Sick Buildings Not Uncommon/Health Woes, Poor Indoor Air Often Linked

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'SICK' BUILDINGS NOT UNCOMMON\ HEALTH WOES, POOR INDOOR AIR OFTEN LINKED

The Arizona Republic

6-7-99

By L.

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Although doctors don't necessarily diagnose buildings, ''sick building

syndrome'' is not rare.

In Arizona, classrooms from Gilbert to Pinetop-Lakeside have been accused of

causing students to cough, teachers to break out in hives and parents to

panic.

Across the country, workers blame health problems on their workplace.

A Massachusetts school was shut down last month, and 640 pupils relocated,

because of reports of upper-respiratory ailments believed to be caused

by something in the buildings.

In 1997, parents and students picketed for fresh air after an environmental

consultant found toxins at Blue Ridge Elementary School in Pinetop-Lakeside.

In 1994, a Gilbert teacher sued a group of architects and builders she

blamed for illnesses she experienced while working at Houston Elementary

School.

The same problems exist in scores of other public and private offices.

Darin Perkins, a director for Arizona's Occupational Safety and Health

Administration, said his office receives complaints of poor indoor

air quality on a regular basis.

Part of the problem, he and others said, is there is no law against

poor indoor air quality.

While guidelines exist, there are no real standards enforceable by

law designed to protect people in non-industrial work environments, Perkins

said. ''Your kid has to have immunizations to get into school, but a

building

doesn't have to meet indoor air quality guidelines to keep your kids

well at school,'' said B. Sullivan Jr., associate dean of the

University

of Arizona's College of Medicine.

Sullivan runs the Toxic Exposures Clinic at UA which has treated workers

from post offices, schools, warehouses and government buildings.

''It's not a minor problem,'' said Sullivan. ''There's a whole lot

of science behind this but there's a lot that's unknown still.''

Locating the cause of a building's problems can be very expensive

and difficult.

Health problems can result from simple lack of maintenance to building

design flaws, according to scientists and industrial hygienists.

''Many times it's just an imbalance in the ventilation system,'' Perkins

said.

Other times, it is a combination of small things within a building

creating a problem, Sullivan added, such as lack of fresh air combined with

mold and chemicals.

The results can make a person's life miserable.

A room may give one person a headache, and have no effect on his co-

worker, Sullivan said.

Just like different people have different allergies, people respond

to the elements of their work environment in different ways.

Doris J. Rapp, a medical doctor who wrote a book on sick schools,

attributes a number of common building elements to the problem.

''We have buildings that are constructed in such a way that in attempts

to be energy efficient, they don't breathe,'' said Rapp. ''Windows don't

open.

Ventilation ducts are dirty. Pollution tends to stay inside schools.''

A lack of fresh air can turn into a breeding ground for mold and bacteria,

and also trap in chemicals from simple things like pesticides or dry

erase markers.

Rapp said air purifiers can help.

Common housekeeping, and keeping ducts and carpets clean also help.

Changing air filters regularly is another measure, said Mark Sneller,

director of Aero-Allergin Research in Tucson.

Sneller is in the middle of a radio series addressing how to improve

indoor air quality in schools.

At 7 a.m. Wednesday, Sneller will conclude the two-part series on

KFNX-AM (1100).

''The entire indoor air quality is totally neglected,'' said Sneller.

Memo: L. can be reached at (602) 444-7951 or at

melissa.jones@... via e-mail.