Sick Building Syndrome

Sick Building Syndrome

Some of the most dangerous air you breathe isn't emerging from a factory smokestack or a car exhaust pipe: It's in your home. In various amounts and concentrations, you might be getting formaldehyde from plywood and other building materials, stryrene and benzene from carpets, asbestos from ceiling tiles and flooring, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide from kitchen appliances and infectious bacteria and fungi from heating and cooling systems. In all, the average home has upward of 200 different air contaminants.

Talk about being homesick! Breathing these substances day after day can leave you with any of a host of ails: headache, nausea, throat or eye irritation, dizziness and fatigue as well as wheezing, sneezing, coughing and other symptoms that mimic colds, flu or hay fever. Some contaminants are even suspected of causing cancer. While it can cost thousands of dollars to "cure" a building of sick building syndrome--depending on the size of the building and severity of the problems--here are some less expensive ways to help protect yourself from ailments caused by contaminants blowing through your home.

Take a lesson from the Japanese. "Dust causes more environmental problems than any other single source, and most of the dust tracked into your home is carried in on your shoes," says Lance Wallace, Ph.D., environmental scientist at the Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development in Warrenton, Virginia. "So taking off your shoes at the front door is a good way to eliminate a lot of the dust in your home that you're breathing. If you aren't going to take off your shoes at the front door, then at least use a welcome mat. In tests we conducted, we found that wiping your feet on a welcome mat eliminates a lot of dust, although not nearly as much as removing your shoes."

Offices Are Even Worse

Anyone who works in an office building is likely to be exposed to indoor pollutants--and the newer the building is, the more contaminants it may have.

Buildings constructed after 1970 are particularly vulnerable, since they're most likely to be energy-efficient. Among other things, that means that you're breathing air that is largely recirculated, which increases your risk of developing headache, sore throat, eye irritation and other health problems associated with sick building syndrome. But here's how to protect yourself at work.

Be aware of what you wear. "The more skin you have exposed, the more likely you are to get allergies and rashes caused by indoor pollutants," says Richard Silberman, technical supervisor for Healthy Buildings International, a Fairfax, Virginia-based company that diagnoses sick buildings. "There is evidence that dust on the skin may cause some of the allergic reactions and coldlike symptoms associated with sick building syndrome. So wearing pants is better than wearing shorts or dresses, and long sleeves are better than short sleeves. Basically, the less skin you have exposed, the better off you'll be."

Don't cover air ducts. Most office buildings have centrally controlled climate control, so you can't do anything about making your office warmer or cooler. "Because of this, many people cover the air duct with tape or a piece of cardboard when they feel a draft," says Silberman. "But that should never be done, because that air duct is often the only source of outdoor air, and covering it prohibits fresh air from coming in."

Keep a good attitude. In studies by psychologist Alan Hedge, Ph.D., of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, it was found that those who are most likely to suffer sick building syndrome on the job are literally sick of the job. When you're unhappy, dissatisifed or stressed out--in your job or other aspects of your life--you're a prime candidate for the physical ills caused by indoor air pollution.

Dry wet areas quickly. "If carpets get wet, be sure to clean and dry them promptly," says Silberman. "Once wet, they can have microbiotic growth that can release spores into the air. These spores can trigger sneezing, wheezing, throat and eye irritations and other problems."

Decorate with houseplants. Studies by Bill Wolverton, Ph.D., president and research director of Wolverton Environmental Services, a research and consulting firm in Picayune, Mississippi, show that many low-light houseplants reduce levels of benzene, formaldehyde and other contaminants, because these plants use airborne toxins as a source of food. After taking in the toxin-containing air, the plant then returns cleaner air to your home.

Generally, you need a minimum of one plant for every 100-square-foot (average-size) room, says Dr. Wolverton. Among the most environmentally efficient (and easiest to maintain) are bamboo, areca and other palms, peace lily, English ivy, Boston fern, corn plants, chrysanthemums and philodendron.

But make sure the plant soil is "clean." Use good-quality commercial potting soil for houseplants. "You have to make sure the soil is clean and there are no bugs or growth in it, because contaminated soil can release contaminants into the air," says Richard Silberman, technical supervisor for Healthy Buildings International, a Fairfax, Virginia-based company that diagnoses sick buildings.

Is Your Building Sick?

While all buldings have harmful contaminents, what makes some "sick"? The answer: some simple math.

"Basically, if a minimum of 15 percent of occupants in a home or an office are having the types of medical problems that seem to be linked to the building, then it's 'sick,'" says Richard Silberman, technical supervisor for Healthy Buildings International, a Fairfax, Virginia-based company that diagnoses sick buildings.

The problems include:

Frequent headaches.
Nausea.
Throat or eye irritation.
Dizziness or fatigue.
Symptoms of colds, flu or hay fever.
Wheezing.

Don't use air fresheners. Commercial air fresheners do nothing to freshen the air. "In fact, they're a big source of added indoor air pollution," according to Dr. Wallace. "Most fresheners contain chemicals that have been found to cause cancer in animals. Rather than removing odors, they just make if, impossible to smell them. And it's not just aerosols that are dangerous. In tests, the solid air fresheners were found to have high concentrations of some of the nastier chemicals."

And you can't assume that air "disinfectants" are much better. "They are really nothing more than pesticides that smell good," adds Dr. Wallace. "And you certainly don't want to breathe pesticides all day."

Let your house breathe. Being energy-efficient is one thing; sealing off your house completely is another. "We've removed a lot of our homes natural ventilation by tightening things up to save on fuel," says Thomas Godar, M.D., chief of the Pulmonary Disease Section at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, Connecticut. "A tight house with a lot of insulation is like a closed box."

So open things up a little--use exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathrooms whenever possible. While storm windows and weather stripping will reduce energy costs, they can also seal off fresh air if your home is newer and built to be energy-efficient. So leave a window or two open just a crack, even in winter, if you have a newly built, completely insulated home.

Ban all smoke from your home. Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 different chemicals, including benzene, formaldehyde and carbon monoxide--possible culprits in sick building syndrome. So breathing cigarette smoke even secondhand smoke--is bad enough. "But if you have radon or asbestos in your home--and nearly every home has radon--then you're getting even worse damage from it if there's a smoker in your house," says Dr. Wallace. "That's because radon and asbestos attach to the smoke particles you're breathing into your lungs, so you get a bigger dose than you normally would."

Leave the house after you clean it. You're probably exposed to a lot of dust--and indoor air pollution--when you're cleaning house. "That's because vacuuming picks up only maybe 15 percent of the dust," says Dr. Wallace. "Much of the dust goes right through the vacuum bag and hangs in the air for several hours." His advice: "Do your housecleaning immediately before you leave. That way, you won't be subjected to all that flying dust."

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