Understanding Corridor Ventilation and Sick Building Syndrome

What is sick building syndrome?

Sick building syndrome (also termed environmental illness, building-related illness [BRI], or multiple chemical sensitivity [MCS]) is considered by some clinicians to be an illness in some people after they are exposed to as yet undefined chemical, biological, or physical agents that are thought to be found in building(s). The term was first used in 1986 and has been controversial ever since. BRI (building-related illness) is becoming the more accepted term used in medical literature

Sick building syndrome facts

• Sick building syndrome is believed by some to be an illness caused by unknown agents in buildings.
• Sick building syndrome is a controversial subject because many experts do not think it is a true syndrome.
• Sick building syndrome has no known cause, however, known causes of illness such as lead poisoning, formaldehyde fumes, and many others have been associated with individual buildings.
• For those who believe the syndrome is real, many risk factors are cited.
• Many nonspecific symptoms cited for the syndrome fit no pattern.
• There are no diagnostic tests for the syndrome.
• There is no specific treatment for the syndrome.
• Complications of the alleged syndrome range from increased symptoms to inability to tolerate being inside a certain building and the problems, many job related, that may occur.
• The prognosis of an alleged syndrome is unclear, but symptomatic treatments may reduce problems and result in a fair to good prognosis — so may treatment of known causes of building-related problems like formaldehyde and paint fumes and many others.
• Prevention is difficult in a syndrome without a known cause, no diagnostic tests, and no defined treatments, but the Environmental Protection Agency provides prevention methods to address known disease problems that can be diagnosed and are known to be related to air-moving systems and construction materials used in buildings.

What causes sick building syndrome?

s stated above, there is controversy about sick building syndrome and the controversy is demonstrated by the medical literature about its cause(s). Those who believe it is a true disease syndrome have only speculated that the cause(s) are multiple and depend on the patient’s medical condition (for example, asthma, COPD) and how the compounds in the building (cigarette smoke, chemical outgassing from structural components such as formaldehyde, paint odor, and radon, or biologics such as bacteria and fungi, black mold, or indoor houseplants) interact with the person. Proponents further speculate that patients with the syndrome may be more sensitive to low concentrations of some compounds and may have heightened immune response to such compounds. Further, proponents suggest depression and anxiety may play a role in this syndrome.

Others who say there is no evidence for this syndrome agree that certain chemicals, biologics, and physical agents found in some buildings can cause disease, but once these are identified (for example, lead, Legionnaires’ disease, asbestos), then the disease is identified and is not a new “syndrome.” The proponents of the “there is no such thing as sick building syndrome” say evidence for a new syndrome is simply nonexistent. A few individuals consider “sick building syndrome” to be a psychological problem.

What are risk factors for sick building syndrome?

Individuals who believe sick building syndrome is real consider the following as some of the major risk factors, but individual people may have only a few of these risk factors:

• Spending time in a building (such as office workers) that causes some or many of the nonspecific symptoms listed below
• Heightened sensitivity to environmental antigens
• Have one or more diagnosed medical problems (for example, asthma)
• Heightened sensitivity of smell
• Females are more likely to develop symptoms
• Gulf War veteran
• Depression
• Anxiety

However, proponents of the opposing view suggest these are general risk factors for many already-defined medical problems and offer little to clinicians who treat patients with the nonspecific symptoms (see symptoms section below) others attribute to this disease.