Posted By David Wallington Gday all. OK, issue recently, new carpet laid, some staff complaining of fume effects. Found to be caused by light fittings in the renovated area where carpet is being replaced. The fittings were not replaced during current renovations, this caused the fumes to naturally vent to the roof space and in turn from outside air to circulated air conditioning, and hence a flow on into occupied rooms. This issue was sorted immediately, however one staff member 8 weeks latter is still complaining of solvent smells. His new office has 10 month old carpet and 10 month old paint on the walls, I would kill for it, its huge! Anyway, I Have investigated this thing to death, toilet and detergents used in the area,Kiosk vents, all air conditioning systems, feed and outside air, filter replacement timelines and compliance and so it goes on. He is the only staff member with an ongoing issue. Im remaining objective on it all, there is a subjective test, have 20 staff not involved in the situation to enter the room and in 15 seconds indicate weather they can smell anything. If 80% are no then its a non issue I guess. Would you adivse going to the expense of sample, swabs reading air quality, I mean most cant detect odours, only spores etc in airconditioning. How can you measure a smell in such small amounts? Anyway thats a lot to spit out on one breath, cough cough, can you smell that?. Dave

Posted By Ron Hunter Just a thought- Does big office mean big boss, with a fancy new desk and chair to a different(superior?) standard to everybody else? Are the fumes typical of those given off by new soft furnishings and/or desk adhesives, and possibly arising due to or exacerbated by body heat contact with these surfaces? People just entering the room may not notice the effect - they might have to actually sit in the "big chair"! p.s. not every smell necessarily equates to a health issue.