Sick Building, what can we do to prevent this evil?

Normally, we refer to living beings when we say that someone is ill. However, the World Health Organization wanted to adapt the term to also refer to homes and workplaces that could be harmful to people. And it began to talk about what is now known as the sick building syndrome. Although this ailment is more commonly recognized by its English name, sick building syndrome.

According to the international organization itself, a sick building is one that suffers from a set of ailments caused by indoor air pollution. And those ailments also affect people, who can suffer from them due to that pollution.

The diseases and discomforts that can arise due to the sick building syndrome usually occur, as explained by the World Health Organization, from indoor air pollution. Due to poor ventilation, temperature imbalances, suspended particles, chemical gases and vapors, or even due to aerosols used within its walls. All of these can be the causes of a building being considered sick.

The main problem of a sick building is that, in relation to its name, it can make those who inhabit it ill. People affected by this syndrome can experience nausea, regular dizziness, colds that do not heal, and irritations in the respiratory tract and eyes, in addition to other ailments.

The malaise of sick buildings can go even further. As is the case with radon gas pollution, which can lead to the onset of lung cancer without warning, as this poison is also very difficult to detect.

How to know if we inhabit a sick building?

In some cases, it will be easy to identify if we are facing a sick building, and in others, it will be much more difficult to discern. In many cases, the only warnings are the discomforts experienced by those who inhabit them.

As a point of reference, the International Center for Indoor Environment and Energy (ICIEE) estimates that poor air quality in sick buildings increases absenteeism by 5%. Fighting it is much cheaper than enduring employee losses.

What are the two initial classifications of sick buildings?

• Temporarily sick buildings. These cases are the least significant, as the harmful effects of the building will fade over time. They are those newly built or recently renovated buildings. The materials used are still present in the air and must be expelled by ventilation systems gradually.
• Always sick buildings. Their harmful effects persist over time. In these cases, the problem does not come from the construction of the building, but from its deficiencies. Whether due to deterioration or design flaws. A poor ventilation system, inefficient air conditioning units, or harmful lighting can be significant causes. Also, having excessively used air conditioning in the summer and then having heated the spaces in winter to excessively high levels. On the other hand, sick buildings can originate from gases that have been emitted through construction materials. This is precisely the case with radon gas, filtered through the ground and walls.

• Contaminated indoor air.
• Excessive use of sprays and perfumes.
• An absence of natural light compensated by an excess of artificial lighting. Too much light can also be bad as it reflects on the workers' computers.
• Poor ventilation and insufficient air renewal.
• Air conditioning or heating systems placed in inconvenient locations.
• Pollution due to chemicals or other substances.

A new ventilation system, capable of removing the air, would perhaps be the best alternative. Contaminants must exit the sick building and the space must be aired. Systems that recover heat and minimize the use of air conditioning systems are also very helpful.

Materials can be selected to reform a sick building that improve the situation by offering better energy efficiency. While it is worth knowing what the underlying problem is, also ruling out more serious issues, such as possible contamination from radon gas.