ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies some of the different adverse health effects observed in industrial and nonindustrial settings. It deals with occupational health and the difficulty of applying classical industrial hygiene standards and traditional occupational approaches to the nonindustrial environment. The chapter focuses on building-associated illnesses in the nonindustrial environment. It provides an overview and deals with general concepts, with suggested references to supply more specific information, but readers are advised to keep current as new information becomes available. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, formaldehyde off-gassing from pressed-wood products and urea-formaldehyde foam insulation produced the majority of severe health complaints by building occupants. Building-associated illness is generally considered the summary term for health problems in the nonindustrial environment such as office complexes. Sick building syndrome describes a situation in which reported symptoms among a population of building occupants can be associated with their presence in that building.
