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Advertising supplement provided by
the Italian Trade Commission
Confronting “Sick Building Syndrome”
It is widely known that the problem of
building contamination is a chief cause of so-called “sick
building syndrome” and is responsible for many allergies
and pathologies. Toxic or harmful substances—like dust,
pollens, spores and bacteria as well as pathogenic germs and
bacilli—can be brought indoors by building materials
and furnishings, or may be blown in from outdoors.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) studies of human exposure to air pollutants indicate
that indoor levels of pollutants may be 2-5 times, and occasionally
more than 100 times, higher than outdoor levels. These levels
of indoor air pollutants may be of particular concern because
most people spend about 90 percent of their time indoors.
Parco Delle Querce,
Crispano, Italy
Martino Colucci with Cosimo Petronella |
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Modern buildings clearly have a problem
in providing a healthy or even appropriate indoor environment.
The EPA concedes that about 30 percent of new or renovated
buildings have serious indoor air quality problems (IAQ),
and ranks IAQ as the nation’s most prominent environmental
problem.
In its 1999 Guidelines for Air Pollution
Control (revised September 2000), the World Health Organization
underlined the concerns of the EPA, noting that indoor air
pollution is the primary cause in as many as 50 million cases
of occupational chronic respiratory disease each year, accounting
for one-third of all occupational illnesses.
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