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Bertil Pettersson, Swedish Council for Building Research, Chairmen of the organisational committee for Healthy Buildings 88 Asbestes, mildew, plaster, radion, computer terminals, "day care center sickness," "office sickness," etc. are all current newsitems today. We speak of "sick buildings" - buildings which make people sick. These buildings are to be found everywhere in the industrialized world. The World Health Organisation estimates that almost 30 procent of all new or renovated buildings are "sick." We do not have a clear picture of how great a problem this is in Sweden. We have a great deal of knowledge today why these problems arise. Knowledge that is based on scientifically perform- ed investigations; not only technical within construction, but also within chemistry, medicine, and psychology. One problem is that this knowledge is difficult to disseminate to those responsible for design and construction. Bertil Pettersson, section manager at the Swedish Council for Building Research, presents here a picture of how far research has come today and in which areas additional research is needed so that we can have sound buildings to live and work in. During the last decade, interest in the questions relating to building hygiene has grown after having long laid dormant. The fundamental reasons for this growing interest are first the number of health problems which have arisen and secondly the evolution of the so-called sick building syndrome. The rapid pace of development in the fields of construction and interior decorating materials, as well as incorrectly executed energy conservation measures, are often seen as the causes of the problems which have arisen. The public debate and the media have highlighted such concepts as radon, formaldehyde, fungus and rot, asbestos, air ions, dry air, day-nursery illness, office illness, self-copying paper, work at VDU terminals etc. The major emphasis in o 6-4 N v

research in this area has been placed on investigations, plotting of the problem building, and on specific problems linked to individual factors such as radon, formaldehyde emission from building materials, damp and mould damage or self-levelling screeds. The above problems are not specifically Swedish. According to the estimations of the World Health organization WHO, almost 30 per cent of all newly built or renovated buildings are unhealthy. There is no overall picture available for the Swedish building stock in this respect. However, various studies have given a clear picture of the nature of the problems. The health aspects which have come into prominence relate to such matters as hypersensitivity. The "groups at risk" (people suffering from allergies or other medical hypersensitivity) who make up a considerable proportion of the population of Sweden and may be estimated at between 1.5 and 2.0 million individuals must, naturally, be taken into account in designing the indoor climate. Different requirements in different buildings N cn a ~ Those factors which primarily influence human climate ~ ~ perception indoors are shown in Fig. 1. 140 ~ m If complaints and critical viewpoints on the indoor climate are followed up, it can be ascertained that there are different climatic factors which dominate the "complaint profile" in respect of different types of activities. On the basis of complaint frequencies and asseasments of how seriously shortcomings in a certain climatic factor affect the activity in question, it is possible to formulate a kind of "problem potential" which gives a picture of the relative importance of different climatic factors. Fig. 2 shows examples of this.

The large potential for temperature problems in the second and fourth columns are, of course, related to the fact that the room temperature in these premises often tends to be excessively high. Sensitivity to disturbing noise is fundamentally high in dwellings. However, there is seldom any appreciable risk of really disturbing noise from installations in dwellings which are not provided with ran-controllwa muPrly air. Draughts in buildings normally derive from untight windows etc. Draught in other premises may more readily be related to the function of the supply air equipment. Sweden well to the forefront The awareness of climatic and environmental factors as a growing problem area has increased in recent years. Sweden is well to the forefront in certain of these areas at study. This relates, for example, to air quality research where WHO (partly on the basis of Swedish research results) has now accepted the human nose as a•criterion for judging air quality indoors. The research carried out by the Swedish Institute for Building Research (SIB) into people's temperature requirements and the insulation capacity of clothing is also of a high international standard. Today, we possess dependable knowledge about radon and how radon- affected buildings can be treated. The growth of fungus in buildings - and particularly in such sites as bathrooms, showers etc. - constitutes a serious hygienic and economic problem. Research aimed at evolving methods for exposure (mycological and chemical diagnosis criteria) and registration of health effects has commenced. The purpose is to establish a documentary basis for assessing the effects which different measures for treating and renovating fungus-damaged buildings will have. N Cn 0 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_4 •o

Energy conservation measures have resulted in tighter buildings and reduced ventilation.flows. Mites, which need an RH of more than 40 per cent, thrive in certain buildings where the ventilation is insufficient. Studies have shown that these tiny creatures are often the culprit in cases of asthma and dust allergy. Over the last decade, a new and rapidly expanding problem has been visited on us, the so-called sick buildings. The investigations which have hitherto been carried out have not been able to pinpoint any individual factor as the cause of this phenomenon, but rather a series of factors which affect and together bring about this problem. How are healthy buildings to be Gonstructed? Research and discussion into how to build and administer with a view to creating "sound" or "healthy" buildings are gtill in their infancy. But sporadic attempts have so far been carried out to test ideas in this field on full scale. Nor has sufficient time elapsed to allow for an evaluation of such experiments to a requisite degree. It is eas'y to arrive at the conclusion that we quite simply do not know how to build a healthy building other than in blindingly obvious terms. In particular, it may appear difficult to reach a consensus of opinion on those technical approaches which give healthy or unhealthy buildings. The vast majority of technical solutions may, in the right context, correctly executed and correctly employed, give a fully satisfactory end result. But some of these solutions are more sensitive to the commonest faults which may be committed in conjunction with planning, construction, running and use. when such "risk solutions" are employed, the inspections carried out at different stages of the project must be more exhaustive. if these inspections cannot in all probability be expected to be adequate, such "risk solutions" should be

