lnadequate ventilation is often cited as the cause of unhealthy air quality within office buildings, whilst excessive ventilation is similarly assumed to be the cause of discomfort and energy waste. However, the reality is that very little data is available to assess the significance of these problems on any large scale. The perfuorocarbon tracer (PFT) technique offers the potential for overcoming the problems of applying conventional tracer gas techniques to large or multi-roomed buildings.
The aim of this study was to unravel the occupational exposure to radon among underground workers. The possibility for radon mitigation by improving ventilation or by sealing was also investigated. 65 workrooms in 19 workplaces has been investigated in the ground floor, in basements and in underground spaces in southern Finland and in middle Finland. Radon concentration varied from 15 to 1636 Bq/m³du ring working hours resulting in annual dose of 0.09 to 10.3 mSv.
This Handbook is in three parts: Introductory, health & economics and building. The author's perspective of environmental and health issues developed during ten years as a Principal Scientist at the Building Research Establishment, including four as Head of Building Pathology. Each Section in the Handbook addresses a particular topic and many may be read independently. With this structure, it is inevitable that there is some duplication of basic information, especially in Part 2. It is intended to publish replacement and new Sections in the next few years.
The causative agent of Legionnaires' disease is the bacterium Legionella pneumophila (Lp). This organism is just one species of the genus Legionel/a. To date more than 36 species of Legionella have been isolated and these are being further divided into serogroups and subgroups. Approximately 90% of cases of Legionnaires' disease have been associated with· Lp serogroup 1, subgroup Pontiac. However about half of the known species of Legionel/a have caused serious disease and several fatalities in man.
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