptoms starting soon after employment.
- Employees in cubicles reported more complaints than those in open or closed offices.
- Poor environmental conditions (ventilation, temperature, humidity) showed weak correlation with symptom prevalence.
Conclusions:
- The partitioning of the building into offices and cubicles, originally designed for open-plan use, appeared to aggravate employee health issues.
- Observed health complaints were primarily linked to the office's internal configuration rather than suboptimal environmental parameters.
- Pregnancy outcomes among employees were within expected rates, despite concerns.