INDOOR AIR QUALITY OF NUS CENTRAL LIBRARY'S PHOTOCOPY ROOM

Abstract

A significant amount of time of an individual is spent indoor and it has become increasingly so in today’s highly urbanized lifestyle. At the same time, technology has also brought about an influx of electronic equipment into the space to serve our daily needs. In doing so, we trapped ourselves indoor with all a myriad of airborne contaminants produced by equipment such as computers, printers and photocopiers. Nevertheless, it remains undisputed that these equipment are here to stay. Owing to the limited studies conducted on acceptable indoor air quality of premises that houses such equipment, this dissertation aims to investigate the indoor air quality of a photocopy room. As photocopy rooms are commonly found in offices, schools and libraries, it is essential to determine the impact of electronic equipment on the indoor air quality. The indoor air quality audit comprises of both objective and subjective assessment to ensure a comprehensive evaluation of the indoor air quality. Experimental results found that airborne contaminants are generally within acceptable threshold, with the exception of biological pollutants. However, it is highlighted that higher concentration of contaminants are found in areas in proximity to photocopiers and printers. Interestingly, subjective assessment found that more than 80% of the occupants are dissatisfied with the indoor air quality of the photocopy room despite the safe levels of contaminants detected. This is likely due to the sensitivity of the occupants’ senses in detecting odorous and sensory irritating air pollutants at low levels. As such, appropriate recommendations such as the installation of localised cooling and exhaust system and the display of pollutants’ emission chart have been proposed to improve the indoor air quality of the photocopy room as well as to address the occupants’ poor perception of the air quality.