Estimating the Effect of Air Pollutant Emissions from Photocopy/Printing Operation on the Indoor Air Quality.

Indoor air quality is the quality of air within a closed building and relates to the health and comfort of building occupants. Outdoor air pollution is widely believed to have the majority of effects on environmental health while less attention is paid to indoor air pollution and its sources. According to the World Health Organization, 3.2 million deaths are due to household air pollution. In recent times, concern for the indoor air quality is increasing as human beings spend most of their time in indoor spaces. People residing in the U.S spend 90% of their time in indoor spaces. Children spend 55% to 69% of their daily routine at home, while they spend 27% in school. Diseases including ischaemic heart disease, stroke, lower respiratory infection, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer are caused due to low indoor air quality.

Air pollutants are produced by day-to-day activities performed in household spaces. Hazardous air pollutants are released during performing household activities like fuel/tobacco combustion, cooking, cleaning, construction materials. Whereas in academic spaces, the sources of Indoor air pollutants includes electronic and electrical equipment, furniture and other anthropogenic activity. The developing bodies of children might be more susceptible to environmental exposures than those of adults. Photocopiers are considered essential at amenities in offices and homes around the world, and they have become standard indoor electronic equipment. However, they are a potential source of indoor pollutants, producing volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ozone, and ultraviolet radiation that is hazardous if the exposure is excessively high.

The aim of this research is to use Low-Cost sensors (LCS) to assess the effect of air pollutant emissions due to photocopy on air quality in an academic space. Air Assure 8144-6 Indoor Air Quality Monitor is a low-cost sensor which measures pollutants such as Sulfur Dioxide (SO₂), Ozone (O₃), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂), Carbon Dioxide (CO), Total Volatile Organic Compounds (tVOCs), Carbon Dioxide (CO₂), Particulate Matter (PM), and meteorological parameters including barometric pressure, temperature, and relative humidity. These LCS have been installed in an office room with a printer/photocopy, while the other is installed in the hallway of an academic building. Collocation activities with FEM instruments were carried out in two different environments for all the sensors before deploying them to increase the accuracy and precision of the data. The trends of various air pollutants measured using the LCS will be presented in the study.