Mitigation of airborne contaminants in Malaysian offices / Jaspreet Kaur Malkeet Singh

Jaspreet Kaur, Malkeet Singh (2021) Mitigation of airborne contaminants in Malaysian offices / Jaspreet Kaur Malkeet Singh. Masters thesis, Universiti Malaya.

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Abstract

Airborne contamination has been in the talk throughout the years. Research studies have shown that due to airborne contaminations such as volatile organic compound, particulate matter, asbestos, radon, nitrogen oxides, viruses, and ozone in office there is possible effects of indoor air quality (IAQ) on the office building and its work performance. The COVID-19 pandemic has promoted a renewed interest in the assessment of decline IAQ condition in closed space office. According to World Health Organization (WHO), it has been proven that one of the transmission routes of COVID-19 is through aerosols which open a possibility that an airborne transmission can occur, thus, higher chance of spreading in an indoor space with high occupancy, such as office building. Thus, the study aims to develop a comprehensive checklist and guideline that is used to mitigate and prevent airborne contamination in office. As a result, a survey was conducted to determine the source of contaminant in office and its health impact on office occupants. Questionnaire forms were distributed among the office occupants to get their feedback on their satisfaction towards their office IAQ. A total of 102 office occupants have participated in this survey. The data collected were analysed using SPSS statistical software and based on the data analysed, most of the respondent experience sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms analysed through four factor which are source of contamination in office, offices surrounding environment, office equipment and activities and ventilation. Hence, based on the results. a checklist and guideline were developed to prevent or minimize indoor air contamination in office. This checklist and guideline were as a safety measure for office users, owner, employer, and employee to evaluate and mitigate the source of airborne contamination in closed space office. The checklist aims to identify the factors influencing the complaints, thus giving a general overview of the suspected source of pollutants and the guideline aims to provide awareness and steps to be taken to mitigate and reduce the presence of source of contaminant in the office. A total of nineteen new parameter were added in the checklist which are ventilation system, type of material, cleaning material, food and drink management, smoking management, waste management, toilet management, furniture, electronic equipment, office stationaries, personal and hygiene product, surrounding activities, maintenance operation include pest control, refreshers, office design, storage management, natural occurrence, plant-based contamination, and air conditioning system.

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