scholarly journals Evaluation of Particulate Matter Pollution in Micro-Environments of Office Buildings—A Case Study of Delhi, India

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saurabh Mendiratta ◽  
Sunil Gulia ◽  
Prachi Goyal ◽  
Sanjeev Kumar Goyal

High level of particulate matter in an office building is one of the prime concerns for occupant’s health and their work performance. The present study focuses on the evaluation of the distribution pattern of airborne particles in three office buildings in Delhi City. The study includes the Assessment of PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 in the different indoor environments, their particle size distribution, I/O ratio, a correlation between pollutants their sources and management practices. The features of buildings I, II, and III are old infrastructure, new modern infrastructure, and an old building with good maintenance. The results indicate that the average concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 are found in the range of 55–150 μg m−3, 41–104 μg m−3 and 37–95 μg m−3, respectively in Building I, 33–136 μg m−3, 30–84 μg m−3 and 28–73 μg m−3, respectively in Building II and 216–330 μg m−3, 188–268 μg m−3 and 171–237 μg m−3, respectively in Building III. The maximum proportion of the total mass contributed by PM0.25–1.0 i.e., up to 75%, 86%, and 76% in the meeting room of Building I, II and III, respectively. The proportion of ultrafine particles was found higher in the office area where the movement was minimum and vice versa. The higher I/O indicates the contribution of the presence of indoor sources for ultra-fine and finer particles. Further, possible strategies for indoor air pollution control are also discussed.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1149
Author(s):  
Francesca Marcovecchio ◽  
Cinzia Perrino

Within the framework of the project “Integrated Evaluation of Indoor Particulate Exposure”, we carried out a 4-week field study to determine indoor bioaerosol, and its contribution to particulate matter (PM)10 and organic matter. The study was carried out in university classrooms, where most of the common indoor sources of atmospheric particles are missing. Bioaerosol was determined by a method based on propidium iodide staining, observation by fluorescence microscopy, and image analysis. Indoor bioaerosol concentrations were compared with outdoor values, which were determined simultaneously. The samplings periods were scheduled to divide weekday hours, when the students were inside, from night-time hours and weekends. Very high bioaerosol concentrations were detected inside the classrooms with respect to outdoor values. The mean difference was 49 μg/m3 when the students were inside, 5.4 μg/m3 during the night, and it became negative during the weekends. Indoor-to-outdoor ratios were 6.0, 4.2, and 0.7, respectively. Bioaerosol contributed 26% to organics and 10% to PM10. In indoor samples collected during the day, the microscope images showed numerous skin fragments, which were mostly responsible for the increase in the bioaerosol mass. People’s presence proved to be responsible for a significant increase in bioaerosol concentration in crowded indoor environments.


Author(s):  
M. Shehab ◽  
F. D. Pope ◽  
J. M. Delgado-Saborit

Abstract Purpose Indoor and outdoor factors affect personal exposure to air pollutants. Type of cooking appliance (i.e. gas, electricity), and residential location related to traffic are such factors. This research aims to investigate the effect of cooking with gas and electric appliances, as an indoor source of aerosols, and residential traffic as outdoor sources, on personal exposures to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter lower than 2.5 μm (PM2.5), black carbon (BC), and ultrafine particles (UFP). Methods Forty subjects were sampled for four consecutive days measuring personal exposures to three aerosol pollutants, namely PM2.5, BC, and UFP, which were measured using personal sensors. Subjects were equally distributed into four categories according to the use of gas or electric stoves for cooking, and to residential traffic (i.e. houses located near or away from busy roads). Results/conclusion Cooking was identified as an indoor activity affecting exposure to aerosols, with mean concentrations during cooking ranging 24.7–50.0 μg/m3 (PM2.5), 1.8–4.9 μg/m3 (BC), and 1.4 × 104–4.1 × 104 particles/cm3 (UFP). This study also suggest that traffic is a dominant source of exposure to BC, since people living near busy roads are exposed to higher BC concentrations than those living further away from traffic. In contrast, the contribution of indoor sources to personal exposure to PM2.5 and UFP seems to be greater than from outdoor traffic sources. This is probably related to a combination of the type of building construction and a varying range of activities conducted indoors. It is recommended to ensure a good ventilation during cooking to minimize exposure to cooking aerosols.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-37
Author(s):  
Shofia Amin ◽  
Nany Mawaddah

