Indoor air quality assessment in selected child care institutions (nurseries and kindergarten) at Kuantan, Pahang: The implication of occupancy on IAQ

• Main Authors: Mohd Nazri, Nur Shahidah, Mohd. Aris, Mohd Shukri, Mohd. Din, Shamzani Affendy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: WMIT Group Sdn Bhd 2017
• Subjects: RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/57721/1/JBETE2_100_Syida.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/57721/; http://www.jbete.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/JBETE2_100.pdf

Children breath proportionately greater volumes of air compared to adults, thus they inhale more pollutants per pound of body weight. Higher occupancy may contribute to the higher level of indoor air pollutant. Besides, the age of the children determine their susceptibility towards diseases. Infants aged up to 1 year old are more susceptible compared to the toddler aged from 2 to 4 years old due to their growth which is still in the development process. This study was conducted to see the relationship of occupancy and the degree of exposure of airborne pollutants towards infants and toddler in child care institutions. These objectives can be achieved by determining the concentration of selected parameters such as physical (temperature and humidity), chemical (PM10) and biological (colony forming unit (CFUm-3) for bacteria and fungi. Following that, this study also aims to see the correlation of these IAQ parameters with occupancy factor based on types of sampling stations(control station for non-occupied) and (kindergarten for occupied station).The methodology for physical and chemical IAQ assessments were done using instruments known as DustMate Environmental Dust Detector and VelociCalc® Multi-Function Ventilation Meter 9565. Surface Air System Indoor Air Quality (SAS IAQ) was used to capture the bacteria and fungi. The data obtained were compared with the established standard reference known as the Industrial Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality (ICOP 2010).This study shows that several IAQ parameters such as temperature, humidity and CFUm-3 for bacteria in the selected child care institutions were exceeding standard guideline by ICOP 2010. Moreover, there is high significant difference in IAQ parameters concentration in kindergarten station compare with control station in term of occupancy factor.