Together with a global concern for the reduction and conservation of energy, the oil crisis of 1973 brought about a turning point in the design of buildings. Responses in this vein were mostly concentrated on the simplistic one of sealing the building against outdoor conditions. This approach towards energy consumption, associated with the introduction of air-conditioning systems, led to different problems such as Sick Building Syndrome. Lack of user satisfaction also appeared to be a common complaint in such sealed, air-conditioned buildings, leading to a marked drop in employee efficiency and, hence, return on capital investments. In this study, Emek iShani, a sealed office building located in Ankara, whose curtain wall system was renovated in 2001, was investigated in terms of its natural ventilation potential under two sub-topics. With a survey conducted, user perception towards environmental conditions, and health problems they suffered were investigated. With a computer simulation, natural ventilation potential of the building in terms of energy consumption was examined. It was resulted from the survey that building occupants have serious health problems. They are also not satisfied with the way the ventilation system functions and most of the occupants liked to have a window opening to outside in order to adjust the inner conditions. It was resulted from the computer simulation that integration of natural ventilation did not make any significant difference in the annual energy consumption of the building. On the other hand, cooling loads of the building were eliminated in summer months. As a result, introduction of natural ventilation appeared to be an appropriate tool for more user satisfaction and energy conservation.

Baigiamojo magistro darbo tikslas - išanalizuoti naujų ekologiškų statybinių medžiagų ir inžinerinės įrangos iš atsinaujinančių energijos išteklių raidą pasaulyje ir jų taikymą individualių gyvenamųj�� namų statyboje, ir pateikti racionaliausius sprendimus, pritaikant juos gyvenamųjų namų statyboje Lietuvoje, atsižvelgiant į ekonominius aspektus. Šiame darbe nagrinėjama gyvenamajai žmogaus aplinkai ir sveikatai kenksmingų veiksnių įtaka, atkreipiant dėmesį į naudojamas statybines medžiagas ir inžinerinę įrangą, statant gyvenamuosius namus, ir pateikiant tradicinėms statybos technologijoms alternatyvų. Apibūdinant „žaliosios energijos“ inžinerinės įrangos ir ekologiškų statybinių medžiagų plėtrą pasaulyje, pateikiamas jų praktinis panaudojimas, statant individualiuosius gyvenamuosius namus. Atsižvelgiant į naujas statybos direktyvas, plėtojant gyvenamųjų namų ekologišką statybą Lietuvoje, šios statybos ekonominius aspektus ir Lietuvos geografines sąlygas, pateikiami labiausiai galimi ekologiškos statybos variantai Lietuvos sąlygomis. Remiantis atliktos apklausos apie gyvenamojo namo ekologišką statybą rezultatais, palyginus projektinio ekologiško gyvenamojo namo ir tradicinio skydinio gyvenamojo namo mechanines savybes ir statybos išlaidas, darbo pabaigoje pateikiamos išvados apie ekologiškos statybos būsto statybos ir rinkos perspektyvas Lietuvoje. Darbo apimtis – 84 p. teksto be priedų, 22 pav., 9 lent., 91 literatūros šaltiniai. Atskirai pridedami darbo priedai. / The objective of final paper of master studies is to analyze the development of new ecological construction materials and engineer systems from renewable energy resources and its implementation in living houses construction industry, giving the most rational solutions to this construction technology implementation in Lithuania, considering the economical aspects. In this paper there are studying the influence of harmful factors to living environment and people health, taking attention to the construction materials and engineer facility that are used in living houses construction, and giving the alternatives to traditional construction technology. Defining the engineer systems of “green energy” and ecological construction materials development in the world, there are giving its practical use in living houses construction. Considering to new construction directives in Lithuania, economical aspects and geographical conditions in Lithuania, there are giving most impossible variants of living houses ecological construction in Lithuania. According to the results of questioning about ecological construction of living houses, after comparison of mechanical features and construction costs of potential ecological house and traditional living house, in the end of the work there are giving conclusion about the perspectives of ecological house construction and its market in Lithuania. Span of final paper – 84 pages of text not including appendix, 22 illustrations, 9 tables, 91 sources... [to full text]

