27/06/2024
Indoor air quality is often neglected and not considered as important by many land owners in Male' City. They often feel as if it is a burden to design air vents within the buildings as this reduces the total usable floor area. However, poor indoor air quality is linked with many long-term health implications.
In this minor experiment we have measured the air quality of a building in Male' prior to opening any windows in an apartment within the building and after opening 2 of the windows that lead to the air vent.
The results showed a huge improvement in the indoor air quality within the living room of the apartment. Due to the lack of ventilation when all the windows were closed, the concentration of carbon dioxide within the living room was especially high along with other indicator air quality parameters such as TVOC and HCHO.
Poor indoor air quality can cause respiratory complications and can be detrimental to those with lower immune systems such as children and elderly.
Prolonged exposure to high concentrations of Methyl aldehyde or Formaldehyde (HCHO) of concentration higher than 0.01 ppm could cause irritation or allergic sensitization in some people, while concentrations greater than 0.5 ppm can cause irritation to eyes and mucous membranes and higher than 1 ppm can possibly cause nasopharyngeal cancer. This organic compound is widely used in cosmetics, clothing, construction materials, disinfectants and preservatives.
TVOC is the measure of total amount of volatile organic compounds in the air. Anthropogenic sources of VOCs are paint, lacquers, pesticides, cleaning supplies, building materials and furnishings, printers, adhesives, varnishes, nail polish, wax, organic solvents, disinfectants, air fresheners etc. VOCs are also naturally emitted from biological activity in the marine environment. Prolonged exposure to TVOC concentrations higher than 1-3 mg/m3 could cause eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches, damage to liver, kidney and central nervous system etc.
Carbon monoxide is an odorless gas that is deadly if inhaled. The most common source of CO is combustion either from fires or appliances that burn gas, wood or oil. Symptoms of CO poisoning include headache, dizziness, confusion, shortness of breath, chest and muscle pain etc.
Carbon dioxide is a colorless, odorless gas. The gas is naturally produced by all living things via respiration. Anthropogenic main source is via combustion. The outdoor concentration of CO2 is dependent on the traffic and industrial activity levels. While indoor concentration depends on the number of people and ventilation of the building. Hence this is a good indicator to determine the indoor air quality of buildings.
Due to the lack of monitoring in the Maldives, the instances where these types of issues are highlighted is very less. However, as part of the ongoing process of strengthening the environmental monitoring by the Maldives EPA, the number of environmental monitoring reports done by proponents have increased and this will eventually help in better regulation of these types of issues.
We at Eco-Tech Consultancy is committed to providing our clients with the most cost efficient environmental solutions that will ensure that our clients do not face issues like these.
