Percepção ocupacional: a qualidade do ar interno em biblioteca pública, Ceará, Brasil

Abstract

The poor air quality in libraries has attracted attention from researchers due to the quantity of substrates favorable to the action of biodegraders on written/digital archives’ substrates. Although not a potential cause of death, the symptoms provoked by these organisms can cause discomfort and low productivity of workers. The objective of this study was to discover the opinions of employees of a public library in the municipality of Fortaleza, Ceará regarding the air quality. Between January and April 2013, questionnaires were administered to obtain information on the worker profile, labor activity, health and air quality of the working environment. Thirty-eight employees, with average age of 42 years and an average of 12 years on the job, allocated to nine sectors, were surveyed. It was found that 89% rated the air as dusty or malodorous, 37% reported they had missed more than nine days due to health problems in recent months and 90% reported sick building syndrome symptoms, but 71% had never complained to management and 100% had never heard about SBS. This study, by demonstrating the fragile knowledge of library workers, can lead to better disclosure and as a result better environmental.