Appropriations takes up ‘sick buildings’

The phenomenon known as “sick building syndrome” on Monday made its way into Parliament as the Lower Chamber considered Appropriations Bill.

It was just weeks ago, on February 24 that the House itself was relocated to the Worthing Corporate Centre to facilitate industrial cleaning and other work being carried out on the Parliament Buildings in The City.

More recently, on March 2, workers of the Barbados Revenue Authority protested working conditions in the Treasury Building. Workers blamed the building for causing them continuous respiratory illness.

Chair of Committee Dr Sonia Browne, a medical doctor who was affected by the conditions in the Parliament Building, questioned the Ministry of Health about its legislative powers to “shut down sick buildings”.

She asked Health Minister Lt. Col. Jeffrey Bostic: “Can the Ministry of Health request that it be ordered that a building be closed because of suspected sick building syndrome.

“I know the Ministry of Health does the testing in most cases well health/environment. Do you’ll have the power to?

“I have to thank the Honourable member for St George North this is something that is increasing in Barbados. We might not have documentation in all the cases but the anecdotal evidence is there for issues with sick building syndrome what is the plan going forward.”

Lt. Col. Bostic directed the question to Chief Environmental Health Officer Francine Bascombe who said there was no such law.

She said: “In the Ministry of Health our regulations do not speak to us being able to close a building because of it being a sick building syndrome.”

The Chair then rephrased her question for clarity.

Dr Browne said: “Buildings that are contaminated with fungi and bacteria etcetera. Let’s not call it sick building syndrome. Just like how you can shut down a restaurant for a contaminated kitchen.”

The environmental health officer then replied by saying it was not the health ministry alone that could make such a determination.

She said: “That is a slightly different regulation but we can we go in and we do our inspections and we can make recommendations in terms of the cleaning of the building addressing whatever the issue is.”

Bascombe continued: “I guess in that way you would say if it requires to be closed for that process to be done but in terms of a regulation that says we can go in and do that we don’t have any such regulation at this point in time. It is a mixture between us and the Ministry of Labour and the Environmental Protection Department.”