Sick Building Syndrome

Sick building syndrome (SBS) is a combination of ailments associated with an individuals place of work (office building) or residence. A 1984 World Health Organisation report into the syndrome suggested up to 30% of new and remodelled buildings worldwide could be linked to symptoms of SBS. Most of the sick building syndrome is related to poor indoor air quality.

Sick building causes are frequently pinned down to flaws in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Other causes have been attributed to contaminants produced by out-gassing of some types of building materials, volatile organic compounds, moulds, improper exhaust ventilation of light industrial chemicals used within, or fresh-air intake location and lack of adequate air filtration.

Symptoms are often dealt with after-the-fact by boosting the overall turn-over rate of fresh air exchange with the outside air, but the new green building design goal should be to avoid most of the SBS problem sources in the first place, minimise the ongoing use of VOC cleaning compounds, and eliminate conditions that encourage allergenic and potentially-deadly mould growth.

For more information on Sick Building Syndrome and the substantial health benefits of indoor plants, please read the following studies in a down-loadable PDF:

Building Related Illnesses – Bourbeau & Menzies (Canada 1997) click here

NASA: A Study of Interior Landscape Plants for Indoor Pollution Abatement – Wolverton (USA 1986) click here

NASA: Space Bio-Technology in Housing – Wolverton (USA 1986) click here

Spinoff Magazine: Plants Clean Indoor Air and Water (2007) click here