Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 17, 1991 TAG: 9104170302
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG/ HIGHER EDUCATION WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Headaches, fatigue, respiratory problems, runny noses - all these complaints have come from Virginia Tech workers housed in the University City Office Building, a building they have labeled "sick."
The structure, behind the Marriott Hotel, is tightly sealed to be energy efficient; ironically, many of the workers' problems are attributed to a lack of fresh-air circulation.
"I couldn't even keep the laundry up, I was so tired," said Mary Ann Phillips, a fiscal technician who has worked there for more than six years. "And when I catch a cold, it drags on for months."
Other workers, who signed a petition last month asking for changes in their working environment, had complaints ranging from eye and throat irritations to fungus infections. One man said he has had pneumonia twice since he has been working in the building. Many say they have problems concentrating.
Virginia Tech officials decided this week not to renew the lease on the building and will move the workers out over the next few months to assorted offices around campus until permanent space can be found. By the end of the summer, all 200 employees will be in a healthy working environment, said Larry Hincker, a Tech spokesman.
"The employees are concerned about their health, and we're concerned about their health as well," Hincker said.
Tech has tried to work with the ventilation system in the building several times over the past few years after employees complained, he said, but to no avail.
Sick Building Syndrome is common among buildings constructed after energy-efficient guidelines were in place, Hincker said. The newer buildings - windows included - were sealed up tight to save electricity. But a lack of fresh air combined with poor ventilation has caused the indoor air to become polluted. The pollution, coupled with insufficient oxygen, has caused people to complain of flu-like symptoms.
A few Tech employees made their complaints known some time ago, Hincker said, and as time passed, more of them became sick. The petition was just part of the university's decision to take action.
Employees said Tuesday they were glad to hear they would finally be leaving the building.
But, Phillips said, "I feel like this building has robbed me of some of my good years."
About half of the workers in this building have complained of some ailment, Hincker said.
"When it first started, some of them said, `This is crazy; I haven't had any problems.' But as the years went on, they did have them. Others still haven't shown any symptoms."
Roger Thomas, an accountant who has worked in the building for more than six years, said it took at least two years for his sinuses to start bothering him. Then he had to start taking allergy shots.
"I sometimes feel it's difficult just to get home, I'm so tired," he said. "But after I get home, I begin to feel better."
Deborah Williams, a programmer and analyst who has been in the building for two years, began having sinus problems right away. "I'm only 33 years old," she said. "I shouldn't be going home and falling asleep every night."
Employees say they are worried about long-term effects sick-building syndrome may cause.
Williams said workers in the building who want physicals have been told they will get them at the university's expense.
by CNB