INDOOR ENVIRONMENT OF THE CHEMICAL SENSITIVITY (CS) PATIENT HOUSE AT ASAHIKAWA, JAPAN S Nakai 1 * , Y Yanagisawa 2 , J Kawahara 2 , N Shinohara 2 , K Kumagai 2 , K Abe 3 , K Jin 4 , S Kobayashi 4 , E Katsura 4 , CS Patient House Study Group 1 Graduate School of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University, Japan 2 Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Japan 3 Institute of Environmental Biology, JDC Corporation, Japan 4 Environmental Health Division, Hokkaido Institute of Public Health, Japan. ABSTRACT A chemical sensitivity (CS) patient house was built at Asahikawa, Japan in 2001. The objectives for the house are to study the CS mechanism, the relationship between indoor environment and the symptoms, as well as care of the patients. It is expected that CS patients will recover and return to normal life through their temporary stay at the CS patient house. In this paper, the baseline data results of the indoor environment measurements since the construction are described. The formaldehyde concentration in each room was less than 20 ppb just after the construction and since then. VOC levels were also low. We feel the indoor environment of the house is good for CS with regard to chemical contamination, although we have discovered another environmental problem: biological contamination. This research will be continued to establish good standards for the indoor environment to prevent CS occurrence. INDEX TERMS Chemical Sensitivity, Indoor Environment, Recuperation INTRODUCTION The city of Asahikawa is located in Hokkaido, a northern island of Japan. The chemical sensitivity (CS) patient house was built at Asahikawa for care of CS patients and for studying CS from various perspectives such as mechanism of CS, effect of recuperation, relationship between indoor environment and CS, establishment of a support system for CS patients, etc. A medical facility for chemical sensitivity has been established at the Kitasato Institute Hospital in Tokyo, Japan (Tsuchimoto, 1999). The purpose of the facility is to provide both diagnosis and medical care specificity. The CS patient house is the first facility in Japan for recuperation of CS patients through their daily life. The city of Asahikawa planned this project (2001) and a study group was established. Members of the group include physicians, environmental scientists, NPO staffs for CS patient support, the building company, and local government officers. It is expected that CS patients will recover and return to normal life through their temporary stay at the CS patient house. In addition, experience at Asahikawa will be helpful for the construction of another facility and establishment of a support system for CS patients. Our goals are to (1) measure and maintain the indoor environment, (2) investigate the * Contact author email: snakai@ynu.ac.jp