
Clémence de Baudouin - Mémoire de l’École Nationale de la Santé Publique - 2006
 
A b s t r a c t  
 
 
 
 
 
Indoor air quality (IAQ) in office buildings is a real public health topic. In fact, people who 
work in tertiary sector spend a lot of time in their office. Moreover, there are more and 
more  complaints  about  IAQ  in  office  buildings  since  several  decades.  A  lot  of 
contaminants  can  be  found  in  these  buildings:  they  could  be  chemical,  physical  or 
biological contaminants. They could be at the origin of some mild disease, like headaches, 
nauseas, allergies, dizziness, tiredness, eye, throat or nose irritations… Furthermore they 
could also create heavy diseases, like cancers.  
The French observatory of IAQ (OQAI) wants to organize soon a study program on the 
IAQ in office buildings to know whether these interior environments are polluted in France 
and whether populations are exposed to these pollutants.  
This study aims to prepare the future OQAI’s program proposing a study protocol. 
To respond to this objective, a bibliographic synthesis has first been made. Specificities of 
the topic have been shown. French data are scarce, so it has been decided to make a 
little investigation close to occupational physicians. It has shown that it exists in France 
some pathologies due to IAQ in office buildings.  
At  least,  a  study  protocol for  the  OQAI’s  program has  been  elaborated.  Few sampling 
plans have been proposed, and protocol phases have been developed.