Indoor and Built Environment

Wastes produced by hospitals are variable in composition and categorisation. Clinical wastes constitute the potentially hazardous components of hospital wastes, and their management and disposal have generated much attention both from environmental regulatory bodies and the public. In the UK, the stimulus for stricter environmental regulation of waste of this type has come from the European Union. The current trend in environmental regulation shows incineration as an increasingly favoured method for clinical waste dis posal within the Union. In addition to stricter legislation and standards regarding hazardous waste disposal in the European Union and the UK, changes within the pharmaceutical industry are also expected to affect clinical waste disposal in the future. Furthermore, more collaboration between waste management authorities, professionals and healthcare institutions is envis aged for the future. Such collaboration together with a system where members of the public are allowed an insight into the review procedures and environ mental protection systems of establishments involved in clinical waste man agement may be beneficial in achieving a meaningful evaluation of perfor mance of such establishments in achieving public and environmental safety. This paper reviews some of the legislative and scientific aspects of clinical waste disposal within the UK.

Possible sources of indoor air pollutants and their impact on the health, com fort and productivity of the building occupants are discussed from the point of view of a professional building pathologist. The causes and symptoms of sick building syndrome, allergy and environmental illnesses and building-related illnesses are listed in the context of building environments. Finally, the ways in which a solution to the problems caused by indoor air pollution in buildings can be solved and the steps necessary for remediation and prevention mea sures following the examination of buildings and their occupants, are de tailed.

This paper investigates the effect ventilation has on the sensory evaluation of indoor air quality by occupants and visitors, both trained in air quality evalua tion and untrained, during three separate periods in a London office building. Results from the study suggested that trained panels used to judge the level of indoor air quality failed to indicate the level of occupant dissatisfaction. A naive panel also failed to show agreement with either occupant or trained panel assessment of indoor air quality. Occupants may perceive indoor air quality as unacceptable, but odour is not considered the main problem. This suggests that the assessment of odour levels gives a poor indication of indoor air quality. The study revealed no statistically significant correlation between perceived indoor air quality and ventilation rates.

Low-frequency noise, centred around a frequency of about 7 Hz, was found to occur in several office rooms investigated. Symptoms resulting from exposure to infrasound can include fatigue, headache, nausea, concentration difficul ties, disorientation, seasickness, digestive disorders, cough, vision problems and dizziness, that is, symptoms typical of the sick building syndrome. Many of the occupants exhibited such symptoms. It is shown that the low-frequency component of ventilation noise is often being amplified in the tightly sealed rooms. Repeated or long-term exposure to such amplified infrasound may be triggering an allergic-type response in individuals.