Preface

Quality of life and air quality are inextricably linked. Air pollution is a growing concern worldwide as exposure to air pollution can be harmful for human health. Indoor air quality (IAQ ) in particular is a major environmental concern. In fact, people spend approximatively 90 percent of their time indoors where they are exposed to chemical and biological contaminants and possibly carcinogens. There are many virus and microbes that we can eliminate or reduce by using ventilation.

This book is a study of atmospheric air pollution and presents ways we can reduce its impacts on human health. It discusses tools for measuring IAQ as well as analyzes IAQ in closed buildings. It is an important documentation of air quality and its impact on human health.

> **Dr. Abderrahim Lakhouit** University of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia

**1**

**Chapter 1**

*Abderrahim Lakhouit*

given to how the pollutant enters to the organism.

**2. Air quality in hospital**

**1. Introduction**

Introductory Chapter: Indoor Air

Air pollution is a major concern that has been recognized throughout the world during the nineteenth and twentieth century and until now. In the Middle Ages, the heavy industry and the burning of coal in cities, especially in Europe (Belgium, French, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom), released into atmosphere numerous chemical compounds as carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide. In the late eighteenth century, the Industrial Revolution, beginning in the United Kingdom (UK), led to escalation in pollutant emissions based around the use of coal by both homes and industry. The sky of certain cities in Europe was covered by smoke. The air pollution in this period in UK was given the dramatic episodes known in the literature by 'London Smog'. Air quality is influenced by a variety of factors and is a complex issue according to many authors in this field. Air pollutants can be represented by a numerous of substances present in the atmosphere at concentrations above their normal background levels which can have a measurable effect on humans, animals and vegetation. The main aim of the Air Quality Index (AQI) is to help deciders or governments to understand what local air quality means to human health. The governments and non-government agencies develop air emission standards for many air pollutants. The main objective of emission standards is to establish quantitative limits on the permissible concentrations of specific air pollutants. The standards are determined in order to protect human health and environment. To determine the standard for each pollutants, many factors should be taken in account. For example, the toxicity of pollutant should be considered. More attention should be

Air pollution can be defined as: the introduction of particulates (particulate matter or solid particles), biological molecules or other harmful chemical or materials into our atmosphere [1]. The air pollution can cause diseases, death to humans and damage to the environment and ecosystems. The source of air pollution can be from anthropogenic or natural Sources. The air quality can be measured by indexes. In the literature, two types (outdoor and indoor) of air pollution can be found. The present chapter is focused on indoor air quality. The indoor air quality (IAQ ) is a very important aspect in the design of buildings due to the dominant exposure for humans.

The air quality in the medical building is treated in this chapter. This is an important point that was raised in this chapter. Until recently, the health effects of indoor air pollution have received relatively little attention. In particular, air quality at hospitals is probably a risk factor with serious health consequence on the working staff, patients and visitors. Infection is a common event in hospitals, and many studies have investigated the levels, sources and characteristics of bioaerosol

Quality in the Closed Building

## **Chapter 1**

## Introductory Chapter: Indoor Air Quality in the Closed Building

*Abderrahim Lakhouit*

## **1. Introduction**

Air pollution is a major concern that has been recognized throughout the world during the nineteenth and twentieth century and until now. In the Middle Ages, the heavy industry and the burning of coal in cities, especially in Europe (Belgium, French, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom), released into atmosphere numerous chemical compounds as carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide. In the late eighteenth century, the Industrial Revolution, beginning in the United Kingdom (UK), led to escalation in pollutant emissions based around the use of coal by both homes and industry. The sky of certain cities in Europe was covered by smoke. The air pollution in this period in UK was given the dramatic episodes known in the literature by 'London Smog'. Air quality is influenced by a variety of factors and is a complex issue according to many authors in this field. Air pollutants can be represented by a numerous of substances present in the atmosphere at concentrations above their normal background levels which can have a measurable effect on humans, animals and vegetation. The main aim of the Air Quality Index (AQI) is to help deciders or governments to understand what local air quality means to human health. The governments and non-government agencies develop air emission standards for many air pollutants. The main objective of emission standards is to establish quantitative limits on the permissible concentrations of specific air pollutants. The standards are determined in order to protect human health and environment. To determine the standard for each pollutants, many factors should be taken in account. For example, the toxicity of pollutant should be considered. More attention should be given to how the pollutant enters to the organism.

Air pollution can be defined as: the introduction of particulates (particulate matter or solid particles), biological molecules or other harmful chemical or materials into our atmosphere [1]. The air pollution can cause diseases, death to humans and damage to the environment and ecosystems. The source of air pollution can be from anthropogenic or natural Sources. The air quality can be measured by indexes. In the literature, two types (outdoor and indoor) of air pollution can be found. The present chapter is focused on indoor air quality. The indoor air quality (IAQ ) is a very important aspect in the design of buildings due to the dominant exposure for humans.

