We all know the philosophical question: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? The whole sick building question is pretty much the same question: If nobody is sick in the building, is it a sick building?
Health reactions to a building environment are dependent upon the occupants. When it comes to potential environmental problems, we are each the sum of our genetics, health history and current health. The buildings don’t get sick, the people do.
It’s like Mr. Rogers of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood would say at the end of every show: “There's no person in the whole world like you”. That also goes for your health and what factors can influence your health.
As an example, Legionella has a 5% infection rate. That means that 95 out of 100 occupants of a building harboring the bacteria will not get Legionnaires Disease. That could mean that the building may never be identified as a “Sick Building”
What can Make the Occupants of a Building Sick?
It can be mold, off-gassing from the thousands of new and untested products we put into homes, combustion or industrial gasses or the myriad of bacteria, viruses and other contagions that can be brought into any building. That complexity of possible causes of illness complicated by individual occupant reactions to different exposures makes environmental investigations “CSI for buildings”
Environmental Risks and Hazards are not a New Problem
We shouldn’t ignore the old issues of centuries ago. Leviticus 14 of the Bible discusses mold in homes. World history includes plagues and diseases that almost wiped out major segments of past civilizations.
We can only eliminate environmental hazards that can affect people when we identify them. We need to put up our hands and demand assessment and testing when health reactions lead us to suspect them.
We now know that water problems can be a source of mold. Sewage can harbor the diseases that devastated civilizations. We have developed understanding about those issues, but still often fall short in avoiding these contaminants in individual cases.
Lead is credited as a major factor in the fall of the Roman Empire, yet we have lead in the water supply of major cities like Flint and Pittsburgh. Imported dark color plastic toys, decorations, mascara, china dishes and crayons are still often sources of toxic lead.
Sick Building Syndrome is real, it is personal and in many instances, it can be devastating to a person, family, friends and employers.
SBS is widely misunderstood, often by well-meaning or misinformed people. It is often disbelieved and the victims of this serious affliction are often left without help and may even be ridiculed for their illness.
There was a time that the link between smoking cigarettes and lung cancer was considered pure fiction created by greedy attorneys. Asbestos was considered the miracle fiber that made schools and hospitals safe from fire. It took time and education to get past those education barriers to providing the necessary help for the victims of those environmental issues.
Now is the time and here is the place to start that process of getting help and advice for victims of Sick Building Syndrome.
This is an important mission for us. It is not lost on us that environmental work is not just a job, a healthy home can be life changing for the clients we serve and their loved ones.
As Winter Makes It Environmentally Unfriendly Approach
Imagine that winter’s approach is just another country music song. The song goes like this: “The temperature drops, the windows close, doors slam shut and all I got were those yucky, wheezy winter blues”.
There’s a very good reason that this happens. Closing up the house really is a big part of it all. The winter induced end of fresh air coming into your home is what concentrates the contaminants that can make you ill.
The old time environmental experts explained that “the solution to pollution is dilution”. Sounds hokey, but it is a simple principal. That process of dilution in summer is that if there is a contaminant or odor in the home, the fresh air will disperse and dilute it.
Another factor that effects indoor air quality in winter is that the operation of heating systems elevates and spreads airborne contaminants. Most people think of heating systems as spreading heat through the home. Today, we need to think about heating systems as distributing mold, allergens, formaldehyde, sewer gas and whatever else is in the building. Even hot water heat systems create convection to distribute the contaminants.
If you are wondering whether we are talking about your home, you will have hints that there is something wrong when you have environmental problems. Our bodies try to protect us by issuing those warnings. If something does not taste good, smell good or feel good, it is usually not good for us. Many times, our pets react to toxins before we do and give us the “heads up” that there is a problem. We should pay attention to the warnings.
It is a fact that caretakers are often more at risk from exposures because they are under stress, have a disrupted routine and are working harder to keep everything OK for the person receiving the care.
Common Disease Transfer Methods
Vectors: This is the fancy word for things such as mosquitos that transfer diseases from one person to another.
Consumption: This is disease that is spread through contaminated food.
Air transfer: This is airborne transfer between living things. Masks are the best protection for these agents. In some cultures, the sick person has responsibility to wear masks to protect others from infection. Our approach is usually for the person not wanting exposed to wear the mask
Touchpoints: Examples, refrigerator or microwave handle, door knobs, railings, tops of chairs
bathroom fixtures, phones, kitchen appliances, laundry appliances, spigots, handles, remote controls, computers, tables, chair backs and arms, linens, stuffed animals, water fountains and all of your automobile touchpoints.
Common Conditions That Increase Vulnerability from Touchpoints and Air Transfer
People in close quarters
Day care, schools, workplace, any enclosed public location
Ambulance transfers
Air travel
Gyms
Workplace material handling
Modern buildings with energy efficient systems that deny us fresh air
What to Do for “At Risk” People
So now that you have the bejeebers scared out of you, we need to look at what we can do to avoid these exposures. By the way, I never knew what a bejeeber was, but I know I never wanted to have one scared out of me.
Vectors: Eliminate at least one step ion how the vector transfers disease to humans. As an example, if we are talking Zika, eliminate the mosquito, or eliminate the mosquito biting you. This could be proper clothing, repellants or area treatments. Pick the point that will most likely succeed. If you were having a wedding or sports event, you would do an area treatment after eliminating standing water areas.
