CORP Author |
USDOE Office of Energy Research, Washington, DC (United States). ;Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC (United States). National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Rockville, MD (United States). |
Abstract |
To test proposed methods for reducing SBS symptoms and to learn about the causes of these symptoms, a double-blind controlled intervention study was designed and implemented. This study utilized two different interventions designed to reduce occupants' exposures to airborne particles: (1) high efficiency filters in the building's HVAC systems; and (2) thorough cleaning of carpeted floors and fabric-covered chairs with an unusually powerful vacuum cleaner. The study population was the workers on the second and fourth floors of a large office building with mechanical ventilation, air conditioning, and sealed windows. Interventions were implemented on one floor while the occupants on the other floor served as a control group. For the enhanced-filtration intervention, a multiple crossover design was used (a crossover is a repeat of the experiment with the former experimental group as the control group and vice versa). Demographic and health symptom data were collected via an initial questionnaire on the first study week and health symptom data were obtained each week, for eight additional weeks, via weekly questionnaires. A large number of indoor environmental parameters were measured during the study including air temperatures and humidities, carbon dioxide concentrations, particle concentrations, concentrations of several airborne bioaerosols, and concentrations of several microbiologic compounds within the dust sampled from floors and chairs. This report describes the study methods and summarizes the results of selected environmental measurements. |