A month of itching, headaches, and nausea at an adult education school in Barcelona: "We don't know the reason."

This school year was supposed to be a turning point for the Palau de Mar adult education school in Barcelona. They were beginning a new era, leaving behind their location in the Escola del Treball building and moving to the other side of the city, in the Sant Martí district, to a new modular building. But what was supposed to be an improvement has become a real nightmare for teachers and students. From the first day they entered, the teachers have been suffering health problems.

Despite having to enter the building in July, the teachers were ultimately not allowed in until September, just a few days before the start of the school year. In fact, classes began when the space still had significant shortcomings: water leaks, no internet, the elevator not working, and, above all, a rat infestation. But beyond these structural deficiencies, the All of Barcelona And the ARA has been able to confirm, what was most worrying—and is still worrying at this time—is the trickle of sick leaves that more than one teacher has had to take due to health problems of unknown origin.

The problems have been going on for over a month and, according to sources close to the school, have manifested themselves in the staff in various ways: from a constant sore throat and headache, to nausea, itchy skin, dizziness, and, in some cases, even nosebleeds. As the Education Consortium has confirmed to the ARA, one staff member is still on sick leave to this day.

However, the problem still has another twist: although from the first moment the Consortium became aware of the situation, an occupational risk prevention team was sent to the school and an external company was hired to analyze all the parameters that could cause health problems at the center, the results obtained this week show that "it cannot affect the health of the workers."

Sources close to the school explain that teachers continue to get sick and that some students—all adults—are also noticing symptoms. "There are people who have improved and relapsed, and substitutes who have covered for absences have also had symptoms from the first day, and we don't know the reason," explain sources familiar with the situation at the school.

Next to a waste collection plant

Although the center's staff don't know why they are falling ill, one factor that had been raised is the fact that the adult school is located right next to a pneumatic waste collection center, which residents also report causes odor problems. However, the Consortium's technical report confirms that all the parameters analyzed (both by the Consortium's risk prevention department and by a specialized external company) have yielded normal results.

Among the parameters analyzed are volatile substances that may be released from the plant, but also humidity, CO₂, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and the formaldehyde indicator, which is linked to construction materials and furniture installation.

The test results for all these substances rule out elements outside of occupational risk prevention regulations that could be harmful to health. However, since September 22, the Consortium has been monitoring the teachers' condition with regular visits to professionals and has made a shared dashboard available to the school to update information on symptoms. This tool, according to sources from the Consortium, only reports of sore throat and headaches have been reported. "We are not doctors; we just want to be able to have a job that doesn't involve getting sick," lament people close to the school.

A sick building?

"In this case, the symptoms are consistent with sick building syndrome," says Sergio González, a member of the board of directors of the Catalan Association of Companies Specializing in Sick Building Syndrome (Acesem). The World Health Organization (WHO) defines this syndrome as a group of symptoms suffered (primarily) by workers in the same building and related to the indoor environment, as the condition appears when they enter the building and improves when they leave.

The symptoms associated with this condition are ocular, nasal, respiratory, cutaneous, and neuropsychological, and González, who is also the technical director of one of only two state-owned inspection companies accredited for indoor air quality, is blunt: "Signs such as headaches can come from incorrect lighting or nosebleeds. It is very likely due to a particle and ventilation issue, and therefore, it is not unreasonable that it could be sick building syndrome," he says.

Regarding the conclusions shared by the Consorci, González points out that there are many types of indoor air quality inspections, with varying levels of detail, and that whether they are required to be carried out annually depends on the building's cooling capacity (more than 70 kW). "Honestly, a generic occupational risk inspection doesn't usually find a solution or a cause. A thorough inspection must be carried out, also looking for fungi, mites, or bacteria to determine if there has been an impact on the air conditioning," he suggests.

Often, the cause of diseased buildings lies in volatile pollutants from insulation materials, furnishings, cleaning products, or machinery: solvents, compounds emitted from printers or photocopiers, paints and varnishes, but also fumes from vehicle and industrial leaks, pesticides, or radon gas.

Together we will take it to committee

Regarding the building's shortcomings, sources from the Education Consortium assure that the pest control company has confirmed that there are no more rats in the center, after several interventions, but that daily visits will be maintained as a preventive measure. They also detail that they are waiting to obtain the final permit to be able to operate the elevator and to install fiber optics so that the internet works at the expected speed; in the meantime, a dozen routers in the center to improve the connection.

For its part, Junts will take the situation of the Palau de Mar Adult Training Center to the Barcelona City Council's Social Rights Committee this October to demand that an urgent work plan be drawn up and implemented within a maximum of two months to adapt the center's facilities and that a study be drafted to clarify the situation.