By definition Building Biology is “a field of building science investigating the indoor living environment for a variety of irritants” and building biologist’s role is described as follows: “Practitioners study how the environment of residential, commercial and public buildings can affect the health of the occupants, producing a restful or stressful environment. Important areas of building biology are building materials and processes, electromagnetic fields and radiation and indoor air quality ”.

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After World War II, new houses were rapidly built in Germany to accommodate the growing population. Studies of these new houses found an unusual patterns of illnesses. It was concluded that these patterns could be attributed to the rapid construction of the buildings. The rapid construction had given materials insufficient time to outgas various volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and these VOCs in turn harmed the occupants. The illness is also attributable to problems with the electrical systems of the homes.

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From these discoveries a study began in earnest among a few individuals to catalog and characterize these VOCs. What emerged was a Standard of Baubiologie Method of Testing, with recommended threshold guidelines for sleeping areas, where one is most susceptible and spends a large amount of time. A small cadre of individuals was formed, and Anton Schneider, Wolfgang Maes and the Institut für Baubiologie und Nachhaltigkeit IBN started a training system in Building Biology.

Building Biology is practiced in Europe since the early 1970s but is relatively new and under-utilised in Australia. Here in Australia we have Australian College of Environmental Studies, which provides the most comprehensive training in the country and is the only college to offer Government accreditation. We also have the Australasian Society of Building Biologists that has helped educate the public, businesses, health practitioners and government about Building Biology since 2007.

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The World Health Organization states, that about 75% of all diseases are caused by environmental factors. Knowing that, wouldn’t you choose to live and work in a building that instead of causing any health issues would support and enhance your wellbeing? Most people would agree to that. Yet, we don’t pay too much attention to what materials we bring to our homes, what household and personal care products we use, what technologies we play with every single day. Most people believe that the products available on our supermarket shelves have been rigorously tested for any harmful health effects.

Unfortunately this is not the case with most of these industries such as the cosmetics industry being self-regulated. While the argument remains that concentration limits are low, so therefore deemed safe, given the amount of chemicals now in common use there is no way the synergy of this cocktail of chemicals could be taken into account.

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Statistics show that there has been an alarming rise in childhood asthma, which has trebled in the last 30 years, with ADD and childhood allergies increasing by 400% in the last 20 years. Children are very susceptible to their environments and the pollutants within them due to immature immune systems, higher metabolic rates and the amount of food and water they consume relative to their body weight.

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