Consumption: We have the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) charges with the responsibility of checking our food supply. Most of the time, they are successful. It still pays to not take risks such as undercooked meat consumption.
Air Transfer: Teach proper hygiene when it comes to sneezing and coughing. Have contagious persons wear masks, or if they do not wear a mask. Cleaning of HVAC and any other air moving systems may need cleaned.
Touchpoints: Clean all of the touchpoints with a disinfectant. The use of a Luminometer which tests for
ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) which indicates the presence of any remaining organic contaminants. It is the simplest way to know for certain if a cleaning program is working. There are numerous chemicals that are effective disinfectants. However, for some very serious exposures, there are particular disinfection products that must be used.
Imagine picking up the flood water soaked baby blanket, your parents wedding picture or the family bible. The question of what to do with possessions, furnishing and contents is important to the financial and emotional recovery after a flood water or mold disaster. When talking about items that have a sentimental value, the understanding of “what to clean or throw out” can also a deeply emotional question.
The short story is if it has porous surfaces and is already moldy or was under flood water, it will probably need thrown away. This includes cardboard, carpet, padding, stuffed animals and upholstered furnishings. Mattresses and box springs are on that list.
Food items that have been in contact with mold or flood water should be thrown away.
Materials that have a solid surface such as plastic, glass or metal are easily cleaned and preserved. Soap and water is the simplest cleaning method. A mixture of ½ cup of Clorox to a gallon of water is a great way to disinfect the hard surfaced materials. Do not use a higher concentration of Clorox as it can result in injury to people, pets and the items the mixture contacts.
Fabric clothing is readily saved by washing in regular laundry detergent unless the fabric has been damaged. The sooner the material is cleaned, the less chance of irreversible damage to material. Mold and flood contaminants will clean out of cloth material, but damaged clothing is not restored to its original condition by washing. Leather is difficult to properly clean and should be handled by a cleaning professional as soon as possible.
The paper and cloth materials that did not get wet or damp and do not have visible mold or damaged may be preserved by simply HEPA vacuuming.
Larger appliances that have some mold exposure but have not been under water may be saved with cleaning. The exception can be the electronic systems of appliances that can be damaged by moisture or mold. Consult a professional about these items. As an example, a hard drive may be removed from a computer and salvaged, but the drive could be damaged if it is powered on while in a computer with damaged circuitry.
Food preparation appliances that have been exposed to flood water or mold will probably need replaced. The cost of cleaning some of these items will often exceed the cost of replacement. Failure to clean these can result in recontamination of the home or illness to residents.
Forced air furnaces can distribute mold, flood water disease and bacteria through an entire home. These need professionally addressed as serious health problems can be caused by airborne biological contaminants
Any handling of contaminated materials should be done with personal protective equipment such as gloves, eye protection and masks. Some contaminants can enter through the eyes and skin, especially if there is an open cut or wound. Use proper protective equipment as appropriate for the conditions.
There are some building materials used in the construction that, in all circumstances, will require replacement as opposed to cleaning. Fiberboard ductwork is one such example. Insulation is another common example.
In Summary
To minimize loss, begin the effort to protect your home and possessions as soon as it can be done safely. If attempting the work, yourself, learn about safe methods and follow proper safety precautions.
Consider consulting a professional for work beyond your comfort zone or background. Good health is priceless and improper handling of contaminated materials can result is serious health problems. Proper remediation cleaning may also protect materials from requiring replacement and save more money than the cost of the services.
Go to www.Envirospect.info for more links and additional information about Sick Building Syndrome and its effects on your health. To download a PDF copy our Article “The Top 6 Questions After Flooding”, go to: http://goo.gl/vMIU9s
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Solving the riddle of what the cause or the remedy for Sick Building Syndrome can become a lifetime struggle. If you ask what is the relationship between our bodies and the environment, the answer is the same as many relationships in life: Its complicated! Too often we do not get to the bottom of “complicated”.
It is Tough to Figure Out What Makes Us Ill
The first barrier to solving the healthy environment problem is that most environmental reactions happen in time delay. Our brain wiring is much better looking at things as cause-effect when they are occurring together. If we touch a burner on the stove, we feel pain. If we hit our thumb with hammer, we immediately feel the consequences of that action. We learn in real time that for those actions there is a predictable , consistent reaction. We also figure out to not do those things again.
Environmental exposures usually take time. We walk into a contamination, and may not feel ill for the first hours, days or weeks. Often we do not become ill from an exposure for years until our immunity is affected by another illness or aging.
Our bodies work hard to keep us from having health problems from short term or low level exposures to toxins. As an example, most municipal water authorities have traces of arsenic in the water we drink. Our bodies can usually process the small amount of arsenic and we get on with life with little disruption. Our liver and kidneys can push small amounts of the arsenic out of our bodies and lives. If we open a jar of arsenic and consume a large amount of arsenic at one time, we can become very ill if not dead.
“Time loading” is how environmental illness often occurs. What that means is that if we have a little arsenic each day, and we start accumulating more in our bodies so that the liver and can clean up that chemical mess, we will become ill. By the way, this explains why a person who spends more time in a sick building can become sick and others who spend less time there are not affected