ASSESSMENT OF INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND OCCURRENCE OF SICK BUILDING SYNDROME IN SMALL OFFICES IN PENANG, MALAYSIA

Authors

  • Ang Qiu Mei School of Housing, Building and Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Malaysia
  • Md Azree Othuman Mydin School of Housing, Building and Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11113/jt.v75.4997

Keywords:

Indoor environmental quality, sick building syndrome, offices

Abstract

This study was done to investigate the relationship between indoor environmental quality and prevalence of Sick Building Syndrome in six small offices inPenangIsland. Indoor environmental quality measurement was conducted according to relevant standards. There are totally Sixty workers were selected to participate in an electronic questionnaire survey. Questionnaire was used to record the comfort level of respondents in the case studies and level of sick building syndrome faced by respondents. Through indoor environmental quality measurement, it is found that most of the offices facing the lighting and noise problem. The result from the questionnaire shows that in overall, the occupants satisfy with their working environment in term of indoor environmental quality although the result also shows the opinions of occupants on dissatisfaction on certain indoor environmental parameter according to case study. The study also found that most of the occupants feel drowsy and fatigue when they work within the offices. Besides, due to the difference of the indoor environmental quality of the buildings, the occupants are suffered from different symptoms of the sick building syndrome.

References

Zamani, Jalaludin & Shaharom. 2013. Indoor Air Quality and Prevalence of Sick Building Syndrome among Office Workers in Two Different Offices in Selangor. American Journal of Applied Sciences. 10(10): 1140-1147. doi: 10.3844/ajassp.2013.1140.1147

John, D. S., Jonathan, M. S., John, F. M. 2001. Indoor Air Quality Handbook. McGraw-Hill, United States of America.

Redlich, C. A., Sparer, J., & Cullen, M. R. 1997. Sick-building Syndrome. The Lancet. 349(9057): 1013-1016.

Burge, S., Hedge, A., Wilson, S., Bass, J. H., & ROBERTSON, A. 1987. Sick Building Syndrome: A Study of 4373 Office Workers. Annals of Occupational Hygiene. 31(4A): 493-504

Finnegan, M. J., Pickering, C. A., & Burge, P. S. 1984. The Sick Building Syndrome: Prevalence Studies. BMJ. 289(6458): 1573-1575.

Passarelli, G. R. 2009. Sick Building Syndrome: An Overview to Raise Awareness. Journal of Building Appraisal. 5(1): 55-66.

Jansz, J. 2011. Theories and Knowledge About Sick Building Syndrome. 25-58. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-17919-8_2.

United States Environmental Protection Agency. 1991. Indoor Air Facts No. 4 (Revised) Sick Building Syndrome. Air and Radiation (6609J).

Hedge, A. 2001. Indoor Environmental Quality and Productivity. 1st Environmental Systems Symposium at Syracuse, Syracuse University, October 29, 2001.

Fisk, W., & Rosenfeld, A. 1997. Improved Productivity and Health from Better Indoor Environments. Center for Building Science Newsletter.

Nicol, J. F., & Humphreys, M. A. 2002. Adaptive Thermal Comfort and Sustainable Thermal Standards for Buildings. Energy and Buildings. 34(6): 563-572.

Hedge, A., Erickson, W., Rubin, G. 1995. Predicting Sick Building Syndrome at the Individual and Aggregate Levels. Environ Int. 22(1): 3-19.

Burge, P. 2004. Sick Building Syndrome. Occup Environ Med. 61: 185-190.

Greer, C. 2007. Something in the Air: A Critical Review of Literature on the Topic of Sick Building Syndrome. World Saf J. 16(1): 23-26.

Milica, G. 2009. Sick Building Syndrome. Do We Live and Work in Unhealthy Environment? Period Biol. 111(1): 79-84.

Wong, S.-K., Wai-Chung Lai, L., Ho, D. C.-W., Chau, K.-W., Lo-Kuen Lam, C., & Hung-Fai Ng, C. 2009. Sick Building Syndrome and Perceived Indoor Environmental Quality: A Survey of Apartment Buildings In Hong Kong. Habitat International. 33(4): 463-471. doi: 10.1016/j.habitatint.2009.03.001.

Frontczak, M., Andersen, R. V., & Wargocki, P. 2012. Questionnaire Survey on Factors Influencing Comfort with Indoor Environmental Quality in Danish Housing. Building and Environment. 50(0): 56-64.

Ooi, P. L., Goh, K. T., Phoon, M. H., Foo, S. C., & Yap, H. M. 1998. Epidemiology of Sick Building Syndrome and Its Associated Risk Factors in Singapore. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 55(3): 188-193.

Hong Kong Occupational Safety and Health Branch Labour Department. 2003. A Simple Guide to Health Risk Assessment: Office Environment Series OE 2/2003 Lighting in Offices.

Standard, A. S. H. R. A. E. 2010. Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy. 55 (2010).

ISO EN 7730. 1994. Moderate Thermal Environments-Determination of the PMV and PPD Indices and Specification of the Conditions for Thermal Comfort. International Standards Organization. Geneva.

Standard, A. S. H. R. A. E. Standard 62.1-2004. 2004. Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality, Atlanta GA. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers.

Hemp. W., Glowatz, and Lichentwalner. C. 1995. Curing the Noisy Office. Occupational Hazards. 57(8): 36-39.

Laws of Malaysia. 1955. Act 265 “Employment Act 1955â€. Third Reprint.

United Kingdom Health and Safety Executive Guidance. 2011. The Six Basic Factors.

Evans, M. 1980. Housing, Climate, and Comfort. Halsted Press.

Kenney, W. L. 1998. Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety (Vol. 2). International Labour Organization. 42(2).

Aizat, S. I., Juliana, J., Norhafizalina, O., Azman, Z. A., & Kamaruzaman, J. 2009. Indoor Air Quality and Sick Building Syndrome in Malaysian Buildings. Global Journal of Health Science. 2: 126-135.

Schwartz, S. 2008. Linking Noise and Vibration to Sick Building Syndrome in Office Buildings. Em-Pittsburgh-Air and Waste Management Association. 26.

Giddings, B., Thomas, J., & Little, L. 2013. Evaluation of the Workplace Environment in the UK, and the Impact on Users’ Levels of Stimulation. Indoor and Built Environment. 22(6): 965-976.

Foo, S. C., Phoon, W. 1987. The Thermal Comfort of Sedentary Workers. Asia Pac J Public Health. 1: 74e7.

Wright, K. P., McHill, A. W., Birks, B. R., Griffin, B. R., Rusterholz, T., & Chinoy, E. D. 2013. Entrainment of the Human Circadian Clock to the Natural Light-dark Cycle. Current Biology. 23(16): 1554-1558.

Lazar, A. S., Santhi, N., Hasan, S., Lo, J. C. Y., Johnston, J. D., Schantz, M., & Dijk, D. J. 2013. Circadian Period and the Timing of Melatonin Onset in Men and Women: Predictors of Sleep During the Weekend and in the Laboratory. Journal of Sleep Research. 22(2): 155-159.

Fang, L., Wyon, D. P., Clausen, G. and Fanger, P. O. 2004. Impact of Indoor Air Temperature and Humidity in an Office on Perceived Air Quality, SBS Symptoms and Performance. Indoor Air 14 (Suppl 7). 74-81.

Downloads

Published

2015-07-13

How to Cite

ASSESSMENT OF INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND OCCURRENCE OF SICK BUILDING SYNDROME IN SMALL OFFICES IN PENANG, MALAYSIA. (2015). Jurnal Teknologi (Sciences & Engineering), 75(5). https://doi.org/10.11113/jt.v75.4997