scholarly journals Determination of Lead, Cations, and Anions Concentration in Indoor and Outdoor Air at the Primary Schools in Kuala Lumpur

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Normah Awang ◽  
Farhana Jamaluddin

This study was carried out to determine the concentration of lead (Pb), anions, and cations at six primary schools located around Kuala Lumpur. Low volume sampler (MiniVolPM10) was used to collect the suspended particulates in indoor and outdoor air. Results showed that the concentration of Pb in indoor air was in the range of 5.18 ± 1.08 μg/g–7.01 ± 0.08 μg/g. All the concentrations of Pb in indoor air were higher than in outdoor air at all sampling stations. The concentrations of cations and anions were higher in outdoor air than in indoor air. The concentration ofCa2+(39.51 ± 5.01 mg/g–65.13 ± 9.42 mg/g) was the highest because the cation existed naturally in soil dusts, while the concentrations ofNO3-andSO42-were higher in outdoor air because there were more sources of exposure for anions in outdoor air, such as highly congested traffic and motor vehicles emissions. In comparison, the concentration ofNO3-(29.72 ± 0.31 μg/g–32.00 ± 0.75 μg/g) was slightly higher thanSO42-. The concentrations of most of the parameters in this study, such asMg2+,Ca2+,NO3-,SO42-, andPb2+, were higher in outdoor air than in indoor air at all sampling stations.

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 607-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nor Husna Mat Hussin ◽  
Lye Munn Sann ◽  
Mariana Nor Shamsudin ◽  
Zailina Hashim

This study reports the types and concentrations of bacterial and fungal bioaerosols found in five randomly selected primary schools in Malaysia. Normal flora bacteria was the most frequently isolated bacteria including Staphylococcus spp., Pseudomonas spp. and Bacillus spp. Terribacillus spp. found in this study had never been reported before. The most frequently isolated fungal genera were Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, Rhizopus and Zygomycetes. The average concentration of bacteria in indoor and outdoor air were 1025 ± 612 CFU/m3 and 1473 ± 1261 CFU/m3, respectively, while the average concentration of fungal bioaerosol in indoor and outdoor air were 292 ± 83 CFU/m3 and 401 ± 235 CFU/m3, respectively. The percentages of bacterial and fungal samples that were within the American Conference of Industrial Hygenists (ACGIH) recommended levels were 44% and 33.8%, respectively. The ratio of indoor to outdoor fungi concentration was below 1.0, suggesting minimal indoor generative source for fungal bioaerosols. However, the ratio of indoor to outdoor bacteria concentration was approaching 1.0, suggesting the presence of potential internal generative source and inadequate ventilation. Building occupants might be one of the potential sources of bacteria in the indoor air as the bacteria concentrations without occupants were significantly lower than with occupants (p < 0.05).


2002 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 188-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeshi Ohura ◽  
Tomohiko Sugiyama ◽  
Takashi Amagai ◽  
Masahiro Fusaya ◽  
Hidetsuru Matsushita

Abstract An analytical method was established for the simultaneous determination of 39 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in air. The method was applied to a survey of gaseous and particulate PAHs in household indoor air. The survey was performed in 21 houses in the summer of 1999 and in 20 houses in the winter of 1999–2000 in Fuji, Japan. Thirty-eight PAHs were determined in indoor and outdoor air in the summer, and 39 PAHs were determined in indoor and outdoor air in the winter. The concentrations of gaseous PAHs in indoor air tended to be higher than those in outdoor air in the summer and winter. The concentrations of particulate PAHs in indoor air were the same as or lower than those in outdoor air in the summer and winter. PAH profiles, correlations between PAH concentrations, and multiple regression analysis were used to determine the factors affecting the indoor PAH concentrations. These results showed that gaseous PAHs in indoor air were primarily from indoor emission sources, especially during the summer, and that indoor particulate PAH concentrations were significantly influenced by outdoor air pollution.