The main purpose of this study is to examine the effect of emotional quotient on work performance, and the effect of spiritual quotient on work performance at BPMPPT of Jambi City. Using 68 employees as respondent, the data were collected by distributing questionnaire and analyzed by using partial least squares path modeling (PLS-SEM). The results of the analysis show that overall emotional intelligence and spiritual intelligence employee BPMPPT Jambi city is at a high level of quotient. While employee performance BPMPPT Jambi city is at a level of performance was enough. The statistical analysis shows that partially and simultantly emotional quotient and spiritual quotient has significant and positive effect on employee performance. Keywords: Emotional Quotient, Spiritual Quotient, Performance


Author(s):  
Laurentiu Predescu ◽  
Daniel Dunea

Optical monitors have proven their versatility into the studies of air quality in the workplace and indoor environments. The current study aimed to perform a screening of the indoor environment regarding the presence of various fractions of particulate matter (PM) and the specific thermal microclimate in a classroom occupied with students in March 2019 (before COVID-19 pandemic) and in March 2021 (during pandemic) at Valahia University Campus, Targoviste, Romania. The objectives were to assess the potential exposure of students and academic personnel to PM and to observe the performances of various sensors and monitors (particle counter, PM monitors, and indoor microclimate sensors). PM1 ranged between 29 and 41 μg m−3 and PM10 ranged between 30 and 42 μg m−3. It was observed that the particles belonged mostly to fine and submicrometric fractions in acceptable thermal environments according to the PPD and PMV indices. The particle counter recorded preponderantly 0.3, 0.5, and 1.0 micron categories. The average acute dose rate was estimated as 6.58 × 10−4 mg/kg-day (CV = 14.3%) for the 20–40 years range. Wearing masks may influence the indoor microclimate and PM levels but additional experiments should be performed at a finer scale.


2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 757-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yueran Wen ◽  
Liu Liu

Based on a survey of 147 Chinese employees, we examined the relationship between perceived career plateau and turnover intention, and the moderating role of career anchor in challenge in this process. We hypothesized that perceived career plateau would be positively related to turnover intention, and that this relationship would be stronger in employees with a higher level of career anchor in challenge than in those with a lower level. The results showed that perceived career plateau had a strong positive relationship with turnover intention, especially in employees with a high level of career anchor in challenge. These findings have implications for research in career development and turnover intention, as well as in management practices.


Author(s):  
Iman Goldasteh ◽  
Goodarz Ahmadi ◽  
Andrea Ferro

Particle resuspension is an important source of particulate matter in indoor environments that significantly affects the indoor air quality and could potentially have adverse effect on human health. Earlier efforts to investigate indoor particle resuspension hypothesized that high speed airflow generated at the floor level during the gate cycle is the main cause of particle resuspension. The resuspended particles are then assumed to be dispersed by the airflow in the room, which is impacted by both the ventilation and the occupant movement, leading to increased PM concentration. In this study, a three dimensional model of a room was developed using FLUENT™ CFD package. A RANS approach with the RNG k-ε turbulence model was used for simulating the airflow field in the room for different ventilation conditions. The trajectories of resuspended particulate matter were computed with a Lagrangian method by solving the equations of particle motion. The effect of turbulent dispersion was included with the use of the eddy lifetime model. The resuspension of particles due to gait cycle was estimated and included in the computational model. The dispersion and transport of particles resuspended from flooring as well as particle re-deposition on flooring and walls were simulated. Particle concentrations in the room generated by the resuspension process were evaluated and the results were compared with experimental chamber study data as well as simplified model predictions, and good agreement was found.


