Teori umum mengenai penyebab dari sindrom bangunan sakit dapat disebabkan oleh beberapa faktor di bawah ini:
- Building materials (identified in the book of Leviticus in the Bible). The building materials may allow micro organisms to grow on or in them, or the building materials may have chemicals or other substances in them or off gassed from them that may irritate the person’s skin or pollute the building air that people breathe.
- Poor sanitation (identified in the Ohio State Capital Building investigation).
- Ozone, organic solvents and formaldehyde in the atmosphere (Jeanne Stellman of the Women’s Occupational Health Resource Centre).
- Office equipment, furnishings and other materials and products located or used in the building which can produce fumes or contact dermatitis (Jeanne Stellman of the Women’s Occupational Health Resource Centre).
- Air borne chemical fumes or gasses from anything in the building (these cause were publicised by Gray Robertson, President of Healthy Buildings International, and supported by the tobacco industry).
- Building air conditioning, inadequate ventilation (which could cause a buildup of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide or other gasses) and pollutants from inside or outside the building that were circulated by the air conditioning system (these cause were publicised by Gray Robertson President of Healthy Buildings International, and supported by the tobacco industry).
- Mould, bacteria, dust mites, other micro organisms; endotoxins and other microbial products (these causes were publicised by Professor Ragnar Rylander of the University of Geneva, and supported by the tobacco industry).
- Poor building cleaning and maintenance resulting in air borne dust and fibres (Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) building investigation).
- Inadequate light and /or space for work tasks (EPA building investigation).
- Vermin (particularly mice, rats and cockroaches) infestation (EPA building investigation).
- Poor indoor air quality (this cause was brought to prominence by the research work of Lance Wallace of the EPA).
- Other environmental factors that include building temperature, humidity, lack of negative ions in the workplace atmosphere, building odours, noise, electrostatic charges, electro-magnetic fields and/or vibration in the building (Godish 1995).
- Psycho social issues (identified in an American court decision).
- Poor management practices (identified in an American court decision)
Penyebab sindrom bangunan sakit ini juga tidak terlepas dari bahan-bahan kimia berbahaya yang mungkin terdapat di dalam bangunan.
Baca juga: Konsep Bangunan Sehat
Sumber: Manual Desain Bangunan Sehat, Program Studi Arsitektur ITB