Indoor air quality

These specifications were developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to recognize new homes equipped with a comprehensive set of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) features. They were developed with significant input from stakeholders, based on best available science and information about risks associated with IAQ problems, and balanced with practical issues of cost, builder production process compatibility, and verifiability. Although these measures were designed to help improve IAQ in new homes compared with homes built to minimum code, they alone cannot prevent all IAQ problems. Occupant behavior is also important. For example, smoking indoors would negatively affect IAQ and the performance of the specified Indoor airPLUS measures. For more information, visit epa.gov/indoorairplus.

This paper is a study of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) of laboratory in university buildings at faculty of civil and environmental engineering, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM). This study assessed the existing indoor air quality in two selected laboratory buildings, which equipped with natural ventilation. The important IAQ parameters considered in this study are temperature, relative humidity, air movement, and airborne particles. However, airborne particles were categorized based on its size characterization concentration of particles ≥ 0.3 μm and particles ≥ 5.0 µm. The measurements were carried out during the peak hours within these laboratories using Met One GT-521 particle counter and Anemometer. Ultimately, area, time of measurement conducted, the number of activities, ventilation, air movement, and materials, were found as the major contributors to the IAQ performance in these laboratories.

modernized, most of the activities are done indoor. From sports to parties, around 80 percent of the time people remain indoor. And in some cases indoor air quality is 80 percent more polluted than outdoor air quality. The majority of gases present in our environment are CO2, NH3, benzene which pollutes the air. To overcome this effect of bad air quality, an air quality monitoring system with a purifier is required. The proposed solution is to measure indoor Air Quality Index (AQI) as well as other harmful contents present in environment like smoke and LPG. The system can be operated anywhere as it can be accessed using a smartphone and all the data is uploaded using cloud computing. Then the indoor air quality will be always clean enough to breath.

The study was conducted in Mayapuri Industrial area, Phase 1, New Delhi. The study was carried out in 3 phases. For conducting the present study, 10 enterprises were selected randomly. In the first phase, awareness of the employees and owners was assessed by the researcher regarding Indoor Air Quality and related health effects. In the first phase, owner/managers and employees of the selected enterprises served as the sample. Owners were selected as they are the decision makers in an enterprise and employees as they are the ones who work in the enterprises and are affected the most by the decisions made by the management of an enterprise. They are the affected partners and were of a great help in gaining insight into the knowledge amongst them regarding IAQ. One owner/manager and 5 employees from each unit, served as a sample for this phase, making the sample size of 60. Tool used in the first phase was an interview schedule to Check the awareness amongst the owners and employees.

Standard 62.1 has undergone some key changes over the years, reflecting the ever-expanding body of knowledge, expe- rience, and research related to ventilation and air quality. While the purpose of the standard has remained consistent—to specify minimum ventilation rates and other measures intended to provide indoor air quality that is acceptable to human occupants and that minimizes adverse health effects— the means of achieving this goal have evolved. In its first edi- tion the standard adopted a prescriptive approach to ventila- tion by specifying both minimum and recommended outdoor airflow rates to obtain acceptable indoor air quality for a variety of indoor spaces. In its 1981 edition, the standard reduced minimum outdoor airflow rates and introduced an alternative performance-based approach, the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Procedure, which allowed for the calculation of the amount of outdoor air necessary to maintain the levels of indoor air contaminants below recommended limits. Today the standard still retains the two procedures for ventilation design, the IAQ Procedure and the Ventilation Rate Procedure.

Indoor air often contains complex mixtures of contaminants of concern such as environmental tobacco smoke, B-30, B-31 infectious and allergenic biological aerosols, B-32 and human bioeffluent emissions from food preparation. Precise quantita- tive treatment of these contaminants can be difficult or impossi- ble in most cases. Chemical composition alone may not always be adequate to reliably predict the reaction of building occupants to most common mixtures of substances found in indoor air. To some degree, adequacy of control may rest upon subjective eval- uation. Panels of observers have been used to perform subjective evaluation of indoor air quality in buildings.

The most hazardous chemical used in fiber glass industry are: formaldehyde, phenol and ammonia. The chemicals were monitored in an industry in Kuwait to investigate the indoor air quality of the facility. It was found that all these chemi- cals were within the OSHA standards but formaldehyde exceeded KEPA standards (0.1 ppm) in the curing area. It was found that lower density of fiber glass product leads to higher concentration of pollutants in the atmosphere and vise versa. Moreover, higher thickness causes higher concentration of pollutants in the atmosphere.

