Indoor air quality and work-environment study. Library of Congress, Madison Building. Volume 1. Results of employee survey

Technical Report · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:6165564

A systematic study was designed to assess the nature and spatial distribution of employee health symptoms and comfort concerns in the Madison Building of the Library of Congress (LOC), Washington, DC. This report documented the design of the study and the results of a detailed questionnaire survey of all Madison Building employees conducted in February of 1989. The questionnaire included questions on health symptoms, comfort concerns, background health data, and demographic characteristics. The overall response rate to the survey was 90 percent with 2845 of 3176 employees participating. More than 1200 employees also took the opportunity to make additional comments in the comments section at the end of the survey. The predominant type of symptoms reported among these employees were those that may be associated with poor indoor air quality. Almost half of the respondents reported that a symptom or symptoms reduced their ability to work at least some of the time. Almost half reported more frequent infections since beginning work in the building. Approximately two thirds reported satisfaction with their physical workstations. They did report that the air was often too dry with too little movement.

• Research Organization: National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH (United States)
• OSTI ID: 6165564
• Report Number(s): PB-92-103175/XAB; HETA--88-364-2102
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540120* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
560300 -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AIR FLOW
AIR POLLUTION
BUILDINGS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DISEASES
DISTRIBUTION
FEDERAL BUILDINGS
FLUID FLOW
GAS FLOW
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
LIBRARIES
NORTH AMERICA
OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES
OFFICE BUILDINGS
POLLUTION
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
SURVEYS
SYMPTOMS
USA
VENTILATION
WASHINGTON DC
WORKING CONDITIONS