Sensory reactions to “sick buildings”

Abstract

Energy conservation and inadequate building technology sometimes cause a deterioration of indoor air quality and thereby produce potential health risks. Thus, some buildings may be diagnosed as “sick buildings”; the concept is commonly associated with acute sensory effects on humans. At present, the problem is frequently observed in newly built or remodelled preschool and office buildings. The symptoms include irritation of the eyes, the nose, and the throat, a sensation of dryness in the mucuos membranes and the skin, erythema of the skin, mental fatigue, and weak but persistant odors. This paper summarizes and examines these problems in a sensory-chemical as well as a social-psychological context. It is concluded that: (1) “Sick buildings” are basically a physical environment problem. (2) Sensations predominate reactions to “sick buildings” but the perceptual mechanisms are largely unknown. (3) Since there is a complex pattern of pollutants in indoor air, one cannot expect to find simple causal relationships. (4) Most reactions are largely nonspecific and refer to the chemical and somesthetic senses. The resultant perceptions are unitary, but multisensory in origin. Sensory interactions are known to occur. (5) The “sick building” syndrome is best understood by assuming that the sensory systems perform a pattern-recognition analysis. (6) It may partly be the result of a changed sensitivity in the populations exposed and/or a summation of numerous subthreshold sensory stimuli or interaction between gases-particles.