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hbndcy, Pebrvorr 25, 1985 PAC1fIC BU51NE55 NEWS ~nd ~ ~"oor air pollut~ oor ventilation • 'on1 ~ . hurting productivity of U.S. workers AIEW YORK -- Poor veatilation and cigarette smoke are the top air-qua8ty problems that interferee witlt tbe prod'uc- ttviry of office workess, accord'tng to a nationaT survey ¢onducted by Honeywetl Technntysis. Poor veatilation is a problem for 67 percent of the people who say tbey have difficulty doing their work because of the air •quafity in the3r offices. Cigarette smoke bothers 54 per- ccat of tttese workers and 53 percent feel improved air quality would usalce their offtces more produaive. The Honeywell Technalysis survey polled a represeatative sample of 600 office workers, 18 years or oider, who work at least 20.hourt a weelc in an office settiag in wbich f•ive or more persons are employed. Oft"ioe wotkers cotnplain of ntcmerous respirawry prob- letns and pbysical reaccions frora iadoor air poltution. Among those cited ttsost frequently by coraplaining workers were tired or sTeepy feelings (56 percent), nasal congestion (4S peroent), eye irritations (41 pesceat), brcathiAg difficulties (40 percent), and headaches (39 percent). •`The survey raises wartsiag flags for managetnau and health professionats." said James E. Woods, Ph.D., senior staff scaentfst for Honeywell's Corporate Physical Sciences Center. `•'ihe fiadings warn managers that they risk losing worker productivity by reducing ventilation to cut eaergy costs. Tbe impaat reducad vensiiation has on air quaGty is being discovered by researrhers, scientists, and industry ex pats. Office workers al:so are beginning to verbalize com- plaints• about air-quality issues. Twenty-four percent of those polled say the air quality Mhere they worl is '•only fair" or even "poor." Another 32 percent rate the air quality as •'excelleat," and 44 percent consider it "good." " Lighting and temperature are tbe other top factors that affect productivity. Poteatially seriout heahh issua exist for the 22 percent of office workers who comptain of gas and vapor futnes and the 19 percent who say they breacbe i:ritauag chetnicals, such as fortaaldehyde. "Theae nltirrfatdy iaay be the most dangerous pollotacts,'• Woods said. •'But many office workers undoubtedly area't even aware tbey're befng exposed to thesa and of tHe health problams they may face." CoRimon C.ontaaninan ein addition to forsmldehyde in- dude arbon dioxide, asbestos, ozone, sulfur dioxide; nitro- gen dioude, and radon (a radioaaive and inert gas found ia aoil). according to Woods. The sources of these pottutants are tinked to office furnisiaings and equipment, fabrics, applianrex, the ground beneath buildiugs, and peopl'e them,sdves, W'oods added. The Honeywdl Ter.iusalysis survey aIso uncovered an air- quality gender gap. Thirty-four percent of the womea believe the air quality wbete they work is ••only fair" or "poor," but only 18 percent of the mea share that opinion. Sixty-fivc percent of the wotnen say that corracting air-quality prob- lems wiIl produce higher productivity, compared with 47 percent of the mrsz. This margin of dissatisfa¢tion betwean women and. men may come from aignificant differencoa in working conditions reaorted in the survey. Men are much more likely to woric in fully eneloaec3' oiFh:es and to have greater aetress to windows, and h:~ve trrrter mobility in offica. HOW POLi.UTAN''I'S aTTAClCTEit BODY