Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 8.1
Factors Indicating Health Problems May Be Associated with Exposures
to Contaminants in Residential Environments
Symptoms diminish in severity when building is ventilated by opening windows.
Symptoms diminish in severity or resolve completely when occupants are away from
home for several days, and recur upon returning.
Symptoms show a seasonal pattern, that is, associated with the heating/cooling
season, building closure conditions, or operation of heating/cooling appliances.
Similar symptoms occur in several or more building occupants.
Symptoms are more severe in individuals who spend the most time at home.
Symptoms develop after moving into a new home (not necessarily a new house).
Residential environment subject to severe moisture and/or mold infestation
problems.
Symptoms experienced by visitors.
In our society an individual experiencing the relatively minor symptoms
of headache, fatigue, and mucous membrane irritation seeks to achieve relief
by using over-the-counter or prescription medication. The emphasis is on
symptom relief rather than identifying and mitigating causal factors. Such
a symptom amelioration approach assures the problem will persist.
How may homeowners/lessees develop an awareness that health prob-
lems may be due to contaminant exposures in their home environments?
Awareness, in most cases, comes as a matter of chance — in the form of
national or local news reports, internet sites, conversations with acquaintan-
ces, or physician suggestions.
Awareness requires some degree of education on the part of homeown-
ers/lessees, and physicians (if medical assistance is sought). Factors that
suggest illness symptoms may be associated with one's home environment
miological observations. They reflect exposure/response relationships that
are either simply helpful or essential in determining a causal relationship
between building environments and persistent health problems.
An individual must be exposed to concentrations sufficient in magnitude
to experience symptoms caused by gas/particulate-phase contaminants of
either a chemical or biological origin. Exposure is related both to the con-
centration of causal substances and to duration. As a consequence, exposures
and illness symptoms can be expected to diminish when a building is ven-
tilated, and when individuals are away from home for a period of time. On
the other hand, individuals who spend the most time at home commonly
experience more severe symptoms.
relationship with one's home environment. Multiple individuals experienc-
ing similar symptoms indicate common exposures, as do visitors reporting
similar symptoms. Houses that experience high moisture levels are known
to be at special risk for mold infestation and high dust mite populations.
Significant HCHO exposures have occurred, and in some cases continue to
occur, in mobile homes.