Indoor Air Quality and Health in Newly Constructed Apartments in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Surabaya, Indonesia

Abstract

In times of rapid urbanization, increasing usage of chemicals in buildings, and energy saving measures, the topic of indoor air quality (IAQ) demands reinforced attention. Nevertheless, especially in developing countries with urgent building construction needs, IAQ has hardly been examined. This study investigates the condition of IAQ and health of occupants in newly constructed high-rise apartments in contrast to traditional detached houses (Kampongs) in Surabaya, Indonesia. Information on building attributes, cleaning and ventilation behavior, interior sources, personal characteristics and health, especially multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), was collected through 471 questionnaires. In addition, 76 measurements of TVOCs, formaldehyde and 30 measurements of mold risk were carried out. The results showed that the share of people in apartments with a very suggestive risk of MCS was twice as high as that in Kampongs (17.6% vs. 6.7%). Correlation analysis suggested that for both residential types, health problems, negative smell or perception of IAQ, and higher levels of stress determined higher degrees of MCS. For IAQ, high concentrations of formaldehyde and TVOCs were measured in apartments and corresponded to higher MCS risk, whereas severe mold issues were predicted in Kampongs. This study suggests major shortcomings in the indoor environment in newly constructed apartments for the physical and the mental health of occupants.

Indoor Air Quality and Health in Newly Constructed Apartments of Indonesia: Case Study on the Effect of Modification

“…Furthermore, the mean values of 0.01 ppm (Kampongs) and 0.04-0.05 ppm (apartments) were found to be higher than those in most previous studies (Hildebrandt et al 2019), including 0.01-0.02 ppm in France (Bentayeb et al 2013), 0.03 ppm in Japan (Araki et al 2010;Saijo et al 2011) and 0.03-0.04 ppm in China (Huang et al 2011). As discussed in the previous publication (Hildebrandt et al 2019), the maximum measured concentrations of 0.34-0.92 ppm are also much higher than in Japanese studies -0.15ppm (Saijo et al 2011) or 0.16ppm (Takigawa et al 2010) and the United Arab Emirates (0.14 ppm) (Yeatts et al 2012) and higher in China (0.22 ppm) (Guo et al 2013) -and exceeds even the measured maximum of 0.29 ppm in a study on 'very suggestive' MCS cases in Japan (Hojo et al 2016). A similar result was obtained in TVOC (Figure 2(b)).…”

“…There is also a significant difference (p<0.05) in the MCS risk in apartments of Surabaya and Bandung; 51.2% of respondents were not suggestive in Surabaya while 62.6% in Bandung. As described in Hildebrandt et al (2019), in the previous studies, similar shares of MCS risk in apartments (37%) were reported in South Korea (Jeong et al, 2014). Still, in Japan, only 25% of the respondents were categorized as 'very suggestive' or 'problematic' MCS risk groups (Hojo et al, 2016).…”

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and Related Risk Factors for Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) at the Office and Home: A Systematic Review

“…The type of buildings may also affect the indoor air temperature. Often, the temperature inside Kampong houses is hotter than the outdoor environment compared to apartments [19]. The higher temperature may be due to different building designs and ventilation systems.…”

Indoor air quality in urban residential: Current status, regulation and future research for Indonesia

“…New standards have also emerged, such as special ventilation for kitchen spaces, PM 2.5 , and suggestions for smoking outside the home. However, Hildebrandt in 2019 still said exposure to tobacco smoke in residential areas in the city of Surabaya had worsened air quality in residential spaces, which shows that after almost ten years, the policy has not been able to show changes in society [18].…”

“…The program plans to cover three aspects -administrative, technical, and ecological-requirements for health sustainability. Hildebrandt et al [18] Apartment and Urban Landed Kampong Houses Surabaya (n= 471 and 106 rooms)…”