Indoor air pollutants and sick building syndrome: a case study and implications for the community health nurse.
Indoor air pollutants and sick building syndrome are only recently gaining recognition as a public health concern. Unfortunately, however, most nurses feel ill equipped to address such environmental health issues. This article begins with a review of literature on indoor air pollutants and sick building syndrome, followed by a case study of occupant illness in a school since the onset of a school construction and renovation project. Included in the case study is an in-depth analysis of Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) and Product Data Sheets, conducted to examine the potential health effects resulting from product use in the indoor environment. The results of the analysis indicate that a significant number of products used in the project may have induced the reported occupant symptoms. The conclusion of the case study is that building occupants were exposed to multiple products that have numerous acute overexposure health effects and unknown long-term effects, and thereby placed occupants at an ill-defined health risk. The review of literature and case study findings demonstrate the imminent need for community health nurses to assume a proactive role in promoting environmental health. nursing implications are provided to guide the community health nurse's role in cases of sick building syndrome.
Tsacoyianis
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Adult Pulmonary Clinic, New England Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002648:Child; D003152:Community Health Nursing; D003252:Construction Materials / Q000009:adverse effects; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D012573:School Nursing; D012574:Schools; D018877:Sick Building Syndrome / Q000209:etiology / Q000451:nursing* / Q000517:prevention & control
D015386:Hazardous Substances