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Indoor Air Quality Investigations at Five Classrooms
Author(s) -
Lee S. C.,
Chang Maureen
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
indoor air
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.387
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 1600-0668
pISSN - 0905-6947
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0668.1999.t01-2-00008.x
Subject(s) - indoor air quality , environmental science , particulates , nitrogen dioxide , relative humidity , ventilation (architecture) , environmental chemistry , carbon dioxide , formaldehyde , indoor air , environmental engineering , air quality index , sulfur dioxide , humidity , chemistry , meteorology , geography , inorganic chemistry , organic chemistry
Five classrooms, air‐conditioned or naturally ventilated, at five different schools were chosen for comparison of indoor and outdoor air quality. Temperature, relative humidity (RH), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), particulate matter with diameter less than 10 mm (PM 10 ), formaldehyde (HCHO), and total bacteria counts were monitored at indoor and outdoor locations simultaneously. Respirable particulate matter was found to be the worst among parameters measured in this study. The indoor and outdoor average PM 10 concentrations exceeded the Hong Kong standards, and the maximum indoor PM 10 level was even at 472 μ;g/m 3 . Air cleaners could be used in classrooms to reduce the high PM 10 concentration. Indoor CO 2 concentrations often exceeded 1,000 μl/l indicating inadequate ventilation. Lowering the occupancy and increasing breaks between classes could alleviate the high CO 2 concentrations. Though the maximum indoor CO 2 level reached 5,900 μl/l during class at one of the sites, CO 2 concentrations were still at levels that pose no health threats.