Ultraviolet answer to air-conditioning bugs

By MAXINE FRITH

Millions of people who suffer from sick-building syndrome could be cured if ultraviolet lights were installed in office ventilation systems, according to a study.

The lights kill the germs in the environment that cause people to develop ailments at work.

So-called sick building syndrome (SBS) is caused by the increasing use of air-conditioning in modern offices.

Bacteria can build up in the ventilation systems and cause a range of problems, such as breathing difficulties, headaches, sore throats, stuffy noses and itchy eyes.

SBS was first recognised in 1982 and is estimated to affect 80 per cent of people who work in air-conditioned offices.

The study into ultraviolet lights was published in the medical journal The Lancet.

Researchers from the Montreal Chest Institute in Canada tested three offices in the city where people suffered SBS.

They installed UVGI (ultraviolet germicidal irradiation) in the ventilation systems and compared reports of illness when the lights were turned on with sickness rates when they were off.

The lights resulted in a 20 per cent reduction in all symptoms. There were 40 per cent fewer complaints about respiratory problems and a 30 per cent reduction in people complaining of stuffy noses. Muscular complaints also halved.

Scientists said the UVGI killed the bacteria and moulds in ventilation systems. Installing the systems would be relatively cheap and could save companies millions by reducing rates of sickness.

Dick Menzies, the lead researcher, said the cost of UVGI installation could, in the long run, prove cost-effective compared with the yearly losses from absence because of building-related illness.

In North American offices it could help four million people, he said.

Around 70 per cent of people in the West now work in air-conditioned offices, and SBS is estimated to cost companies millions annually in reduced productivity and sick days.

- INDEPENDENT