avoided. Experience from the large number of problem buildings which have been examined in recent years shows that these problems have often been brought about simply because "proven experience" had been disregarded. One example of a BFR project in which different soZutions are studied is a "user-healthy" day nursery in Skarpaby which has been planned and constructed iii such a manner as to minimize the risk of climatic problems. Evaluation of ll.i... t_..~....1. 1- rii_La.tII lL lR.M +t.r • t.iar ii••r nntiinrl utatL tltitj 1ii nji. 11 1 4A7. Tr, t:hie proieast, tlse's btggionic #nd thermal climate will bP thoroughly eva2uaGed. Cd,,SLinuad A&D vital pecFite the r4latizro1`r 1arr7a hrrKini7 frnm hnrh rhQ SwPdigh Gvun4il fut suildinq Resaarch and other resr.nrch financ:c3ra, improved knowledge is required to dcLtfLmi,ye the limits for indoor temperature, air movement, air humidity and air pollutants. Of particular importance is continued research into simultaneous exposure to different physical environmental factors. But research into individual environmental factors such as formaldehyde, tobacco smoke, smells and noise is also necessary. Specific research efforts are also necessary to shed aome light on how climatic and environmental knowledge is handled in the planning and projecting process. N Healthy buildings - opportunities and obstacles in energy o N conservation measures ~ ~ ~ `o N The Government and the Parliament have established that ''~ measures to limit energy consumption and dependence on finite energy gQUrce4 in buildings may not normally lead to a deterioration in the living situation of the users. Consequently, it is a vital necessity to attempt to map out the social, medical and behavioural-dependent consequences

of energy conservation measures and the introduction of new energy technology. Extensive knowledge is required of the nature and level of the users' demands in order that conservation measures do not become hedged in by unnecessarily strict safety margins or misfire because of a lack of knowledge about the users' value judgements and behaviour. . The Swedish Council for 8uilding Research strongly feels that the requirement for healthy buildings need not conflict with the requirement for efficient energy savings. However, a fundamental condition is that the requirements for qualified planning, careful building and competent running and maintenance always be met. "Risk solutions", as well as insufficiently tested materials, should be given special attention. Of course, it is crucial that greater prominence be given to health aspects than hitherto in the continued energy conservation debate. international conference on healthy buildings in Sweden T1',IJIL vaLilt'14AtLt_Un;I ;~ S-8 ke-irte;;4e-t7; SwrJi:.: will be lI U5litI y a world-wide CIB conference on "Healthy Buildinos". At the conference - arranoed by the Swedish Council for Building Research in cooperation with the National Institute of Environmental Medicine (SML), a large numb:- of medical and technical experts from all over the world will gather to discuss how healthy buildings are to be constructed. The conference has created much interest in Sweden as well as from other countries. The Swedish construction indu- stry supports "Healthy Buildings 88" with both financial support and active participation in workshops, etc.. We have the right conditions for an exchange of information, ideas, and experience from the conference. N "Healthy Buildings 88" will also be documented; both in the form of a general research report, and even in various o special documents where architexts, builders, construction managers, etc. present conclusions from the conference from ,j their respective areas of expertise. ~ 10 N N) f

Literatures Johansson C and Pettersson Bertil. Takvgrme - energif8r- brukning och inomhusklimat (Roof heating - energy consumption and the indoor climate), the Swedish Council for Building Research R1211984 t Hult M. MiljBvgnlig barnstu$a (User-healthy day nursery), the Swedish Council for Building Research R94:1986 Dawidowic2 N, T Lindvall, J Sundell. Det sunda huset (The healthy building), the Swedish Council for Building Research G20:1987 Energi i byggd mi1jS - 90-talets mbjligheter (Energy in a built-up environment - the possibilities of the nineties), the Swedish Council for Building Research G1b:1987

(Bildtext aid 10) CLIMATE PERCEPTION o Activity o Air temperature o Radiation o Air apeed o Clothing o Damp o Hygiene, radon, C02, formaldehyde, smell Fig. 1. Different parameters which influence human climate perception. Air temperature Outdoor temperature Air humidity "Smells" Gases Particles Sound Draught Dwellings Offices, Care centres "Clinical rooms", Operating-theatres, Laboratories, Electronics Workshops, Manufacture Problem potential N cn 0 Fig. 2. Examples of problem profiles for a few types of ~ ~ activities. ~~ N 4~. (aid 11) Children's games are often noisy; sound-damping wall panels and suspended ceilings give a better environment. Here, the reverberation time in a playroom is measured using a starting pistol, Photo: Johnny Andersson.

(Rutan sid 11) I I f The goals of the R&D activities ot the Swedish Council for Building Research in the field of the indoor climate are to: o achieve an interdisciplinary long-term build-up of knowledge in which medicine, chemistry, behavioural science, architeCture, construction and installation engineering etc. make their own contributions. o clarify how exposure to individual environmental factors and combinations of environmental factors influence people's health and well-being. o develop methods to eradicate harmful environmental factors and their effects on people and buildings. o create, in cooperation with the other participants in the construction process and building administration and with researchers, a data bank for purposeful energy utilization in Sweden's buildings.