Companies can be so focused on the bottom line that sometimes, for example, they neglect the health of their employees.

A public relations professional in Beijing surnamed Wang recalled that one of her former employers was so eager to get into a newly renovated building, they rushed right in even though it was suffused with toxic fumes.

"The management's only solution was to put pineapples everywhere" because their aroma neutralized the chemical smell, she said.

According to Song Guangsheng, chief engineer with the China Indoor Environment Monitoring Committee, office buildings can be the source of a variety of pollutants. Synthetic building and interior decoration materials and furniture can give off vapours that can cause asthma, allergic reactions and other illnesses.

"It can be a big project to drive away the chemical vapours," he said. "But the easiest way is surely to open the window and to let fresher air in."

It also helps to have some green plants in the office, he added.

China Daily reported earlier in the year that doctors have encountered health problems related to office air quality so often that they have defined "bad air office syndrome" as a medical condition.

In sample of air quality in several high-grade office buildings in Beijing last year, the China National Interior Decoration Association (CNIDA) found that 81 per cent of locations exceeded the safety levels for ammonia, 50 per cent for ozone and 42 per cent for formaldehyde.

This can cause illnesses such as humidifier fever, Legionnaires' disease, asthma, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

Other sources of office building pollution include nearby construction and electronic appliances, and poor ventilation, which allows hazardous particles to concentrate in small office spaces.

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