Indoor air quality assessment of an existing apartment located in Indian tropical city, Bhubaneswar

Abstract

Introduction: A proper investigation on indoor pollution level in economical apartments is important, where the provision for ventilation is limited. A series of experiments were conducted in the houses within an existing economical apartment in Bhubaneswar, India to evaluate various pollutant levels.

Materials and methods: Temperature, relative humidity, CO, CO₂, Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), Formaldehyde and Total volatile organic compounds in the bedrooms and kitchens are measured by pollution meters. The experiments were conducted with doors and windows closed conditions. The readings were taken on a four consecutive working day in February 2023 at an interval of 3 h (9:00 am to 9:00 pm).

Results: The day wise temperature and humidity variations inside the bedroom and kitchen shows a reverse trend. At the afternoon, the indoor temperature becomes high, while during the night time humidity becomes the highest. The day wise indoor CO₂ and CO variation trend is pretty similar. Both CO₂ and CO concentrations in bedrooms are the highest in the evening. In contrast to that CO₂ and CO concentrations in kitchens becomes maximum during noon time. High particulate matter concentration at outdoor and indoor is observed at the evening time. Higher formaldehyde (HCHO) and Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOCs) concentration at the indoor is observed at noon and afternoon time.

Conclusion: The results obtained were compared with the recommended values of World Health Organization (WHO) and National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAQIS). The results revealed that all measured parameters are at a higher level than the recommended values except the indoor CO₂ concentrations.