According to the World Health Organization indoor air is four to six times more polluted than the air on city streets and eight to ten times more toxic. Bearing in mind that employees typically spend 9-12 hours a day at work, the office is becoming an increasingly dangerous place. There is however a solution – monitoring the cleanness of the air, buying environmentally safe furniture and carrying out environmental assessments.
Environmental assessments of office areas are currently not mandatory or common. Business owners are often more interested in increasing profits and reducing costs than in the well-being and productivity of their staff. You can often come across 20-sqm office areas containing 9 work stations with computers, wires trailing along the floors and just a fan for ventilation. The results are plain to see, headaches, tiredness, weakened immune systems, etc.
According to Valery Kucherov, head of testing at Ecostandard, environmental assessments should be carried out if employees in a particular area of the office are complaining of increased tiredness, health problems, allergies and eye problems, etc. Environmental assessments should also be carried out if unpleasant odors are noticed in the office.
Paint, Varnish & MDF
Indoor air pollution indoors can be divided into two main categories: chemical and bacteriological. Today about 1,000 types of chemical and biological pollution have been identified inside buildings.
Construction and finishing materials often contain phenol and formaldehyde. Phenol evaporates at room temperature and has a characteristic odor. It can cause fatigue, dizziness, weakened immune systems and the worsening of allergic reactions. Formaldehyde is a colorless gas with a strong odor and common sources include MDF (medium density fiber board), polymeric materials used for finishing floors and interior walls, decorative laminates and veneers, etc. Formaldehyde is a carcinogenic substance. It can damage the central nervous system, affect fertility and irritate the airways, eyes and skin.
“In general almost all office furniture contains chip board (MDF), which is manufactured using toxin resins like, for example, formaldehyde. When furniture is located in an office a certain amount of harmful contents enter the air. The percentage of free formaldehyde in cheaper Russian-manufactured furniture generally exceeds the accepted norms,” comments Alexander Smirnov, director of the Moscow office of Kinnarps.
The release of such substances into the air can take place over an extended period, ranging from several months to several years. Depending on the type of material the concentration of phenol can increase or decrease with time. Release into the air also depends on other factors like the temperature, humidity and ventilation. “The largest release concentration from MDF occurs during the first four months after which it reduces. Specialized procedures can decontaminate and neutralize phenol,” explains Mr. Kucherov.
Another hazardous material is asbestos, which is used in the manufacturing of insulation and fire-proofing materials. Reasons for asbestos entering the air can include damaged asbestos-containing materials (tiles, construction materials). If people come into direct contact with asbestos it can cause lung cancers and allergies.
In Russia all furniture is certified; however, it is only required to meet fire-safety requirements. European furniture manufacturers are ahead of their Russian counterparts in this regard and carry out a number of different environmental safety control measures. According to experts all furniture should meet European environmental safety standards and possess hygiene certificates. All Kinnarps furniture is certified by EMAS (Eco-Management & Audit Scheme). “We were one of the first to obtain an international certificate ISO 9001 as well as special awards for environmental and health protection. The harmful resin content in the manufacture of our MDF tiles and products is several times lower than the European Standard (E1),” says Mr. Smirnov.
Another European manufacturer, Haworth, has its own lab in Badmunder (Germany), where they test materials for strength, durability, service life, safety, etc. “We buy patented materials that have undergone environmental testing: wood, adhesives, plastics, cloth, etc. Furniture should not release harmful substances when it is heated or damaged,” say managers at Haworth. It’s worth pointing out that in Russia the release of harmful substances is one of the main threats to life and health during fires. In general, in Europe more attention is paid to environmental requirements. “In the manufacturing of furniture they only use plastics that are fully recyclable and have a minimal impact on the environment,” adds in Haworth. In Russia only lip-service is paid to the recycling and sorting of waste materials.
In order to depollute the air you can resort, for example, to chemical decontamination. “Special reagents that are harmless for people are dispersed into the air that bond to the chemical pollutants. You can remove virtually all indoor chemical pollutants in offices. What is more difficult however is pollution emanating from the street outside. We can only advice people not to choose offices close to large transport routes. The optimal distance from a large road is 0.5-1 km and in the case of MKAD at least 3 km,” says Mr. Kucherov.
The causes of indoor bacteriological pollution include: faulty air conditioning and ventilation systems that cannot maintain proper temperature/humidity control, a lack of regular cleaning and dark, damp locations. If air conditioning and ventilation systems are not cleaned regularly they can become a source of legionella, which causes Legionnaire’s disease. “In order to clean the air properly air conditioners must be equipped with high quality filters (which is not the case with all models) and they must be replaced frequently. People often underestimate the importance of replacing filters and expose their lungs to secondary pollution from the air conditioning system,” says Anna Kurbatova first deputy general director of the Urban Environmental Scientific Research and Design Institute.
Fungi can easily develop on many materials and coverings including: concrete, plaster, wood, plastic, resin, painted surfaces, etc., at room temperature if there is high humidity and insufficient ventilation. Fungi can cause dizziness, headaches and complex allergies. You can minimize this risk by using efficient ventilation systems. You can also ventilate the air by simply opening the windows but that results in another problem – noise.
Electromagnetic Radiation
The dangers of electromagnetic fields are generally underestimated. This issue is not paid much attention by office employees or health organizations. In Russia research regarding the effect of electromagnetic fields has been carried out since the 1960’s. However, according to Ecostandart over the last ten years this work has been sharply scaled down despite the fact that several important aspects of this problem have not been studied properly. The public health rules and regulations do not include any regulations regarding the acceptable limits for the most harmful of these – electromagnetic radiation. We are overlooking the possible harmful impact on people of the modular and combined effect of radio waves and in particular microwaves.
Radiation
According to Ecostandart very high background radiation is rare. Sources of radiation can include plasterboard, phosphogypsum and bricks (clay is a good radiation absorber). Radon is particularly dangerous. Radon is a colorless gas that can cause a number of different illnesses. According to government experts in the US and Europe Radon comprises 3/4 of the natural radiation received by people
Sources of radon include soil and water so it tends to accumulate in cellars and on first floors. Today radiation monitoring is carried out during building construction and the amount of radon in the air is tested. If a finished building is located on a dangerously radioactive lot that does not mean that you cannot live or work there. The building just needs to be well insulated against radon. There are a wide range of radon protection measures which can prevent radon from entering buildings.
“Increased radiation pollution has been located on 3% of the entire tested territory. But you are only at risk if you are in close contact with a source of radioactive radiation. There are materials that produce natural radiation emissions. For example, granite produces radiation emissions of 22-25 microrengens/hour while the normal level of emission is considered to be 11-12 microrengens. Many metro stations are lined with granite but no one lives there. And in any case that level of emission is not sufficient to harm a person,” says Ms. Kurbatova.
The carrying out of environmental assessments is an important and necessary measure. It enables firms to determine the level of environmental safety in an office and then take any required steps. Moreover, the cost of environmental assessments is not very high. According to Ecostandart, an analysis of the air, water, electromagnetic radiation and background radiation in a 100-sqm office costs about 25,000 rubles.