While the air quality of public facilities such as daycare centers is managed by law, the management of air quality in residential buildings is not mandatory. For this reason, air quality in an apartments has not been well surveyed. In this study, we investigated the influence of cooking and ventilation on the indoor air quality in an apartment. Continuous measurements were performed using real-time monitoring instruments from June 9 to 17, 2014 in Seoul, Korea. A CO2 meter was used to measure CO2 concentration and temperature. A portable aerosol spectrometer (0.25-32 μm), a nanoparticle aerosol monitor (10-1,000 nm), and an aethalometer (total suspended particulate, black carbon) were also used. During the measurement period, ventilation and cooking activities were observed 8 and 10 times, respectively. In 5 of the observed cases, both activities were done simultaneously. During the ventilation, CO2 concentration and temperature were decreased; however, particle concentrations were increased. When cooking was done, particle concentration was increased in some cases; however, CO2 concentration and temperature were unchanged. Combined cased CO2 concentration and temperature were decreased and particle concentrations were increased.

The number of children who use day-care centers is increasing. Most indoor air quality (IAQ) management has been based on daily average pollutant concentrations measured once a year. A more comprehensive management of IAQ is needed to protect children’s health from air pollutants in day-care centers. In this study, we investigated the weekly variation of air pollutant concentrations in a nursing room of a day-care center located at the roadside for a week in June of 2014. Average concentrations of CO2, PM10, black carbon, and total surface area of lungdeposited particles during nursing time of the day-care center were 510 ppm, 27.8 μg/m3, 1.87 μg/m3, and 30.6 μm2/cm3, respectively, with a similar diurnal pattern shown on weekdays.

It is well known that smoking generates harmful air pollutants. With smoking in buildings as well as in the streets prohibited, the need for smoking rooms has emerged. In this study, particle and CO contamination in a 63.6 m3 smoking room was experimentally investigated using Korean tobacco. Tobacco smoking was artificially simulated using a smoking machine. The number and size distribution of particles ranging from 10-420 nm and 0.25-32 μm were measured using a Nanoscan (TSI model 3910) and a portable aerosol spectrometer (Grimm model 1.109), respectively. CO concentration was also monitored using an IAQ monitor (Graywolf IAQ-Xtra 610). Four tobaccos were simultaneously smoked in each experiment, and the experiment was repeated four times. Maximum CO concentrations of 7-10 ppm were observed and high concentrations of particles (176,000-1,115,000 particles/cm3 for 10-420 nm, 3,700-5,200 particles/cm3 for 0.25-32 μm) were also monitored. The dominant size of tobacco particles was about 100 nm in diameter.

Day-care center is one of living micro-environments for children. In urban area, day-care centers may be influencedby air pollutants emitted from the vehicle exhaust. In this work, diurnal variation of major pollutants and effectof outdoor air on indoor air quality were investigated using real-time instruments for a day-care center locatednear the heavy road. 48-h continuous monitoring at both indoor and outdoor were made in summer. The day-care center equipped with ceiling system air-conditioners was operated from 7:30 a.m. to 19:30 p.m. Indoor CO₂concentration responded greatly to the human activity. Indoor NO₂ concentration shows a big difference betweendaytime and nighttime, implying that outdoor NO₂ may penetrate into the indoor through opening of doors orwindows during the daytime. Indoor to outdoor concentration ratio of submicron particle surface area is <1 dueto the penetration of outdoor ultrafine particles.