Building-Related Illnesses

Abstract

Over the past 30 years, a new man-made ecosystem has developed — the controlled indoor environment within the sealed exterior shells of modern office buildings. This new environment has considerable potential to affect public health because more than half the adult work force in North America and Western Europe works in offices or “office-like” nonindustrial environments.¹ The indoor environment of modern office buildings may be affected by the occupants, their work activities, equipment, plants, furnishings, building materials, ventilation systems, and outdoor air pollution. In the vast majority of buildings, this complex environment is controlled by one or two technicians who . . .