Building-related ill health is ill health caused by the building or activities in the building where the workplace is located. With these types of problems, the problems almost always decrease or stop when the person leaves the building, but return when the person returns.

Common symptoms in building-related ill health

Building-related health problems are non-specific and not obviously linked to a single cause. Sometimes it is easy to find the cause of the problem; in other cases it may be impossible.

Common symptoms of building-related health problems include

• irritation of the eyes, nose and throat
• a feeling of dry skin and dry mucous membranes
• skin redness and itching
• headache
• mental fatigue, brain fog and dizziness
• frequent respiratory infections and coughing
• hoarseness, wheezing and non-specific hypersensitivity
• nausea.

All of these symptoms are general symptoms that people can experience when they are affected by various factors. It can therefore be difficult to determine the cause of the problem based on the symptoms. A stressful work environment can also worsen the symptoms.

There are several causes of building-related ill health

Building-related health problems are often linked to:

• Water and moisture damage in the building. This can lead to mould growth and volatile chemical breakdown products from building materials. Even previously dried-up moisture and mould damage can negatively affect health.
• Insufficient air flow due to ventilation deficiencies caused by incorrect dimensioning or lack of maintenance. Low air flows can also lead to moist air not being ventilated but condensing on surfaces and causing mould growth.
• Too little cleaning or incorrect cleaning, which increases the particle content in the air.

The employer and the property owner need to cooperate

The employer must ensure that buildings containing workplaces are maintained in a way that does not negatively affect employees.

However, the employer often does not have the opportunity to influence ventilation or remedy moisture damage. It is the property owner who can carry out measures such as cleaning the premises in the event of moisture damage and replacing, for example, moisture- and mould-damaged building materials in walls, ceilings and floors. Ventilation is also something for the property owner to fix.

As an employer, it is therefore important to have good contact with the property owner. The property owner has the best opportunity to examine all spaces and installations in the building.