Tobacco Documents Online

"If it can be proved that employees are getting sick from the buildings they work in, then I believe we'll have a revolt on our hands." These are the words of rn Rosen ren, Chairman of the Swedish Confederation of Sa aried Emp oyees, who predicts that sick buildings will be the major working environment issue of the 1990s. "We haven't brought this up in labor negotiations yet. The only modern isse that'Bs been raised so far has dealt with VDU work, which is only one aspect of the overall view required of the office working environment. "I believe that the sick building problem is much more serious than we could ever imag~.ns:" Bjbrn Rosengren sharply criticizes the National Board of Occupational Safety and Health. "It's pretty obvious that sick buildings will keep on appearing unless building standards are established. "A builder follows existing regulations at the same time that he must earn a profit from his work." BjtSrn Rosengren points out that the sick building problem became noticeable in buildings constructed after 1975. This is linked to the use of modern building materials and the new construction standard. "The problem is difficult to deduce, as it stems from a number of factors," says BJtSrn Rosengren. "A combination of several factors cause nausea, irritated eyes, headaches and fatigue. "Computers, poor ventilation, high levels of humidity, plastics, tobacco smoke and psychosomatic symptoms such as stress - rather than a single factor such as tobacco smoke - cause sick buildings. Getting rid of sick buildings would eliminate many of the problems." Considerable time will pass before we are able to quantify the diseases involved here. Perhaps in 10-15 years, we will be able to discern the effects of sick buildings on people. While suffering can never be measured in economic terms, it may be possible to define the problems associated with sick buildings in economic terms. "Absenteeism rates of 10-20 % in office buildings cost a fortune," says BJtSrn Rosengren. "Sick buildings represent a major social problem. The expenses incurred by social, health and medial care are passed on to employers. "It's quite obvious that no one can do good work if constantly plagued by headaches and irritated eyes." Trade unions must take the lead regarding efforts to prove that the working environment is poor, if we are to gain sympathy. The Swedish Confederation of Salaried Employees believes that it should be the other way around - that manfacturers should be obliged to report the side effects of new solutions. But this view has yet to win acceptance. "People aren't the cause of the problem," says BjtSrn Rosengren. "It's not a question of whether or not a person smokes,-etc. It's the buildings that are sick. The N ch 0 ~ .~ .p N -o m 0

C problem exists because we've allowed technology to steer man instead of vice versa. "We'll soon discover the enormous problems we've created with our new technology . The profits we've reaped could turn out to be gigantic losses."