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C PROPOSAL AN'INVESTIGATION'OF OFFICE BUILDING SYNDROME Elia M. Sterling and Theodor D. Sterling Co-Principal Investigators T. D. STERLING LTD. #24 1507 West 12th Avenue Vancouver, B.C. V6J 2E2 s

4 Rationale . In the last few years, occupantk of a large number of modern office buildings have made insistent complaints about their health and comfort, and as a result the possibility of health problems in "energy-efficient" office buildings has received national attention. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) have investigated a number of such buildings. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) initiated a study through the National Academy of Sciences on indoor air pollutants, their levels and their possible health effects. A U. S. Government Inter-Agency Workshop on Indoor Air Quality Research Needs held in Leesburg, Virginia in December, 1980, brought together individuals who were interested in evaluation of indoor air pollution, investigators who had done some work on indoor pollution, an&representatives of government agencies, to discuss research possibilities relating to indoor pollution in public and private structures. In the studies that have been done thus far, the discomfort of the workers was rarely related to a particular cause. For the most part, the occupants of the buildings investigated complained of a nonspecific malaise, which included such symptoms as eye, ear and throat irritation, headache, nausea and drowsiness. 'This collection of symptoms has been given the general term Office Building Syndrome (OBS). Although various pollutants (formaldehyde, toluene, benzene, respirable particles and fibers, bacteria and fungi, and high levels of carbon dioxide) have been found in many of the buildings which were investigated, OBS has not been related to any specific pollutants. Data on the lifestyle of the workers, including smoking habits, were also collected. In almost none of the investigated buildings were these lifestyle factors'blamed for the discomfort or illness of the buildings' occupants. ti

, 1/ -3- Methods Phase I: Review of NIOSH Building Investigation Re orts We will: 1. Review all reports. 2. Locate the investigators responsible for the reports. (Some may have moved within NIOSH or left government for industry.) 3. Obtain as much relevant data as possible and examine them. 4. Discuss the data with the investigators, with special emphasis on determining their zeasons for decisions regarding lifestyle factors. 5. Make detailed records of all discussions and clear these with the investigators to avoid misunderstandings. 6. Examine a few of the investigated buildings on site, if they seem to be of particular interest. 7. Review and summarize the interviews and draw conclusions regarding the - NIOSH studies. Phase II: Survey of 15,000 OPEIU Members We will: 1. Design a questionnaire that will survey workers' perceptions of comfort conditions in their work environment and their state of well being. (This questionnaire will be a revised version of one used by the investigators in a previous study.) 2. Test the survey questionnaire in a sample of shops. 3. Design and test an Architectural Stress Information Schedule with the help of a small group of shop stewards. 4. Teach shop stewards and other union representatives how to collect ASIS building data. O W 5. Give the survey questionnaire to all members of the OPEIU and ASIS to .I W all workplaces. (The Union will be responsible for this part of the CJi data collection. However, the Union's activity will be coordinated by ~ W the investigator.) r ~ i ,

C f -2- Despite the voluminous amount of work that has been done and the large number of intra- and inter-agency reports that have been written, neither the specific features of OBS nor the dependence of this syndrome on architectural design an6ventilation features of the workplace has been carefully documented. Objectives The objectives of this project are to document in detail the existence and distribution of symptoms of OBS among office workers, to examine the possible interdependence of these symptoms on certain architectural design and ventilation features common to modern~office buildings and to determine the relationship, if any, of these symptoms to lifestyle factors. The objectives will be achieved in two parallel steps: We will document and:review in detail the data accumulated by NIOSH in its course of investigating approximately 50 office buildings in which occupants made health and comfort complaints; and We will conduct a survey among 15,000 members of the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), Local 153, in New York, to determine a) The workers' perception of comfort conditions in their workplace and their state of well-being, and The architectural design and ventilation features of their workplace. These two steps will proceed simultaneously and, in many ways, are interrelated. Our preliminary feasibility study has assured us of the availability of the NIOSH data and access to NIOSH investigators, as well as an active cooperation of the OPEIU. In fact, the Union will produce and distribute the survey instrument, collect it, and possibly convert it into machine-readable form. In addition, the Union's shop stewards will be trained to collect data on the architectural design and ventilation features, using a specially designed Architectural Information Schedule (ASIS). Stress ti

,, C -4- 6. Convert data to machine-readable form and analyze them. A report will be submitted to OPETU and subsequently the results and conclusions of this study will be published. ' Implementation The total study is expected to be completed In 18 months. Pretesting and data collection will be completed during the first 12 months and data analyzed and reports written during the following six month period. Mr. Elia Sterling will act as co-principal investigator and responsible architect, and Dr. Theodor Sterling will act as co-principal investigator and statistician. The curriculum vitae of Mr. Elia Sterling is attached. Budget Estimated costs for the first year of the study will be $128,160. Costs for the second half-year will be proportionate to the first year plus an expected inflationary factor of 12 percent and are now estimated at $72,000. The detailed budget for the first year is shown on the next page. Grant funds will be accounted at the end of the project and unexpended funds returned to the

C Budget for First Year of Study Personnel Elia Sterling Research Assistant (two thirdstime) Clerical (half time) Programmer (thir&time) $ 32,000.00 18,500.00 8,000.00 9,000.00 67,500.00 Direct Cost * 12% 8,100.00 75,600.00 Architecture and Engineering Consultants 5,000.00 Travel: 12 trips to NIOSH investigators and/or buildings @ $1200. per 14,400.00 3 one week trips to New York to co- ordinate study plus stay @ $1400. per 4,200.00 18,600.00 Telephone (some for conference calls) 3,600.00 Reproduction and publicatiorn 4,000.00 106,800.00 Indirect Cost 20% 21;360.00 $ 128,160.00 * Social and Medical Insurance and other benefits. ' i