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Indoor Air Quality in office buildings

Have you ever thought about the quality of the air you breathe indoors, whether that be at home or in the office or at the shops? Is the air fresh, clean smelling and cool, or is it stale and dusty?

Sick Building Syndrome is the name for symptoms you can get whilst in a particular building, which can amongst other things, have poor indoor air quality. It usually happens in an office, because that tends to be where a lot of us spend most of our waking hours, but you can get it in any building.

Symptoms of Sick Building Syndrome get worse the longer you’re in a particular building and get better after you leave.

Possible symptoms include:

  • headaches
  • blocked or runny nose
  • dry, itchy skin
  • dry, sore eyes or throat
  • cough or wheezing
  • skin rashes
  • tiredness and difficulty concentrating

In this blog, we’re looking at the impact your ventilation system has on your health and if you are a building manager, how it can affect the health of those working inside that building.

Did you know…? Covid-19 is responsible for 38 deaths per 100,000 of the global population, smoking annually accounts for 180, and cancer 278, but air quality is responsible for up to 1,400 excess deaths per 100,000 each year.

Before a building can legally be occupied, it has to pass several water checks for Legionella, a bacteria found in water, however, this is not the case for the ventilation systems.

Ventilation testing ought to be carried out before the building is occupied to ensure the ventilation systems are clean and not contaminated, with follow up pre-commission cleans carried out, if necessary. For example, there may be brick dust or build dust left in the ventilation system. Also, some office equipment and new furnishings can release chemicals, known as volatile organic compounds, into the workplace, and these have also been associated with Sick Building Syndrome.

Cleaning systems and turning up the ventilation (flow) rate are not the only ways to deal with a problem with air quality. A more effective response is to identify what is polluting the air, whether it be odours, tobacco smoke, fumes or dust, and tackle the problem at source by reducing the number of pollutants released into the office environment. This may require carrying out a limited monitoring programme to identify the pollutants and then to assess the effectiveness of the remedial measures taken.

Good maintenance procedures are often the best way to prevent or reduce Sick Building Syndrome symptoms, and careful planning will help produce the best results. Make sure your maintenance scheme covers:

•              the fabric of the building;

•              building services (e.g. heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and lighting systems);

•              building furnishings;

•              office equipment.

For more advice regarding indoor air quality, please read our website pages or contact us

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