Indoor/outdoor particulate matter (PM10) levels in ambient air quality

With projected increase in urbanization especially in developing countries, air pollution, especially that of PM10 is becoming an increasing concern due to the adverse health impacts associated with high PM10 concentrations. This study aims to quantify the indoor and outdoor particulate ratio in var...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Radin Mohamed, Radin Maya Saphira, Musthapa, S. Z., Azman , I. N., Kassim , A. H. M., Lou, X. F.
Format: Conference or Workshop Item
Published: 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://eprints.uthm.edu.my/7618/
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Summary:With projected increase in urbanization especially in developing countries, air pollution, especially that of PM10 is becoming an increasing concern due to the adverse health impacts associated with high PM10 concentrations. This study aims to quantify the indoor and outdoor particulate ratio in various University buildings, situated adjacent to an industrial district in Batu Pahat, Malaysia, and to investigate the factors influencing this. This was achieved via on-site measurement of PM10 concentrations and the determination indoor to outdoor (I/O) ratios. The relationship between indoor and outdoor concentrations which were recorded via a scaling checklist. Results showed safe PM10 concentrations, below the indoor Malaysian Code of Practice (DOSH) and Recommended Malaysian Air Quality Guidelines (RMAQG), Department of Environment (DOE) which was 150μg/m3. Outdoor sources were found to have influenced indoor air quality in the Faculty of Civil & Environmental Engineering (FKAAS), with a measured I/O=0.56. Factors found to have a relationship with PM10 (p < 0.05) are temperature, wind speed, wind direction and relative humidity. This finding is significant in contributing some knowledge of the PM10 to communities surrounded by an industrial district about the relationship of indoor and outdoor air quality. It identifies research needs and suggests possible approaches to addressing outstanding questions