Pasaulinės Sveikatos Organizacijos ekspertų duomenimis, besivystančiose šalyse apie 30 proc. pastatų - naujai pastatytų ir rekonstruotų - turi vadinamąjį sergančio pastato sindromą (SPS). Tokiuose pastatuose ilgai būnantys žmonės pradeda skųstis įvairiais sveikatos negalavimais. Spėjama, kad šie simptomai pasireiškia 10-30 proc. tokiuose pastatuose dirbančių žmonių. Darbo tikslas. Įvertinti darbuotojų nusiskundimų sveikatos simptomais ir darbo sąlygom pobūdį bei dažnį ir surinktus duomenis analizuoti atsižvelgiant į lytį, amžių, pareigas. Nustatyti sergančio pastato sindromo atsiradimą sąlygojančias priežastis. Tyrimo metodika. Tyrimas atliktas taikant internetinę apklausą. Anketoje buvo pateiktas 51 klausimas. Iš viso klausimyną užpildė 302 respondentai. Tai buvo suaugę, dirbantys asmenys. Rezultatai. Turinčių nusiskundimų darbo sąlygomis moterų skaičius buvo didesnis negu vyrų. Moterys dažniau jausdavo įvairius simptomus būdamos darbo vietoje. Administracines pareigas užimančių asmenų tarpe buvo mažiau besiskundžiančių darbo sąlygomis. Jie rečiau jausdavo įvairius simptomus lyginant su kitas pareigas užimančiais asmenimis. Taip pat turėjo didesnes tinkamų darbo aplinkos parametrų užtikrinimo galimybes. Reikšmingų skirtumų tarp skirtingų amžiaus grupių nebuvo nustatyta. Duomenys buvo analizuojami naudojant statistinės duomenų analizės programą „SPSS“. Išvados. Moterys turėjo daugiau nusiskundimų darbo sąlygomis bei darbo vietoje dažniau jausdavo įvairius simptomus lyginant... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / According to the data of Word Health Organization, about 30 percent of the buildings in the developing countries, both newly-built and reconstructed, have the so-called sick building syndrome (SBS). The people who spend an extended period of time in such a building tend to begin having various health complaints. It is assumed that from 10 to 30 percent of the people who work in such buildings start having such complaints. Aim of the study: to examine the nature and the frequency of the workers’ complaints regarding the health and working conditions, and to analyze the collected data accounting for such variables as sex, age and occupation; to determine the reasons which condition the occurrence of the sick building syndrome. Methods. The research was conducted using the method of online questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of 51 questions and was completed by 302 respondents. All of the respondents were working adults. Results. The number of complaints about working conditions received from women exceeded that received from men. Women reported feeling various symptoms while at work more frequently. The number of complaints about working conditions from those who held administrative positions was lower. The people from this group reported feeling various symptoms less frequently, in comparison with the people who held other positions. They also had more possibilities to assure suitable parameters of the working environment. There were no significant differences among... [to full text]

A modern person spends most time closed inside houses, offices, schools and other institutions, and if he feels unwell or experiences accute health and comfort effects, his every day life can be highly influenced both mentally and physically. Most symptoms of illnesses or indispositions appear in people living or working inside buildings for no apparent reason. Having left the building, health problems often diminish or even disappear. The complaints mostly include irritation of eye mucous membranes, upper and lower airways and skin, hypersensitiveness, mental and physical fatique, stomach upset and diziness. It is known as a ``sick building syndrome``. ``Sick building syndrome`` (SBS) results into significant decrease of human performance and frequent absences. However, it can lead to worse interpersonal relations, often connected with lower productivity of labour. ``Sick building syndrome`` has been known for many years. Its occurence is numerous but the cause for it have not yet been revealed. More negative factors seem to coincide. The positive moment is that many people are aware of the problem so many new SBS studies and publications have appeared recently. This diploma thesis consists of two parts. The first one, theoretical, and the other is practical. The practical part is focused on research work. The goal of my thesis was to compare a modern air-conditioned building with an older one, without air-conditioning while observing the SBS symptoms which appeared in office occupants in České Budějovice. I also investigated public awareness of this problem together with other issues related. I consider the findings very contributive to professionals in this field, the National Institute of Public Health and common population interested in the problem.

Det finns tydliga hälsofördelar med en relativ fuktighet på 40–60% inomhus. Trots detta finns det idag inga direktiv på hur man ska styra den relativa fuktigheten inomhus. Många gånger diskuteras det kring avfuktning men i denna rapport tas befuktning upp ur ett hälsoperspektiv.I denna studie har det undersökts huruvida befuktningssystem skulle kunna användas i större utsträckning till fördel för människors hälsa.I rapporten redogörs för olika befuktningmetoder samt deras termofysiska processer - adiabatisk eller isotermisk. Dessutom undersöks vad som händer med energin i luften och vattenångan vid olika temperaturer samt vad olika relativ fuktighet har för hälsomässiga för- och nackdelar.Resultatet visar på att det finns både etablerade befuktningssystem samt ett behov av befuktning. Däremot är efterfrågan av befuktning inte speciellt stor i bostäder och branschen ställer sig negativ till befuktning i ventilationssystem. / There are clear health benefits of having a relative humidity between 40–60% indoors. Despite this, there are currently no directives on what level the relative humidity should be indoors. Today dehumidification is a common matter but this report is about humidification, from a health perspective.In this study, it has been investigated whether humidification could be used to a greater extent, to the benefit of humans’ health.This report describes various humidification methods and their thermophysical processes - adiabatic and isothermal. It is also explained what happens to the energy in the air and water vapor at different temperatures and how the relative humidity affects our health at different levels.The result shows that there is a need for humidification and that there are several technical solutions available today. However, the demand is low and the industry is not very positive to the idea of humidification in ventilation systems.