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-486
Author(s):  
Laura Peutere ◽  
Antti Saloniemi ◽  
Simo Aho ◽  
Jouko Nätti ◽  
Tapio Nummi

The connection between high-involvement management (HIM), entailing heavy employee involvement, and employee well-being is a controversial and widely discussed topic. Clarifying how job satisfaction and stress are connected to HIM and job control (the control employees have over their work), this study is based on data from two Finnish sources: an employer survey investigating the extent of HIM within an organisation, and employee assessments of job control, stress and job satisfaction. Logistic regression models were used as the study method. In contrast to previous Finnish studies, our findings show that HIM seems hardly to benefit employee well-being. Especially in the public sector, the correlation between extensive HIM and employee well-being turned out to be negative. However, HIM in the private sector was positively related to job satisfaction. As expected, a high level of job control was regularly associated with greater well-being.


The article is dedicated to the analysis of the changes in HR management practices in Ukrainian enterprises during the pandemic. Introduction of the anti-epidemic restrictions has a large impact on market situation, and labor market in particular, creating a critical situation for enterprises. In such situation new challenges in HR management emerge, which, have being solved successfully, will allow mitigating the consequences of the pandemic for enterprises and workers. Since such conditions are completely novel, there is a lack of the systemic research of the factors that influence managerial decision-making. The article is aimed at the identification and analysis of the most significant challenges emerging in the area of HR management due to the epidemic hazard spread and the introduction of the anti-epidemic restrictions. The research is based on the results of the expert interview with different level managers of the private and state enterprises operating in the areas of education, science, IT, finance and service. Data reveal that the most problematic challenge was the transition to remote work leading to the technical, psychological, and methodical difficulties in the work performance. Moreover, the different level of availability of the remote work in different enterprises and areas conditions unequal influence made by the crisis on workers and the intensification of socioeconomic inequalities. Another important aspect is the informal relationships management and the integration of workers, since consolidated work groups appear more resistant toward the stress of the abrupt changes in working conditions. The situation of uncertainty regarding the future development of the pandemic and the introduction of anti-epidemic measures shortens the strategic planning perspective and bears high conflict potential, which will complicate labor market recession. It is suggested to use the presented results for the further detailed and systemic research of the influence made by the pandemic on the changes in HR management practices in the context of the global transformations of labor relationships.


2020 ◽  
Vol 69 ◽  
pp. 471-500
Author(s):  
Shih-Yun Lo ◽  
Shiqi Zhang ◽  
Peter Stone

Intelligent mobile robots have recently become able to operate autonomously in large-scale indoor environments for extended periods of time. In this process, mobile robots need the capabilities of both task and motion planning. Task planning in such environments involves sequencing the robot’s high-level goals and subgoals, and typically requires reasoning about the locations of people, rooms, and objects in the environment, and their interactions to achieve a goal. One of the prerequisites for optimal task planning that is often overlooked is having an accurate estimate of the actual distance (or time) a robot needs to navigate from one location to another. State-of-the-art motion planning algorithms, though often computationally complex, are designed exactly for this purpose of finding routes through constrained spaces. In this article, we focus on integrating task and motion planning (TMP) to achieve task-level-optimal planning for robot navigation while maintaining manageable computational efficiency. To this end, we introduce TMP algorithm PETLON (Planning Efficiently for Task-Level-Optimal Navigation), including two configurations with different trade-offs over computational expenses between task and motion planning, for everyday service tasks using a mobile robot. Experiments have been conducted both in simulation and on a mobile robot using object delivery tasks in an indoor office environment. The key observation from the results is that PETLON is more efficient than a baseline approach that pre-computes motion costs of all possible navigation actions, while still producing plans that are optimal at the task level. We provide results with two different task planning paradigms in the implementation of PETLON, and offer TMP practitioners guidelines for the selection of task planners from an engineering perspective.


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