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Laboratory air quality and microbiological contamination in a university building

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to measure the level of indoor air pollutants (carbon dioxide [CO2], formaldehyde [HCHO], volatile organic compound [VOC)], and bacteria and fungi) in Water and Wastewater Engineering Laboratory (WWEL) (station 1) and Material Engineering Laboratory (MEL) (station 2) in a university building every 60 min. Measurements were taken over an 8-h period each day for 3 days. The results showed that the total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) and respirable particulates exceeded the acceptable limits for indoor air quality (IAQ) set by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) in both locations. The concentration of formaldehyde measured at station 2 also exceeded the acceptable limit. Bacteria found in both laboratories were identified as gram-positive bacteria; the most dominant microbes were from Bacillus sp. A good ventilation system and a careful selection of construction materials are crucial to reduce IAQ contamination.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the University Malaysia Terengganu for providing facilities to conduct this study.

Funding

Marlia M. Hanafiah was funded by the Ministry of Education Malaysia (FRGS/1/2018/WAB05/UKM/02/2) and UKM research grants (KRA-2018-054 and DIP-2019-001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Siti Amira ‘Ainaa’ Idris & Marlia M. Hanafiah

  2. Centre for Tropical Climate Change System, Institute of Climate Change, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Marlia M. Hanafiah

  3. Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, University Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Kuala Nerus, Malaysia

    Marzuki Ismail

  4. Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, University Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Kuala Nerus, Malaysia

    Marzuki Ismail

  5. Faculty of Ocean Engineering Technology and Informatics, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia

    Samsuri Abdullah

  6. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Md Firoz Khan

Authors
  1. Siti Amira ‘Ainaa’ Idris
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  2. Marlia M. Hanafiah
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  3. Marzuki Ismail
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  4. Samsuri Abdullah
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  5. Md Firoz Khan
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Correspondence to Marlia M. Hanafiah.

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Responsible Editor: Amjad Kallel

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Idris, S.A.‘., Hanafiah, M.M., Ismail, M. et al. Laboratory air quality and microbiological contamination in a university building. Arab J Geosci 13, 580 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-020-05564-8

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