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Sick Building Syndrome and
Ozone
BBC News Online
Thursday, October 1, 1998 Published at 10:43 GMT 11:43 UK
An interaction between chemicals
and photocopiers may be to blame for eye and breathing
irritations known as 'sick building syndrome', according to new
research.
Scientists at the National Institute of Occupational Health in
Copenhagen have found that ozone produced by photocopiers could
interact with other compounds to produce irritating smells and
eye and breathing problems.
The volatile organic compounds are present in many substances,
including perfumes, carpets and human breath.
In normal atmospheres they do not cause sickness because they
are present in very low levels.
However, when they are mixed with ozone, they can cause some of
the irritations linked to 'sick building syndrome'.
Pollutants
The researchers exposed 12 mice to a mixture of compounds and
ozone.
After half an hour, the mice's breathing rate fell by 30%,
indicating airway irritation.
Mice are known to be less sensitive to air pollutants than
humans.
The researchers said the change in their breathing, when
adjusted for humans, would explain problems linked to 'sick
building syndrome'.
When the mice breathed the compounds and ozone separately, there
was a minimal effect on their health.
The researchers, led by Peder Wolkoff, say they believe the
mixture of ozone and compounds may produce radicals which live
for such a short time that they have escaped detection up until
now.
One cause
Mr Wolkoff said the findings only explained one cause of 'sick
building syndrome'.
He added that there were hundreds of compounds which could react
with ozone and suggested that one way of tackling the problem
was to set demands for ozone emission levels from photocopiers.
He says these are very easy to measure.
The UK government sets a safety level of 0.1 part per million
for ozone-producing equipment.
Major photocopier manufacturers say they would be happy to
comply if the government reduced the ozone levels and some
already produce equipment which emits much less ozone.
Mr Wolkoff also called for a ban on cleaning agents which
contain perfumes, particularly those with a lemon scent.
"They contain a lot of chemicals," he said.
"It is not nice to have eye and airway irritation for eight
hours a day," he stated.
According to the New Scientist, the research was sponsored by a
tobacco industry-funded body and some experts had suggested it
was being used to divert attention from the role of passive
smoking on health.
But Mr Wolkoff said the research found that tobacco smoke was
one compound which could react with ozone.
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