Indoor air quality assessment based on particulate matter contamination

Evidently, one of the biggest global issues at present is air pollution, especially in cities where particulate pollution is a problem. Particulate matter exposure has increased primarily in developing nations. Since the last few decades, concern about the quality of the air inside different buildings and microenvironments has increased globally. Countless contaminants produced by diverse sources enter the indoor environment. Theinfiltration of ambient air from ventilation systems is among the major factors contributing to high PM levels indoors. Other than ambient sources, cooking, smoking, and cleaning are anthropological activities that contribute to indoor particulate pollution. In light of this, the current study sought to evaluate the level of indoor pollution to help identify major contamination sources in an indoor environment. Several studies have investigated indoor air quality (IAQ) in workplace and academic buildings with a focus on air conditioning, but few have examined the characteristics of dust deposited in naturally ventilated spaces. Previous studies have used methods like continuous air quality monitoring and dust analysis techniques to comprehend various aspects of indoor air quality. Some of these discuss the necessity of combining both to evaluate various building typologies. There are currently few readings on naturally ventilated residential settings with continuous real-time monitoring and dust analysis. The present study is an effort to lower this gap by thorough audit analysis of airborne circulating as well as surface-settled pollutants in naturally ventilated residential setting. The real-time air quality monitoring showed minimal variation in PM concentrations for two days or between day and night. A few activity-based spikes are observed making particulate matter levels cross the world health organization prescribed benchmark. The analysis of the dust revealed pollutants with indoor sources, including thread, hair, skin flakes, and plastics. The study's conclusions can be used to examine additional problematic buildings in the future. As humans spend the majority of their time indoors, additional in-depth investigations of indoor air quality are vital.