Good indoor air environment should be comfortable for most indoor members. That means high quality fresh, pleasant air for the indoor person to meet human thermal comfort and health needs [3]. According to the ASHRAE standard, thermal comfort is defined as “the satisfactory state of consciousness of thermal environment”. It is four environment factors and two human factors that affect the thermal comfort. Four environment factors include air temperature, relative humidity, the average tempera- ture of the inner surface of indoor maintenance structure and velocity of air flow. Two human factors are the rate of human energy metabolism and clothing thermal resis- tance [4]. The indoor air quality is subject to many fac- tors, and it can be divided into three categories according to the differences in the nature. The first is the physical, including suspended particles, smoke particles, and elec- tromagnetic radiation, etc. The second is chemicals, mainly from the residual components of housing renova- tion, insecticide sprays, the kitchen smoke, etc. Its main ingredient is volatile organic compounds (VOA) (such as formaldehyde, toluene, ethyl acetate) and inorganic compounds (such as ammonia, CO, CO 2 ), etc. The third

The indoor air quality of a building is a major factor that can affect the health and comfortability of its occupants. This study aimed at establishing whether there is indoor air quality problem in 5 residential apartments located in Upanga Area, Kinondoni Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Methodology for the assessment of the air quality of these apartments involved interview with residents, visual inspection, and measurements of indoor and outdoor conditions such as wind speed, humidity, particulates concentrations as well as post combustion products. Modeling of air flow was employed to study air flow pattern in one apartment as the apartment are similar in terms of design, size and occupancy level. The results highlight that, the apartment’s location and orientation, internal spaces layout as well as the size and type of openings permit inadequate natural ventilation. Levels of relative humidity were found to be higher than recommended for human comfort. Particulate matters were also high, although their concentration was found to be below ASHRAE limits. Airflow pattern was mainly dominated with vortices, which inhibits fresh air exchange in the apartment. However, emission concentrations of CO, SO 2 ,

Methods: The general structure of and specific items in the IAQ checklist were discussed in a focus group meeting with IAQ assessors based upon the result of a literature review, previous industrial code of practice, and previous interviews with company employers and workers. Results: For practicality and validity, several sessions were held to elicit the opinions of com- pany members, and, as a result, modifications were made. The newly developed IAQ checklist was finally formulated, consisting of seven core areas, nine technical areas, and 71 essential items. Each item was linked to a suitable section in the Industry Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality published by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health.

Establishing wireless and location-based indoor air quality monitoring system is done by developing a data collection and monitoring system, providing database management system, and building a real time and location-based dashboard that provides information on air quality monitoring system. Agile system development is used to create a database management system and information visualization dashboard for wireless and location-based indoor air quality monitoring system in accordance with regulations in Indonesia. Database management system is based on relational DBMS that uses SQL to translate user questions into instructions for retrieving requested data. SQL makes it possible to extract data with far less effort in the database environment. The relation model is the current standard database implementation. The database application relationship with SQL contains (11):

Inadequate ventilation in a building can result in prob- lems with moisture, unpleasant smell, lack of oxygen, and unacceptable content of poisons gases such as CO. Contaminants such as formaldehyde or radon can also accumulate in poorly ventilated homes, causing health problems. However, since resistance to pollutant varies from person to person, it is hard to accurately quantify the impact of ventilation on human beings. Various methods have been proposed based on the consideration of factors such as direct medical costs and lost earnings due to major illness as well as increased employee sick- ness days and lost productivities while on the job. From such studies, the productivity loss in the United States of America attributed directly to indoor air quality (IAQ) has been estimated to be approximately 14 minutes per day [1] or 1 to 1.5 billion of euro per year or equivalent of 250 to 350 euro per inhabitant in Norway [2]. Other studies suggest that the potential economic impact of indoor air pollution on a country, such as on Finland, can run into tens of billions of dollars per calendar year [3].

should “not have a worse level of compliance”. This has been interpreted by some to mean that if a window had no controllable background ventilation before replacement then the new replacement window does not require any. Others have interpreted the regulations to mean that, if replacement windows are likely to significantly reduce a building’s background ventilation to levels which may result in poor indoor air quality, then controllable background ventilation must be introduced at the same time as a window is replaced. This paper explores the impact that these two different interpretations of the regulations is likely to have and whether there will be adequate ventilation for health and moisture control.

