An evaluation of sick building syndrome amongst administrative employees in an office environment in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal

Abstract

Introduction: Approximately 90% of the populace spends their time indoors. The building environment, in which an individual is ensconced, is directly related to the sustenance of the health of the human body as well as psychological well-being (Murniati 2020: 278). Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) has been a controversial topic over the years, as there are several definitions published in research. Nevertheless, common SBS symptoms and characteristics make it prevalent as a consequence of exposure to several possible indoor factors such as; low/ high temperature, inadequate ventilation, overcrowding, stress, poor building and ventilation maintenance, inadequate cleaning and pollutant accumulation. Methodology: This study focuses on investigating the association between indoor carbon dioxide levels (CO2), air flow rate, indoor temperature and the prevalence of SBS contributing to the health and wellbeing of employees in an administrative office building in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. This was achieved with the use of two phases of investigation. A commonly used questionnaire on health, lifestyle and office conditions focused on their perceptions of the participants, regarding their environment. Thereafter, objective sampling of CO2, indoor temperature and air flow rate was conducted and assessed. Both sampling methods were discussed and assessed simultaneously in relation to the Biopsychosocial Model as the objective sampling further validated the outcome from the questionnaire results. Results: The results showed that there was a correlation between age (p-value < 0.01), female gender (p-value < 0.01; n= 135), psychological conditions and physical environmental quality (temperature, ventilation and CO2; p-value < 0.01) with SBS. No correlation was identified between lifestyle conditions, smoking behavior, ergonomic factors, noise and illumination with the occurrence of Sick Building Syndrome (p-value > 0.05). It can be said that more than half of the participants were unhappy due to their working conditions. This did not meet the 80% occupant satisfactory requirement in the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standard 62.1. As a result of the below standard specifications and under maintained ventilation and air-conditioning system, an accumulation of CO2 occurred towards the end of the day with an overall low temperature on the sampling days. The accumulation of CO2 in the afternoon was a result of the extraction system which was not adequate to supply the level of overcrowding in the building. Furthermore, the negatively perceived environment added to the factors above resulting in the common SBS symptoms of watery eyes, dizziness, dry and burning eyes, fatigue/ tiredness, drowsiness/ lethargy, headaches, sinusitis, blocked /stuffy nose, runny nose, skin irritations, sore dry throat and influenza like symptoms being experienced amongst most participants. The most significant (p<0.001) symptoms experienced by participants were headaches and sinusitis. The defining factor which determined the prevalence of SBS was if the symptoms disappeared after a few hours of leaving the building and almost all (p-value <0.01; n=165) participants stated that this was true. Conclusion: It can be concluded employees in the office of study definitely experienced SBS. Finally, recommendations were suggested in relation to the hierarchy of control as well as transitioning into ‘green’ buildings. This is the first study in South Africa to associate SBS in an office using a multidisciplinary method since 1993 in South Africa (Truter 1993:1).