Health Consequences
Symptoms of Poor EAQ - Causes - Sources 

Symptoms of Poor Environmental Air Quality

Many types of illness can result from contaminated indoor air.  Some manifestations of poor IAQ are comfort complaints, sick Building Syndrome (SBC) , Building Related Illnesses (BRI) and multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS).

Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) is one such type causing physical reaction to multiple low-level contaminants.  These contaminants could be chemical (formaldehyde), biological (mold), or physical (heat, humidity and lighting).  Symptoms occupants may experience as a result of SBS include:  

Asthma	Allergies
Cold & Flue-Like Symptoms	Bronchitis
Vaginal Infections	Chronic Fatigue
Eye, Ear and Sinus Infections	Environmental Illness
Pneumonia	Headaches
Sinus Infection	Respiratory & Throat Infections
Congestion	Skin Rashes
and many other conditions...

These symptoms normally disappear when the afflicted individuals leave the building for a period of time - such as a weekend - but return when they reenter it.

What are the Causes?

Indoors, people breathe between two and three tablespoons of airborne dust per day.  Dust contains molds, bacteria, viruses, animal dander, dust mites and chemicals that can cause sickness and diseases.  Once a person's immune system is weakened, they can become hypersensitive to certain chemicals, gases and airborne irritants.

What are the Sources?

The EPA says that Indoor air is one of the top Five environmental health risks of our time.