Chemical exposure

Health complaints arising in indoor workplaces are often felt to be directly linked to the presence of harmful substances in the air. Typical examples of this are formaldehyde and wood preservatives.

Odour, acute complaints, results of medical examinations and press reports, for example, can point to the presence of hazardous substances or cause their presence to be suspected. However, they do not constitute actual evidence of their presence.

In such cases, appropriate investigationsmust be carried out to determine whether there are any grounds to suspect exposure to hazardous substances before conducting hazardous substance measurements, which usually entail significant technical and staffing effort. Frequently, the findings of such investigations enable decisions to be made as to the necessary measures (e.g. redevelopment) without hazardous substance measurements having to be performed