Building-related illness and employee lost time following application of hot asphalt roof: a call for prevention.
Industrial hygiene sampling within an office building during and following a roof renovation revealed low-level exposure to high-boiling organic compounds, associated with complaints of eye and upper respiratory tract irritation among building occupants. Health complaints continued substantially beyond the time frame of the renovation completion, despite a lack of objective industrial hygiene findings for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and microbiological contamination, and a lack of consistent medical findings among employees evaluated by an occupational physician. An analysis of employee attendance records suggests lost attendance and reduced productivity costs. Preventive strategies include proper planning and scheduling of building renovations to prevent employee exposure to asphalt roof emissions.
Lynch
R M
RM
Department of Urban Studies and Community Health, NJ Graduate Program in Public Health, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, USA.
Kipen
H
H
D000328:Adult; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000517:prevention & control; D005160:Facility Design and Construction; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016272:Occupational Health; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D018877:Sick Building Syndrome / Q000209:etiology*; D018582:Sick Leave / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D006838:Hydrocarbons; D009930:Organic Chemicals; C006647:asphalt