Field survey of indoor chemical pollution and health hazards in sick houses

In order to determine the a etiological factor of Sick House Syndrome (SHS), indoor airquality of 35 houses in Miyagi prefecture of Japan, where occupants are suspected ofsuffering from SHS, had been investigated during the summers in 2000-2002. Theinvestigation included the measurement of indoor chemical substance concentration and aquestionnaire regarding residential environment and subjective symptoms.As a result, the formaldehyde concentrations in 71% of all houses exceeded the guideline ofJapan. While the VOCs concentrations had reduced, the formaldehyde concentration hadhardly changed across the ages. Concerning health conditions, many residents have sufferedfrom airway/mucous membrane symptoms such as eye irritation and coughing. Therelationship between the measurement result of indoor chemical substance concentration andthe symptoms obtained from questionnaires suggested that the symptoms became moreserious not only in the houses that recorded higher concentrations of TVOC, but also in thehouses with lower concentrations.