Indoor air pollutants influenced by haze and their health impacts on Malaysian students

Abstract EN

Haze episode is a common transboundary phenomenon affecting Malaysia, with significant impact on air quality.

Quantitative information on the influence of haze episodes on several pollutants in the indoor environment is still lacking.

Real-time PM10, PM2.5, O3, TVOC, CO and CO2 levels were measured in outdoor and indoor air before and during smoke-haze event in 2013.

The analysis revealed a significant contribution of haze event to the indoor PM levels.

The average mass concentration of indoor PM2.5 was increased by a factor of 4 during the smoke-haze period (30.04μg/m3) as compared to non-smoke-haze period (6.89μg/m3), exceeding the WHO guideline’s values (25μg/m3).

The results show a high contribution of haze episode, with respect to PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations, where the average indoor and outdoor ratios (PM2.5/PM10) during haze events were 0.66 and 0.70, respectively.

The results serve to improve our understanding of haze episode, pushing us to improve indoor quality.