Author(s):  
Barend L. van Drooge ◽  
Ioar Rivas ◽  
Xavier Querol ◽  
Jordi Sunyer ◽  
Joan O. Grimalt

Airborne particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 µg, PM2.5 was regularly sampled in classrooms (indoor) and playgrounds (outdoor) of primary schools from Barcelona. Three of these schools were located downtown and three in the periphery, representing areas with high and low traffic intensities. These aerosols were analyzed for organic molecular tracers and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to identify the main sources of these airborne particles and evaluate the air quality in the urban location of the schools. Traffic emissions were the main contributors of PAHs to the atmospheres in all schools, with higher average concentrations in those located downtown (1800–2700 pg/m3) than in the periphery (760–1000 pg/m3). The similarity of the indoor and outdoor concentrations of the PAH is consistent with a transfer of outdoor traffic emissions to the indoor classrooms. This observation was supported by the hopane and elemental carbon concentrations in PM2.5, markers of motorized vehicles, that were correlated with PAHs. The concentrations of food-related markers, such as glucoses, sucrose, malic, azelaic and fatty acids, were correlated and were higher in the indoor atmospheres. These compounds were also correlated with plastic additives, such as phthalic acid and diisobutyl, dibutyl and dicyclohexyl phthalates. Clothing constituents, e.g., adipic acid, and fragrances, galaxolide and methyl dihydrojasmonate were also correlated with these indoor air compounds. All these organic tracers were correlated with the organic carbon of PM2.5, which was present in higher concentrations in the indoor than in the outdoor atmospheres.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 45-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Venu Shree ◽  
Bhanu M. Marwaha ◽  
Pamita Awasthi

Two schools in Hamirpur (Himachal Pradesh, India) having hybrid ventilation (ceiling fan) were selected for indoor and outdoor air quality investigation. Investigated parameters include temperature, relative humidity, CO2, and PM2.5 for both indoor and outdoor air quality. The average concentrations of CO2, and PM2.5 are estimated for indoor and outdoor air quality. Result shows that adopted building performance is not good in comparison with designed ones. The indoor concentrations of various pollutants are found to be higher in comparison with outdoor, so there is an urgent need to reduce the levels of pollutants inside the primary classrooms.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 586
Author(s):  
Ahmad Faiz Mohammad ◽  
Naoki Ikegaya ◽  
Ryo Hikizu ◽  
Sheikh Ahmad Zaki

Understanding the characteristics of natural, wind-induced ventilation of buildings is essential for accurate predictions of ventilation flow rates; however, indoor ventilation is significantly influenced by surrounding buildings. Therefore, a series of wind-tunnel experiments were performed to clarify the relationship between outdoor and indoor air flows around and within a target cube model with several openings. Two surrounding building arrangements, namely square (SQ) and staggered (ST), were placed under the condition of a building coverage ratio of 25%. The results indicated that the wind speed near the windward openings on the streamwise faces showed 0.3 to the reference wind speed, whereas those on the lateral faces were less than 0.1; these numbers indicate that the opening positions significantly affect the mean indoor wind speed. Furthermore, the temporal fluctuations of velocities near the opening demonstrated that the introduction of the flow is significantly affected by turbulent flow due to the surrounding buildings. In addition, correlation between the outdoor and indoor air flows was observed. The highest correlations were obtained for both opening conditions with a certain temporal delay. This result indicates that indoor air flows become turbulent because of the turbulent flows generated by the surrounding outdoor buildings; however, slight temporal delays could occur between indoor and outdoor air flows. Although the present study focuses on the fundamental turbulent characteristics of indoor and outdoor air flows, such findings are essential for accurately predicting the ventilation flow rate due to turbulent air flows for sheltered buildings.


1976 ◽  
Vol 20 (14) ◽  
pp. 272-276
Author(s):  
Joshi Satish

An average person spends most of his time indoors and the quality of indoor air affects his performance and well-being. This justifies the study of indoor air pollution for the development of working and living environments which are comfortable and safe. As a part of a larger program to study traffic-generated air pollution in the vicinity of streets, a simultaneous indoor/outdoor sampling program was carried out at three sites in the city of Zurich, Switzerland. Parameters included CO, NO, NO2 and HCHO. The results show the direct relationship between indoor and outdoor concentrations of CO, NO and NO2. HCHO concentrations were found to be substantially higher indoors than ourdoors thus supporting the hypothesis that HCHO source could be in the buildings themselves. The importance of indoor air is emphasized, and the interplay of indoor and outdoor air pollution is demonstrated.


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