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396 Õ“§“√ªÉ «¬ Vol. 29 No. 2 Apr.-Jun. 2004 The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Abstract Sick Building Arun Chaiseri Fellow of the Academy of Science, The Royal Institue, Thailand Sick buildings are those where people getting in to work or stay for a certain period of time feel uncomfortable. They may get headache, nausea, sneezing, eyeburn, coughing or difficulty in breathing. These symptoms normally disappear when they leave the building. The buildings are then said to be “sick”, and those people are said to suffer from “Sick Building Syndrome”. To obtain healthy inside air, a building must be designed by experienced architect, interior decora- tor as well as engineers who are well aware of the Sick Building Syndrome. It must also be well con- structed, supervised as well as maintained. Some of the main sources that make inside air polluted are asbestos, biological substances, carbonmonoxide, formaldehyde, pesticide and other volatile organic com- pounds, lead, second-hand tobacco smoke and radon. Radon is a colorless and odorless gas which results from natural decomposition of radium element in soil. As radon is a main cause of lung cancer, the most effective way to avoid the cancer from radon is to design and build your house such that radon level is reduced to minimum. Four measures in eliminating causes of pollution of inside air are provision of good ventilation, always keeping the mechanical ventilation system in good condition, removing the possible sources of this pollution and finally, eliminating tobacco smoke. Key word : Sick building