Application to sick building syndrome

Epidemics of various, difficult-to-characterize symptoms with a strong subjective component regularly occur in office buildings. Frequently, these phenomena are contagious, not that they are infectious in nature, but the anxiety generated by the first cases can spread rapidly in a suggestive phenomenon.

A common reflex is to measure chemical substances in air, soil, water and surfaces. In general, this costly approach is disappointing. Of course, dozens of substances are found, most often in low concentrations, well below the TLVs. We then turn to the occupational physician, who is at pains to identify the cause of the discomfort. This leads to an impasse in decision-making, and may even result in the evacuation of the building, with considerable human and financial consequences. A complex problem like this should be tackled using a program-based approach, as illustrated...