STUDY OF INDOOR AIR QUALITY IN A HOSTEL FOR THE INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED

Abstract

Indoor air quality (IAQ) can affect the comfort levels and health conditions of occupants especially in residential building where occupants spend long hours in it. Most IAQ related studies focus on office, commercial and institutional buildings, whereas minimal research is done to investigate the indoor environment of the intellectually disabled residential building. This study seeks to find out if the indoor air quality of a hostel for the intellectually disabled is within acceptable level. This is significant as the intellectually disabled may be more vulnerable to health complications due to the existing health problems that they may have. Moreover, they also face limitation in expressing themselves in which they are not able to voice out any discomfort due to bad IAQ. Objective measurements were carried out for 12 IAQ parameters. A total of 16 locations in the hostel were investigated. Singapore Standard SS554:2009 was used as a guideline to determine if the parameters fall within acceptable limits. It was found that there are 2 areas of concern which the hostel should take note of. One of which is the high level of respirable suspended particles which is likely contributed by poor housekeeping measures. Another area of concern is the high bacteria concentration in the recreational room of the hostel which indicates that the room may be a potential ground for transmission of diseases. Although there are 2 areas of concern, the IAQ in the hostel is generally acceptable. Various recommendations are proposed to maintain and improve the IAQ of the hostel so as to ensure that the intellectually disabled live in an environment with good IAQ which will pose minimal threat to their health.