The building I live in or work in is making me sick. Can the Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH) test the building?
The investigation of any link between the environment and human illness should begin with a clear medical diagnosis. Therefore, the ECDOH recommends that individuals concerned about symptoms, or other health complaints, should first see their health care provider for further evaluation, and, if warranted, referral to a specialist. If a diagnosis can be made, AND if the condition has been shown scientifically to have a potential environmental cause, then focused testing of the environment MAY be of benefit. However, testing is rarely indicated and would need to be done by a third party since the ECDOH does not routinely test buildings. more…
The Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH) receives many inquiries regarding “testing” of environments. It is important to note that random testing for unknown substances causing unidentified or poorly defined ailments is generally neither helpful, sound public health practice, or even scientifically or logistically possible. The word “testing” is often used by the public in a nonspecific way. However, when the word is used scientifically it can refer to numerous different procedures by many different kinds of laboratories to discover thousands and thousands of different agents. Categories of agents include biological, chemical, and radiological; and, within each of these categories there are many different subcategories of agents. For example, biological agents include bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and molds. Each of these subcategories is further divided into individual agents (species) each of which may require a very different and very specific test or series of tests to detect. F
