FIELD SURVEY ON INDOOR AIR QUALITY AND OCCUPANTS' HEALTH CONDITIONS IN SICK HOUSES

摘要

Indoor air quality of twenty-two houses in Sendai-city, Japan, where occupants are suspected of suffering from what are called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) and Sick Building/House Syndrome (SBS/SHS), was investigated during the summer in 2000. The investigation included measurements of formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), questionnaire regarding subjective symptoms and medical examination of MCS. The measurement revealed that the formaldehyde concentration found in 38 rooms (63%) exceeded the criterion from the guideline, set 0.08 ppm, by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan. Almost all occupants complained of subjective symptoms. The 88% of participants in medical examination were diagnosed with possible MCS. The relationship between the measurement result of indoor chemical substance concentrations and the subjective symptoms obtained from questionnaire suggested that the symptoms revealed more serious in higher chemical substance concentration houses, but even in lower chemical substance concentration houses, some occupants also suffered from symptoms.