Air Quality Profile in an Enclosed Car Park

Abstract:

Complaints on poor air quality in an enclosed car park have been raised up among the public, which might cause serious health effects to the drivers, passengers, and labours who are working at the premises. Improper design of mechanical ventilation systems in a car park would result in a poor indoor environment. The exhaust emission of motor vehicle contains a variety of potentially harmful substances encompassing carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, hydrocarbons, and fine particulates. In Kuala Lumpur, there is a great demand but a short supply of lands and building spaces. Thus, a large multi-storey underground car parks is a common solution for both, the government and developers. Although the health effects of the motor vehicle emissions and ambient air pollution are already known, but due to the nature of enclosed multi-storey car parks, these health risks are predicted to be intensified. Thus, it is crucial to investigate and evaluate the status of the air pollution in the enclosed car parks with emphasis on sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen dioxides (NO₂). Samples were collected in one of the famous shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur using a GrayWolf Advanced Sense Direct Sense; Toxic Gas Test Meters from 8 am until 5 pm on weekdays and weekends. The results demonstrate that the concentrations of SO₂ and NO₂ on weekends is higher than weekdays. Besides, the concentrations for both weekdays and weekends have exceeded the standard limit set by the Malaysian Ambient Air Quality Guideline (MAAQG).

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volume 567)
• Pages: 3-7
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.567.3
• Online since: June 2014
• Authors: Nurul Izma Mohammed*, Nurfadhilah Othman, Khairul Bariyah Baharuddin
• Keywords: Air Pollution, Emission, Nitrogen Dioxide, Sulphur Dioxide

References

[1] Department of Statistics, Malaysia. (2010). Basic Population Characteristic by Administrative Districs.

[2] Burnett, J. & Chan, M.Y. (1997). Criteria for Air Quality in Enclosed Car Parks, Proc. Instn Civ. Engrs, Transp., 123, 102- 110.

[3] Hough, A. M., & Derwent, R. G. (1990). Changes in the global concentration of tropospheric ozone due to human activities. Nature, 344(6267), 645-648.

DOI: 10.1038/344645a0

[4] Pani, B. (2007). Textbook of environmental chemistry. India. IK International Pvt Ltd.

[5] Ramli, N. A., Ghazali, N. A., & Yahaya, A. S. (2010). Diurnal fluctuations of ozone concentrations and its precursors and prediction of ozone using multiple linear regressions. Malaysian Journal of Environmental Management, 11(2), 57-69.

[6] USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency), (2013). [Online], [Accessed on 5 June 2013].

[7] USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency), (2006).

[8] Yaziz, M.I. & Yen, A.W.P. (1986). A Study of the Air Quality in Underground Car Parks with Emphasis on Carbon Monoxide and Airborne Lead. Pertanika, 9(2), 193 -199.

[9] Afroz, R., Hassan, M. N., & Ibrahim, N. A. (2003). Review of air pollution and health impacts in Malaysia. Environmental Research, 92(2), 71-77.

DOI: 10.1016/s0013-9351(02)00059-2

[10] Yahaya, N., Ali, A. and Ishak, F. (2006).

[11] Tourism Malaysia portal. (2013). [Online], [Accessed on 5 June 2013].

[12] Ghazali, N. A., Ramli, N. A., Yahaya, A. S., Yusof, N. F., Sansuddin, N., & Madhoun, W. A. (2009).

[13] Bernstein, J. A., Alexis, N., Bacchus, H., Bernstein, I. L., Fritz, P., Horner, E. (2008). The health effects of nonindustrial indoor air pollution. American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology , 4.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2007.10.045