Aim of the Study:The complex hospital environment requires special attention to ensure a healthy indoor air quality (IAQ) to protect patients and healthcare workers against hospital-acquired infections and occupational diseases. Poor hospital IAQ may cause outbreaks of building-related illness such as headaches, fatigue, eye, and skin irritations, and other symptoms. The general objective for this study was to assess IAQ inside a large University hospital at Al-Khobar City in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.Materials and Methods:Different locations representing areas where most activities and tasks are performed were selected as sampling points for air pollutants in the selected hospital. In addition, several factors were studied to determine those that were most likely to affect the IAQ levels. The temperature and relative percent humidity of different air pollutants were measured simultaneously at each location.Results:The outdoor levels of all air pollutant levels, except volatile organic compounds (VOCs), were higher than the indoor levels which meant that the IAQ inside healthcare facilities (HCFs) were greatly affected by outdoor sources, particularly traffic. The highest levels of total suspended particulates (TSPs) and those less than 10 microns (PM10) inside the selected hospital were found at locations that are characterized with m4ore human activity.Conclusions:Levels of particulate matter (both PM10 and TSP) were higher than the Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs). The highest concentrations of the fungal species recorded were Cladosporium and Penicillium. Education of occupants of HCF on IAQ is critical. They must be informed about the sources and effects of contaminants and the proper operation of the ventilation system.
Good indoor air quality in restaurants is essential for ensuring healthy and comfortable workplace environment and protecting the health of restaurant personnel and visiting customers from exposure to harmful air pollutants. This study was aiming to assess the indoor levels of air pollution at different types of restaurants in Saudi Arabia. Forty‐four restaurants were selected in two main cities including hotels, family, and take away restaurants. At three locations inside each restaurant, levels of six air pollutants were measured three times during February to December 2015. The highest mean level ± standard deviation of PM10 (78.2 ± 40.2 µg m−3), PM2.5 (38.1 ± 17.6 µg m−3), CO (4.4 ± 2.2 ppm), CO2 (1218 ± 477 ppm), VOCs (0.4 ± 0.19 ppm), NO2 (0.3 ± 0.12 ppm), and SO2 (0.07 ± 0.01 ppm) were found in the fast‐food restaurants, followed by the family restaurants, while the lowest levels were recorded in hotel kitchens and its eating halls. The high levels of CO2 that exceeded its standard limit in both fast‐food and family restaurants reflect the inadequate ventilation rate inside such type of restaurants, which is considered one of the main causes of increasing indoor air pollution levels in their environment. Levels of PM10 and PM2.5 were exceeding their air quality guidelines (AQGs) inside the fast‐food and family restaurants while the other air pollutants were lower than their AQGs, which might be sufficiently high to cause chronic health effects of restaurant kitchen workers. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 37: 1713–1721, 2018
Amounts and chemical components of airborne dust in urban city centers are important environmental pollution indicators. High concentrations of heavy metals in the environment result in health hazards including adverse effects on the nervous, blood forming, cardiovascular, renal and reproductive systems. The aim of the present study was to assess the heavy metals contamination of street and ambient airborne dust in two main cities in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Dust samples were collected from street environment and ambient air at different sites in the selected two cities. The metal composition of dust samples was quantitatively determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometer. The average concentrations of ambient airborne dust were below the Saudi's air quality criteria of 150µg/m 3 , while the average levels of street airborne dust were exceeding the air quality standards of 150 -350 µg/m 3 . Metal concentrations in the street airborne dust were much higher than those of the ambient type. Aluminum (Al) is considered as an index of mineral dust, and during this study, values of metal/Al ratios for street airborne dust were much higher than those of the ambient type. This reflects the high contribution of man-made sources, particularly motor vehicles, in metal composition. Banning of leaded petrol helped in the general decrease of lead (Pb) concentrations in the KSA Eastern Province atmosphere.
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