Exposure to Particle Matters and Hazardous Volatile Organic Compounds in Selected Hot Spring Hotels in Guangdong, China

He, Qiusheng; Song, Qi; Yan, Yulong; Wang, Zhichun; Guo, Lili; Wang, Xinming

doi:10.3390/atmos7040054

Cited by 11 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…However, they did not quantify the indoor PM increase as a result of room cleaning. In rural China where hot spring hotels were located, He et al (2016) examined indoor PM in the hotel rooms where hot spring water containing radon (Rn) was supplied and exhibited that indoor PM in their sampled rooms was higher than that of outdoor. They observed that indoor PM rose rapidly when occupants entered a room, slowly dropped after the occupants went to sleep and then rose again when they got up.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring particulate matter pollution in hotel guestrooms

Chang

Huh

Legendre

et al. 2020

IJCHM

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Purpose A growing number of travelers seek well-being when traveling. As concerning about outdoor air pollution in tourism destinations escalates, little is known about indoor air pollution in hotel guestrooms. The purpose of the present study is to assess particulate matter (PM) pollution in US hotel guestrooms and to provide baseline indoor PM readings in occupied and unoccupied rooms. Design/methodology/approach A series of field tests and experiments monitoring PM levels were conducted in the guestrooms overnight – with and without occupants – using the sophisticated, industrial-grade PM-monitoring equipment. Findings The results revealed that PM levels were very low when rooms were unoccupied or when guests were asleep. However, unhealthy PM mass concentrations were observed in occupied rooms when guests engaged in physical activity such as showering and walking around or while room attendants cleaned rooms. Among the physical activities, room cleaning caused hazardous indoor PM pollution, reaching 1,665.9 µg/m3 of PM10 and 140.4 µg/m3 of PM2.5 although they tended to be brief. Research limitations/implications Leveraging increasing guest demand in well-being is essential for sustainable business and further growth. Indoor air quality must be recognized as an important factor to be controlled for well-being and health of guests and employees. Major hotel brands should take it into consideration as they infuse well-being DNA into their products and culture. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first empirical investigation of PM pollution both in occupied and unoccupied hotel guestrooms in the USA, which reveals unhealthy PM pollution associated with the routine human activities in occupied guestrooms.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring particulate matter pollution in hotel guestrooms

Chang

Huh

Legendre

et al. 2020

IJCHM

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“…Though it was observed that October and November recorded maximum CO concentration values > 700 µgm -3 which were higher than the values estimated for December, the percentiles' distribution analysis clearly indicate that concentrations were more skewed to the higher values in December than the previous months. This can be attributed to the increased occurrence of calm conditions resulting in poor ventilation (He et al, 2016). It was observed that frequency distributions of wind speed and wind direction categories for October, November and December, 2013 were similar except that they recorded 35.8, 34.3 and 49.1% occurrence of calm condition respectively (Table 1).…”

Section: Ventilation Corridorsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Atmospheric ventilation corridors and coefficients for pollution plume released from an Industrial Facility in Ile-Ife Suburb, Nigeria

Abiye¹,

Akinola²,

Sunmonu³

et al. 2016

Afr. J. Environ. Sci. Technol.

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This study presents a comparative investigation of atmospheric ventilation corridors and coefficients for gaseous pollution plume released from an isolated industrial facility into the ambient air of the host community in Ile-Ife suburb, southwest Nigeria. For the months of September to December in the year 2012 and 2013, measurement of surface layer atmospheric parameters made from an instrumented mast located near the industrial facility were used to parameterize for mixing layer height (MLH). Estimates of ventilation coefficients were obtained as well as in-depth analysis of the ventilation corridors performed. With an estimated carbon monoxide (CO) emission rate of 3.37 gs-1 from the industrial facility, AERMOD regulatory dispersion model was executed within a domain covering 8 km × 6 km around the host community. Effect of monthly changes in local ventilation corridors on pollutants dispersal at the study location was analyzed. Observed speed wind at the study location was weak (monthly mean value is ~ 1.5 m-s-1). The wind direction was predominantly southwesterly, indicating ventilation corridors were towards the northeast of the region. Characteristic values of the atmospheric ventilation coefficients varied from month to month and from daytime (08:00 to 19:00, GMT+1) to nighttime (20:00 to 07:00, GMT+1) with daily maximum values occurring in the late afternoon between (13:00 to 17: 00, GMT+1). The maximum values obtained were 1216 m-1. The study reveals that locations SE and NE of the scrap-iron recycling factory are prevalently exposed to high concentration of gaseous pollutants and the populace in those corridors is potentially susceptible to long-term adverse effects.

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“…Given the differences among studies, including the nature of sampling (eg, indoor vs personal samples), testing methods, and the target VOCs measured, 45 semi‐quantitative comparisons are most informative. Several studies conducted in industrial areas in China have reported high indoor BTEX and TTVOC levels (even though relatively few target VOCs were included) as well as high outdoor levels (averaging 420 µg/m 3 ) 22‐24 . In hostels in New Delhi, India, TTVOC levels (11 target compounds) averaged 120 µg/m 3 46 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Volatile organic compound levels in hotels have been reported in a few studies, 22‐24 but information regarding inhalation exposure of hotel workers is missing. This omission is important since personal measurements typically exceed levels measured using indoor or area sampling; in hotels, this may result due to housekeepers' close and direct contact with cleaning agents 25 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occupational exposure and health risks of volatile organic compounds of hotel housekeepers: Field measurements of exposure and health risks

Lin

Rosemberg

et al. 2020

Indoor Air

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Hotel housekeepers represent a large, low‐income, predominantly minority, and high‐risk workforce. Little is known about their exposure to chemicals, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This study evaluates VOC exposures of housekeepers, sources and factors affecting VOC levels, and provides preliminary estimates of VOC‐related health risks. We utilized indoor and personal sampling at two hotels, assessed ventilation, and characterized the VOC composition of cleaning agents. Personal sampling of hotel staff showed a total target VOC concentration of 57 ± 36 µg/m3 (mean ± SD), about twice that of indoor samples. VOCs of greatest health significance included chloroform and formaldehyde. Several workers had exposure to alkanes that could cause non‐cancer effects. VOC levels were negatively correlated with estimated air change rates. The composition and concentrations of the tested products and air samples helped identify possible emission sources, which included building sources (for formaldehyde), disinfection by‐products in the laundry room, and cleaning products. VOC levels and the derived health risks in this study were at the lower range found in the US buildings. The excess lifetime cancer risk (average of 4.1 × 10−5) still indicates a need to lower exposure by reducing or removing toxic constituents, especially formaldehyde, or by increasing ventilation rates.

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Exposure to Particle Matters and Hazardous Volatile Organic Compounds in Selected Hot Spring Hotels in Guangdong, China

Cited by 11 publications

References 30 publications

Exploring particulate matter pollution in hotel guestrooms

Exploring particulate matter pollution in hotel guestrooms

Atmospheric ventilation corridors and coefficients for pollution plume released from an Industrial Facility in Ile-Ife Suburb, Nigeria

Occupational exposure and health risks of volatile organic compounds of hotel housekeepers: Field measurements of exposure and health risks

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