Studies for assessing the indoor air quality of eateries are required for evaluating the potential health risks, establishing guidelines, and advocating possible control measures for ensuring the healthy workplace environment [7]. Although studies dealing with eateries’ air quality are scarce in the literature, few of such studies have been carried out in different parts of the world which indicated a serious indoor air quality problem, particularly in developing countries [8]. The deteriorated air quality in areas surrounding the eateries is an additional challenge, as the exhaust chimneys of eateries’ kitchens typically are not equipped with any pollution control devices such as scrubbers, catalysts, or condensers [9]. Many attendants of public places like eateries are subjected to effects like dizziness, wet eyes, drowsiness and general discomfort due to nature of the activities taken place such as cooking, smoking and the tightness of the building [6]. Thus, the risks to health which will lead to the decrease of patronizes and employee productivity through exposure to indoor air pollution [10]. Clearly, the quality of indoor air should be as high as possible. Thus, this study assesses the indoor concentrations of air pollutants at different selected eateries in Zaria and compares the results with air quality standards. The objective was to Determine the acceptability of the indoor air quality of the selected eateries by comparing with IAQ guidelines.

Indoor air pollution has proven negative impacts on the urban population in many developing countries. In Kuala Lumpur, high-rise housing programs are not addressing IAQ and thermal comfort. As household incomes rise, residents are resorting to retro-fitting wall mounted split, air conditioning units; a strategy that is neither cost nor carbon effective. This paper reports on the results of computer modeling in conjunction with scale model trials (1:5) of a ’Dynamic-Hybrid Air Permeable Ceiling’ (DHAPC) designed to filter, cool and dehumidify, the incoming air mass. This filter membrane, when combined with activated charcoal, reduced carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, benzene and particulate levels by up to 90%. These techniques now require to be replicated at 1:1 scale, however, the initial data suggests that such an approach, could make a major contribution to improving indoor air quality and thermal comfort with a much reduced carbon penalty.

High indoor temperature may normally not lead to serious health effect. However, high temperature may affect occupants’ thermal comfort in any occupied indoor spaces. Several factors always affect occupants’ perceptions of building environment. Temperature and Relative Humidity are always related to indoor air quality. Human inside body temperature should be in the range of 36°C to 37.5°C for healthy condition. For skin temperature on the other hand it should be around 33-36.5°C. Therefore, human beings have to maintain the body temperature at the right scale. Otherwise, physiological adjustments are perceived as uncomfortable. The range of humidity for office environment is typically related to the occupants clothing and activities. In tropical climate like Malaysia, the acceptable range for indoor temperature is around 23°C - 26°C and Relative Humidity is around 40-70%. To ensure occupants to feel comfortable air movement should be maintained around 0.15-0.5m/s. (SMACNA 1998; DOSH 2010; and ASHRAE Handbook Fundamental 2009). Factors that affect occupants’ perceptions of building environment and acceptable range for specific physical parameter are tabulated in table 2.4 and 2.5.

Poor indoor air quality can cause sick building syndromes (SBSs) and other occupational health problems. This study was to assess indoor air problems in university offices of which the work environment is relatively different from typical private business offices. The study also examined the prevalence of work-related symptoms of the office workers. Fifteen faculty offices at Mahasarakham University in Thailand were selected to perform survey research using a MM-40 questionnaire, which was developed in Örebro, Sweden. The questionnaire comprises indoor air complaints in office environments and work-related symptoms. Moreover, levels of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in the study

The report summarizes the main results obtained in the project “Environmental monitoring and air quality assessment in the Lithuanian Theatre, Music and Cinema Museum” funded by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism (EEA-Grants – Norway Grants). The main goal of the project was to assess the indoor air quality for the preservation of cultural heritage objects both in storage and exhibition. Measurements of environmental parameters were performed in different types of indoor locations and following different methodologies. High concentration of organic acids (acetic and formic acids) was measured in a storeroom with significant source of organic compounds, whereas high concentration of NO 2 was measured in exhibition

Abstract – Problems with indoor air quality control in public use facilities and serious air pollution have been identified in spaces where people live indoors. Schools must comply with the regulations necessary for health management, and staff members are responsible for protecting and promoting student health. The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions of students, parents, school staff, and Department of Education personnel of environmental hygiene management in the classroom, and to provide basic data according to the policies of environmental hygiene management through comparison and analysis of survey results. The survey period was November 6, 2017 to November 17, 2017. The survey method employed an online self-reporting questionnaire. The issue of classroom ventilation was addressed through the question “How good do you think the air ventilation in the classroom is?” The student response rate to the above questions was high. The results show that overall regulatory awareness (3.63) and regulatory accreditation (3.54) were high, while regulatory compliance (3.22) was moderate.

This paper deals with a comprehensive survey of the main indoor air pollutants related to the cement production. The potential sources of air emissions were determined, and the measurements were taken in the most representative points. A cement plant in Jeddah city in Saudi Arabia was selected as a case study to investigate the indoor air quality inside the cement industry. The study was conducted March 7-14, 2017. The plant is using the dry production method and the heavy fuel as a source of energy. Gaseous concentrations were measured using portable Modular Area Monitor made by Greywolf.