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A water-damaged workplace may lead to a dramatic increase in the rate of asthma and other breathing problems in employees, and could be a substantial source of sick days, new research suggests. In a study of workers at one leaky, mould-contaminated office building, scientists from the US government’s workplace safety research body NIOSH found that the rate of adult-onset asthma among employees was more than three times that for the general population.
Two-thirds of these cases were diagnosed after the employees had started working in the building. The researchers estimate that up to 12 per cent of employee sick days in a year could be attributed to the health effects of the building. 'We feel our study adds to the evidence that asthma can develop in damp indoor environments,' said NIOSH researcher Dr Jean M Cox-Ganser. The exact triggers of the workers' breathing problems were not clear, said the researchers. Allergic reaction to mould is one possibility, Cox-Ganser said, but damp environments can create a number of exposures potentially irritating to the airways. Writing in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, the researchers conclude: 'This investigation documents the considerable respiratory illness, adverse effects on quality of life, and absenteeism that have placed personal, social, and economic burdens on many employees and their employers. Building-related respiratory disease warrants increased public health, medical research, and policy attention.'
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