Sick building syndrome (SBS) is a particular concern in places with inadequate ventilation and frequently attributed to chemical contaminants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs)released from indoor sources that are frequently encountered in everyday life such as adhesives, carpeting, upholstery, manufactured wood products, copy machines, pesticides, cleaning agents inside buildings, plumbing vents, and painting. Furthermore, it is a major issue for modern human beings who spend most of their time indoors or must stay indoors for self-isolation due to special circumstances such as the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic that occurred in 2019 and 2020. Main indoor VOCs are trichloroethylene (TCE), benzene, toluene, and para-xylene (p-xylene). In general, these compounds are not present in indoor spaces at acute concentrations, but prolonged exposure to these compounds can have chronic health effects such as allergic sensitization, increased cancer risks, and respiratory diseases. In this study, the adsorption process with various advantages has been applied to remove VOC’s using commercially available hydrophobic adsorbents. The hydrophobic adsorbents can contribute to reducing the possibility of chemical adsorption (chemisorption) of moisture from the air, which can decrease the capacity of adsorbent by clogging the pores. The adsorption of these major VOCs was investigated in this work for three major types of industrial hydrophobic adsorbents: activated carbons, zeolites, and polymer. This study will show the investigation into finding the most promising hydrophobic adsorbent for removal of TCE, benzene, toluene, and p-xylene, which are the main VOCs found indoors. The promising hydrophobic adsorbent has been determined by comparing Henry’s law constants and heat of adsorption values for the different adsorbents, which were estimated by using a concentration pulse chromatographic technique by utilizing a gas chromatograph equipped with a flame ionization detector. For all adsorbents, Henry’s law constants at room temperature of p-xylene were always the highest followed by toluene, benzene, and TCE. For all adsorbates, Henry’s law constants at room temperature of AC BPL and HiSiv 3000 were higher than the other hydrophobic adsorbents. For a developing modern society dealing with a pandemic, this study can contribute to producing the optimized gas masks and indoor filters for the removal of indoor air pollutants, which can help people who suffer from SBS. It can also help society for taking preventative actions towards dealing with SBS.

Hund, bakterieller/ zytologischer Konjunktivalstatus, Konjunktivitis, Klinikaufenthalt

Abstract: The aim of the study was to evaluate the indoor air quality (IAQ) of a semi-airtight (the building only utilises mechanical means to ventilate the occupied spaces however an airtight seal is not established as a result of infiltration due to building design) office building that is situated in central Johannesburg that exclusively uses a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system for ventilation. This implies a system that only utilises mechanical ventilation to heat, cool, humidify and clean the air for comfort, safety and health of employees. This includes the control of odour levels, and also the maintenance of carbon dioxide (CO2) below stipulated levels. Methods: The building is divided into two sections; west and east. Each section has its own ventilation supply. A randomisation process was used to ascertain which offices needed to be sampled, in which section as well as on which floor. For this study, five offices per section were measured. Thus, ten offices per floor were measured and measurements were taken on every second floor. All measurements were done in accordance with the specific requirements of the manufacturer of any specific instrument used and measurements were taken over an eight hour period (full work shift). Results were compared to the available standard, as well as compared to the ambient concentrations. Results: None of the monitored contaminants’ concentration were above the provided standards (ASHRAE or ACGIH). Where standards were unavailable, the HVAC system maintained an indoor contaminant concentration that is substantially lower when compared to the outdoor air concentrations. Conclusion: The buildings’ HVAC system maintains indoor air quality at a healthy level it is unlikely that any one of these contaminants may lead to SBS amongst the employees. / MSc (Occupational Hygiene), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

