Sick Building Syndrome and Waste Management Company
Is your office making you sick?
Do you experience the following?
- headache; eye, nose, or throat irritation
- dry cough
- dry or itchy skin; dizziness and nausea
- difficulty in concentrating
- dizziness and nausea
- fatigue
- sensitivity to odors
- aches and pains
- itchy eyes, skin rashes
- nasal allergy symptoms
You might be experiencing Sick Building Syndrome. This syndrome is when people who work in an office or building show illness after spending time in a building, but there is no specific name for the health concerns. The symptoms can be in a certain room or area or can be throughout the building. Building Related Illness is when illness can be found to be in airborne contaminants, like mold.
Poor air quality can contribute to complaints in an office, but the condition is temporary. Sometimes buildings can have long term issues resulting when a building is maintained improperly or results from poorly designed buildings. Luckily these symptoms disappear after you leave the building
What causes SBS could be radon or asbestos, or even fiberglass. Proper ventilation has to be maintained and air has to be effectively circulated throughout the building.
The building could also have car exhaust being taken in through air vents if trucks are left idling while deliveries. Carpets, adhesives, paints, cleaning solvents, are some areas that may give off odors which lead to poor air quality.
Recently in an office where the air conditioning vents forced through mold, mildew and whatever black substance that was found in the building an aquaintance of mine became ill. Their breathing was labored, their eyes started to ache, and they ended up with an eye infection which lasted many weeks, even with medication. Their skin burned, and broke out in hives and swelling because of allergic reaction to contaminates. What else was in that black substance?
This building showed signs of problems early on, after roof leaks, the water was never properly remediated, so mold took hold. As a building gets older, remains of previous “tenants” such as rodent or bird droppings make their way into the building’s infrastructure and cause a biological soup which can become toxic to office workers.
Solutions to sick building syndrome usually include combinations of the following:
- periodic cleaning or replacement of filters
- replacement of water-stained ceiling tile and carpeting
- venting contaminant source emissions to the outdoors
- storage and use of paints, adhesives, solvents, and pesticides in well ventilated areas
- use of these pollutant sources during periods of non-occupancy
- allowing time for building materials in new or remodeled areas to off-gas pollutants before occupancy
The important thing is to take action to have a suspected sick building investigated as soon as possible as it is likely that the problem will only get worse if not addressed.
When the sick building is finally address, the contaminated building debris has to be dealt with properly, mold if it exist has to be treated before removal to make sure you don’t spread the infection around. Organic material can be recycled or composted, but what about asbestos or fiberglass?
This is where a waste management company comes in handy. For all hazardous waste, use reputable, licensed companies who know what they are doing to avoid any further contamination.
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Workers who do remedial work use ventilators and coverall to protect themselves from contaminants.
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