A University in the Caribbean Appears to Suffer from Sick Building Syndrome

In June, the Cayman Compass published a report about faculty complaints that have confounded administrators at the University College of the Cayman Islands. According to the article, for years, staff have complained of cases of skin and respiratory irritation that many believe to be work-related.
 
The feature describes frustrating efforts by the university to identify and resolve the issue. Mold has been found in the building according to the Department of Environmental Health, but it has only been found in a storage room although the university president says he is convinced there are additional mold issues in some of the buildings. He is also quoted as saying he believes some of the problems are due to moisture issues from building damage that was not properly repaired following Hurricane Ivan back in 2004. Other areas of concern mentioned in the article included elevated carbon dioxide levels and possibly dirty duct work.
 
“Some of the issues employees have encountered could be related to sick building syndrome or SBS,” said Harry Pena, President of Zimmetry Environmental. “SBS is defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a term used to describe situations in which building occupants experience acute health and comfort effects that appear to be linked to time spent in a building, but no specific illness or cause can be identified. The complaints may be localized in a particular room or zone, or may be widespread throughout a building.”
 
Helping in these types of situations is Zimmetry Environmental, a leading provider of SBS investigations in the Caribbean. The company is based out of Puerto Rico and have experts to identify and resolve SBS cases caused by inadequate ventilation, chemical contaminants from indoors and outdoors, and microbial contaminants due to mold or bacteria. Any one of these elements may act alone or in combination, and may supplement other complaints such as inadequate temperature, humidity or lighting. Utilizing years of experience and the latest testing techniques, Zimmetry is able to identify problems and come up with practical solutions. They have also sponsored an educational video about sick building syndrome that can be seen at: http://youtu.be/AOMC2ois8VU
 
To learn more about Zimmetry Environmental, SBS and indoor air quality issues, please visit www.zimmetry.com, call (787) 995.0005 or email info@zimmetry.com .
 
About Zimmetry Environmental
Since 2002, Zimmetry Environmental has been providing environmental consulting services to building owners and managers, architects, engineers, EHS professionals and Fortune 500 companies.  The company is based in Puerto Rico and provides services across the Caribbean and Central America. The professionals at Zimmetry offer environmental compliance, indoor air quality (IAQ), asbestos, lead-based paint, Phase I ESAs and general environmental consulting services.
 

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