Special Maintenance Considerations - Effective Building Maintenance: Protection of Capital Assets - page 111

building humidity control; etc.
Because of varying sensitivity among people, one individual may
react to a particular IAQ problem while surrounding occupants have no
ill effects. (Symptoms that are limited to a single person can also occur
when only one workstation receives a higher percentage of the pollut-
ant dose.) In other cases, complaints may be widespread or not. A single
indoor air pollutant or problem can trigger different reactions in different
people and some may not be affected at all. Information about the types
of symptoms can sometimes lead directly to solutions, however, symp-
tom information is more likely to be useful only for identifying the timing
and conditions under which problems occur.
IAQ problems often produce non specific symptoms rather than
clearly defined illnesses. And, analysis of air samples often fails to detect
high concentrations of specific contaminants.
Sick building syndrome (SBS) is a term applying to IAQ problems
with nonspecific symptoms or cause(s) that affect a high percentage (5-
20%) of occupants. Building-related illness (BRI) is a term referring to ill-
ness brought on by exposure to the building air, where symptoms of diag-
nosable illness are identified (e.g., certain allergies or infections) and can
be directly attributed to environmental agents in the air. Legionnaire's
disease and hypersensitivity pneumonitis are examples of BRI that can
have serious, even life- threatening consequences.
A small percentage of the population may be sensitive to a number
of chemicals in indoor air, each of which may occur at very low concentra-
tions. The existence of this condition, known as multiple chemical sensi-
tivity (MCS), is a matter of considerable controversy. MCS is not currently
recognized by the major medical organizations, but medical opinion is
divided. The applicability of access for the disabled and worker's com-
pensation regulations to people who believe they are chemically sensitive
may become concerns for facility managers.
Sometimes several building occupants experience rare or serious
health problems (e.g., cancer, miscarriages, Lou Gehrig's disease) over a
relatively short time period. These clusters of health problems are occa-
sionally blamed on indoor air quality factors and can produce tremen-
dous anxiety among building occupants. State or local Health Depart-
ments can provide advice and assistance if clusters are suspected. They
may be able to help answer key questions such as whether the apparent
cluster is actually unusual and whether the underlying cause could be
related to IAQ.