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Former armory infested with mold - NEW
Whitefish Bay - There's a new kink in the debate over what to do with the former National Guard Armory that has been the subject of debate here for more than four years: The building is infested with mold. - February 21, 2003
Mold remains an issue at Simsbury Town Hall - NEW
With clean-up costs mounting at Town Hall, several employees wearing safety masks to prevent exposure, and lawsuits looming on the horizon, mold is more than just a four-letter word at the Simsbury Town Hall. - February 21, 2003
Slime and Punishment - NEW
courthouse has been cordoned off in places while health officials try to figure out what can be done about a potentially harmful greenish-black mold growing around windows and cracks.
Bad office air, not bad vibes, may cause many symptoms of sick building syndrome, a new Cornell study finds
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Workers in poorly ventilated offices are twice as likely to report the symptoms of sick building syndrome (SBS) as are employees in a well-ventilated environment, a new Cornell University study finds.
Breathing Easier Tops List of Worker Concerns
WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Indoor air quality is the biggest issue currently facing the American worker, according to a newly released membership survey from the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA). The association represents nearly 12,500 professionals in the field of occupational and environmental health and safety.
Chemical Found In Computer Can Cause Allergy, Sickness
(American Chemical Society) - Does computer work give you a headache? You've got company. New research suggests that emissions from the plastic of your computer's video monitor may be affecting your health, according to a Swedish study presented in the current (Sept. 15) edition of Environmental Science & Technology, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society. Triphenyl phosphate - a chemical compound widely used as a flame retardant in the plastic of video monitors and other products - is known to cause allergic reactions in some people. The reactions can range from itching and nasal congestion to headaches.
City workers complaining of sick-building problems
City employees who have complained for three years that their office building is making them sick were told Wednesday it may take three months until remedial improvements are made to their working environment.
City workers say fungus has returned
City employees at the Las Vegas Development Services Center think their building is making them sick.
Clearing the air
The view might be breathtaking for banking executives who work on the top floor of the tallest building in Jacksonville, but the employees still can't open a window and take a breath.
Employees' illnesses spark
A Lynn Haven business has until Thursday to report to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on what may have made more than a dozen employees sick since last week. A receptionist at Grolier Telemarketing Services Inc., at 1812 S. Highway 77 in Lynn Haven, said the company would have no comment on the situation Tuesday morning. However, an OSHA official confirmed that the agency had received complaints from Grolier employees since Friday.
Firms should prepare for 'sick building' claims
Although outdoor air pollution has been the focus of numerous studies, debates and regulations for years, the question of whether the air in buildings contains pollutants harmful to humans is more recent.
Fungal Contamination in Public Buildings:
A Guide to Recognition and Management (Health Canada Publication: to download) (Human Health Effects covered) - 88 Pages - PDF (520k)
June 1995
Fungus found in state office building in North Las Vegas
The presence of a fungus that causes cold-like symptoms and headaches in sensitive people was confirmed Thursday at a state employment office in North Las Vegas.
Illnesses closing Grolier
INVESTIGATION: Business shutting down for five days to test building. Susan Acre says she is sick and believes the building she works in caused her ailments. Her employer has closed the office temporarily to search for a cause of her problems. Judy Corman, spokeswoman for Scholastic, Inc., said the company will close Grolier Telemarketing Services for the next five days. During that time, the company will do extensive testing to determine whether there is something in the building that is causing employees to become ill.
IAQ in Large Buildings / Commercial Buildings
Indoor Air Quality Report Detailed Building's Woes
A confidential indoor air quality report, issued nearly two years ago, details problems inside the City Hall satellite office where mold, asbestos and lead were discovered this month.
Indoor Air vs. Indoor Construction: A New Beginning
Indoor air concerns seem to haunt facility directors during construction projects. The future expansion or operation of any type of building is a complex process that leaves facility managers little time for unnecessary activities such as employee relations or mediation.
Is Your Office Killing You?
Everything was running perfectly that spring afternoon at the courtyard-style Best Western Springdale in the suburbs of Cincinnati. Room service was humming along at a reliable clip. The floral-patterned comforters were getting fluffed. Kids were splashing in the pool. Then, suddenly, General Manager Jim Crane got an emergency call about a leak that was turning Room 529 into a virtual waterfall. Within minutes, he and the hotel's burly engineer were ripping apart the room's walls. Inside, they found something out of a B-grade horror movie: a deathly smelling mold so gooey and hairy it seemed like it was breathing.
Leaks seen as source of 'sick building'
State investigators think they've located water sources that may be fueling mysterious illnesses plaguing the Grant Sawyer State Office Building.
Microbiologics In The Workplace
Indoor environments present a complex challenge when trying to determine the role of microbiologic organisms in causing workplace symptoms and disease.
Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings
Mold Forces Changes In Handline Carson City Evidence
The scene resembles something out of a science-fiction movie — workers covered head to toe with white jumpsuits.
Regulators Struggle To Diagnose Sick Buildings While Offices Lack
NEW CASTLE, Del. -- Brenda Minner says she was a healthy woman in her late 40s when she began working for Greenwood Trust Co. in the early 1990s. She went to her job every day at the bank's offices in New Castle, where it issues the Discover Card.
Search for Sawyer building illness to go inside walls
The state Risk Management Division will soon begin punching holes in walls at the Grant Sawyer State Office Building in an effort to track down the source of a mysterious illness.
Something In The Air.
Experts differ on whether 'sick-building syndrome' is legitimate If Dr. Edward Bernacki's office does not field a complaint once a day,there must not be something in the air.
State building stripped of fungal contamination
More fungus samples from a North Las Vegas state employment office were tested over the weekend to see if they posed a toxic threat to workers.
State office closes when fungus found in ceilings
LAS VEGAS (AP) - A state employment security office closed its doors Wednesday because of a fungus likely growing in the walls and ceilings of the two-story building.
Tech microbiologist pinpoints mold spores in sick building in Fort Worth
It isn't always boring chores that drive workers away - a sick building can accomplish the same thing in a single day. When Overton Centre Tower in Fort Worth was emptied recently, David C. Straus of Lubbock was called in to check it out with a device that pulls microscopic organisms from the air.
Water damage repair to oust Interstate firms
Owners and tenants of the fire-damaged Interstate Building have been told that at least three floors will have to be gutted. Environmental tests show extensive mold and fungus infestation in the walls of the 14th and 15th floors of the 16-story building. Hugh Granger of HP Environmental, the company doing the testing, said mold and fungus commonly grow after fires are extinguished with water.
When the Workplace Makes You Sick
Get headaches ever since you started working in that new highrise? Or maybe you've felt nauseous and dizzy the whole time you've had your sales job in that mall that just opened last year.
Workers complain of bad air at courthouse
TAMPA -- The historic federal courthouse in downtown Tampa, mentioned as a possible temporary home for Florida A&M University's new law school, has such poor indoor air quality that 22 workers will be forced to move, officials said Friday.