It is now generally acknowledged that particulate air pollution can cause respiratory symptoms and that indoor dust particles may be associated with mucous membrane irritation and odour annoyance. One reason for this may be that dust particles adsorb large quantities of gases and other volatile compounds. It is therefore important to be able to determine the chemical compounds adsorbed onto indoor dust particles. In this thesis, a new technique was developed that can analyse chemical compounds in indoor dust particles in a simple yet accurate way. In its basic configuration, it comprises a one stage thermal desorption oven, a gas flow cell with a miniaturized GC column, and a nitrogen-flushed photo diode array (PDA) detector for fast UV spectra recording. The dust sample is thermally desorbed in the oven and the released compounds are flushed onto the GC column by means of a carrier gas stream; the separated compounds are then registered by the PDA detector and identified by their characteristic gas-phase UV spectra. Using this set-up, a number of volatile organic as well as inorganic compounds were identified in indoor dust particles, e.g. nitric oxide, ammonia, hydrogen sulphide, pyridine, 2-furaldehyde, 2-methylfuran, and isoprene. Moreover, acrylate monomers were identified in dust samples from a secondary school with problems due to powdering floor polish. An instrumental set-up with higher performance was achieved by interfacing the gas flow cell to a capillary GC column. When airborne indoor dust samples were analysed by this system and by GC-MS under similar conditions of thermal desorption (150 °C) and GC separation, the two analytical systems were found to be complementary. GC-UV together with GC-MS was thus demonstrated to be considerably more powerful than GC-MS alone for the analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in indoor dust. When airborne dust samples from damp (n=9) and control (n=9) residences were analysed for VOC and microorganisms, identifications made by culture and microscopy of the major moulds found, i.e. Aspergillus, Cladosporium and Penicillum, coincided with the identification of VOC known to be produced by these species. A number of additional VOC were also found, some of which may be irritating to the skin, eyes or respiratory tract if present at higher concentrations. Quantitative GC-UV analysis of indoor dust from 389 residences in Sweden showed that the VOC found at the highest concentrations were saturated aldehydes (C5-C10), furfuryl alcohol, 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol, 2-furaldehyde, and benzaldehyde. Alkenals were also found, notably 2-butenal (crotonaldehyde), 2-methyl-propenal (methacrolein), hexenal, heptenal, octenal, and nonenal. GC-UV was also applied (together with GC-MS) to determine VOC in dust from residences of 198 children with symptoms of asthma and/or allergy (cases) and from residences of 202 children without symptoms (controls). The mean concentration of nicotine was found to be significantly higher in dust from case residences, while the mean concentrations of hexane, nonanal, octane, 2-pentylfuran and tridecanol were significantly higher in dust from control residences. In a stepwise logistic regression model, nicotine, hexanal, furfuryl alcohol, nonane, butanol, and octenal showed increased relative risks, expressed as odds ratios comparing cases with controls. By contrast, benzaldehyde, nonanal, butenal, hexane, tridecanol, and pentylfuran showed decreased relative risks. These findings point to the possibility that not only environmental tobacco smoke but also other emissions in the indoor environment may be linked to the increased prevalence of asthma and/or allergy in children. It is concluded that GC-UV may be used as an alternative or complement to GC-MS for measuring chemicals in indoor dust, thus improving the survey and control of human exposure to particle-bound toxicants and other chemicals. / Copyright Agreement: Figure 3 included in the PDF file abowe is the exclusive property of SAGE Publications (http://www.sagepublications.com/), or its licensors and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. The download of the file(s) is intended for the User's personal and noncommercial use. Any other use of the download of the Work is strictly prohibited. User may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, reproduce, create derivative works (including coursepacks) from, distribute, perform, display, or in any way exploit any of the content of the file(s) in whole or in part. Permission may be sought for further use from Sage Publications Ltd, Rights and Permissions Department, 1 Oliver's Yard, 55 City Road, London EC1Y 1SP Fax: +44 (020) 7324-8600. By downloading the file(s), the User acknowledges and agrees to these terms.

People spend most of their time indoors and mostly in the dwelling. It is therefore important to investigate associations between indoor exposure in dwellings and health. Symptoms that may be related to the indoor environment are sometimes referred to as the "sick building syndrome" (SBS). SBS involves symptoms such as eye, skin and upper airway irritation, headache and fatigue. Three longitudinal studies and one prevalence study on personal and environmental risk factors for SBS in adults were performed. The prevalence study included measurements of indoor exposures in the dwellings. The longitudinal studies, with 8-10 years follow-up time, showed that smoking and indoor paint emissions were risk factors for SBS. Moreover, building dampness and moulds in dwellings were risk factors for onset (incidence) of general symptoms, skin symptoms and mucosal symptoms. In addition subjects living in damp dwellings have a lower remission of general symptoms and skin symptoms. Hay fever was a risk factor for onset of skin symptoms and mucosal symptoms, and asthma was a risk factor for onset of general and mucosal symptoms. Biomarkers of allergy and inflammation (bronchial reactivity, total IgE, ECP and eosinophil count) were predictors of onset of SBS symptoms, in particular mucosal symptoms. In the prevalence study, any SBS-symptom was associated with some individual volatile organic compounds of possible microbial origin (MVOC) e.g. 2-pentanol, 2-hexanon, 2-pentylfuran and 1-octen-3ol. Moreover, there were associations between indoor levels of formaldehyde and the plasticizer Texanol and any SBS. The result from the study indicates that individual MVOC are better indicators of SBS than the total value of MVOC. A final conclusion is that smoking, dampness and moulds and emissions from indoor painting may increase the onset of SBS. The indoor environment in dwellings over time has improved, but there is still a need for further improvements of the indoor environment in dwellings. More longitudinal SBS studies are needed.