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Indoor carbon dioxide concentrations and sick building syndrome symptoms in the BASE study revisited: Analyses of the 100 building dataset

Conference ·
OSTI ID:820782

In previously published analyses of the 41-building 1994-1996 USEPA Building Assessment Survey and Evaluation (BASE) dataset, higher workday time-averaged indoor minus outdoor CO{sub 2} concentrations (dCO{sub 2}) were associated with increased prevalence of certain mucous membrane and lower respiratory sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms, even at peak dCO{sub 2} concentrations below 1,000 ppm. For this paper, similar analyses were performed using the larger 100-building 1994-1998 BASE dataset. Multivariate logistic regression analyses quantified the associations between dCO{sub 2} and the SBS symptoms, adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, presence of carpet in workspace, thermal exposure, relative humidity, and a marker for entrained automobile exhaust. Adjusted dCO{sub 2} prevalence odds ratios for sore throat and wheeze were 1.17 and 1.20 per 100-ppm increase in dCO{sub 2} (p <0.05), respectively. These new analyses generally support our prior findings. Regional differences in climate, building design, and operation may account for some of the differences observed in analyses of the two datasets.

Research Organization:
Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (US)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Building Technologies Program; Environmental Protection Agency (US)
DOE Contract Number:
AC03-76SF00098
OSTI ID:
820782
Report Number(s):
LBNL--49584
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English