INDOOR AIR QUALITY OF FOOD COURT IN A COMMERCIAL BUILDING

Abstract

Due to the hectic lifestyle of Singaporeans, many would choose to dine out. As such, the indoor air quality (IAQ) of food establishments should be healthy, comfortable and clean to protect the health of occupants and create a good dining experience for them. However, there is insufficient literature on the IAQ of local food courts. This study seeks to examine the IAQ of an air-conditioned food court located in a shopping mall. In this study, an IAQ audit consisting of both objective measurement and subjective assessment was conducted in a foodcourt of a building in town. Air samplings were conducted during peak and non-peak hours of the food court, to collect objective measurements of the IAQ level. Results showed that in general, the air quality of the food court during peak hours have exceeded the acceptable limit specified in SS554:2009. Amongst the parameters measured, the concentration of respirable particulate matter (PM10) and the bacteria and fungi levels had significantly surpassed threshold limits. These findings indicate that the air quality may potentially implicate the health of food court patrons. To effectively remove the sources of pollutants, possible causes of high contamination levels were also identified in this study. Subjective assessment was also carried out to obtain feedback from 50 occupants. The survey results showed that only 36% of the occupants were satisfied with the overall IAQ of the food court. The dissatisfactory was reflected in the occupants’ perception of thermal comfort, air movement and odour intensity in the food court. In general, the air was regarded by patrons as warm, still and with a strong odour. Sick building syndrome (SBS) was also investigated and the symptoms of dry eyes, running nose, and dizziness were most commonly found amongst occupants. Finally, recommendations were made to improve the IAQ of the food court so as to enhance the thermal comfort levels of occupants.