## **2. Air quality in hospital**

The air quality in the medical building is treated in this chapter. This is an important point that was raised in this chapter. Until recently, the health effects of indoor air pollution have received relatively little attention. In particular, air quality at hospitals is probably a risk factor with serious health consequence on the working staff, patients and visitors. Infection is a common event in hospitals, and many studies have investigated the levels, sources and characteristics of bioaerosol in hospital [2, 3]. So the hospital sector is not shielded from the problems bound to inside air quality. Due to multiple sources of pollution and the presence of vulnerable people, this sector is particularly at risk. Moreover, outdoor air is an important source of pollution, which affects the IAQ [4].

More than 2 million people in Europe are infected due to health care-associated infection (HAI) [5]. Poor hospital IAQ may cause headaches, fatigue, eye, and skin irritations and other symptoms. Although it is believed that transfer of infection by direct contact is the main cause for HAI, there are evidences that airborne bacteria may also cause infection due to inhalation of such bacteria. Therefore, it is essential to understand the dynamics of infectious particles due to respiratory diseases such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and tuberculosis (TB).

## **3. Air quality in the closed buildings**

In emergent countries, rapid growth in the global population requires expansion of building stock. This demand varies in time and also between different buildings; yet, conventional methods are only able to provide the comfort thermal in the building. To save energy in the building is an additional challenge. To save energy and to have a good air quality in the building are the big deals especially in cold countries. In recent years, the construction of tighter building envelopes, the increase in office equipment and the widespread use of synthetic materials have ensured that the concerns about indoor air quality are increasing. The sick building syndrome (SBS) is used, for the first time, to explain a situation in which the occupants of a building experience acute health- or comfort-related effects that seem to be linked directly to the time spent in the building. This issue is related to air quality in the building. The building is developed to save energy. The air circulation in this type of building is not good. The air spent many time in the building. The term of age of air was used for the first time to describe the time spent by the mass of air in the building. The complainants may be localized in a particular room or zone or may be widespread throughout the building. Generally, people spend about 90% of their time inside buildings [6]. To ensure the air quality in the building, Scientifics suggest using mechanical ventilation. The strategy of ventilation and its efficiency should be studied more in order to have excellent air quality with minimum of energy.

## **Author details**

Abderrahim Lakhouit Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia

\*Address all correspondence to: abderrahim.lakhouit@usherbrooke.ca

© 2020 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

**3**

*Introductory Chapter: Indoor Air Quality in the Closed Building*

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89619*

[1] Dominici F, Peng RD, Bell ML, et al. Fine particulate air pollution and hospital admission for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Jama. 2006;**295**(10):1127-1134

[2] Hoseinzadeh E, Samarghandie MR, Ghiasian SA, et al. Evaluation of bioaerosols in five educational hospitals

wards air in Hamedan, During 2011-2012. Jundishapur Journal of

[3] Li C-S, Hou P-A. Bioaerosol

[4] Jung C-C, Wu P-C, Tseng C-H, Su H-J. Indoor air quality varies with ventilation types and working areas in hospitals. Building and Environment.

[5] Pittet D, Allegranzi B, Sax H,

[6] Lakhouit A. Modelisation de la Qualite de l'air Dans une Unite de Bronchoscopie: Influence des Strategies de Ventilation. Canada: Ecole de Technologie Superieure (Canada); 2011

Bertinato L, Concia E, Cookson B, et al. Considerations for a WHO European strategy on health-care-associated infection, surveillance, and control. The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

characteristics in hospital clean rooms. Science of the Total Environment.

Microbiology. 2013;**6**(6)

2003;**305**(1-3):169-176

2015;**85**:190-195

2005;**5**(4):242-250

**References**

*Introductory Chapter: Indoor Air Quality in the Closed Building DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89619*

## **References**

*Atmospheric Air Pollution and Monitoring*

source of pollution, which affects the IAQ [4].

**3. Air quality in the closed buildings**

in hospital [2, 3]. So the hospital sector is not shielded from the problems bound to inside air quality. Due to multiple sources of pollution and the presence of vulnerable people, this sector is particularly at risk. Moreover, outdoor air is an important

More than 2 million people in Europe are infected due to health care-associated infection (HAI) [5]. Poor hospital IAQ may cause headaches, fatigue, eye, and skin irritations and other symptoms. Although it is believed that transfer of infection by direct contact is the main cause for HAI, there are evidences that airborne bacteria may also cause infection due to inhalation of such bacteria. Therefore, it is essential to understand the dynamics of infectious particles due to respiratory diseases such

In emergent countries, rapid growth in the global population requires expansion of building stock. This demand varies in time and also between different buildings; yet, conventional methods are only able to provide the comfort thermal in the building. To save energy in the building is an additional challenge. To save energy and to have a good air quality in the building are the big deals especially in cold countries. In recent years, the construction of tighter building envelopes, the increase in office equipment and the widespread use of synthetic materials have ensured that the concerns about indoor air quality are increasing. The sick building syndrome (SBS) is used, for the first time, to explain a situation in which the occupants of a building experience acute health- or comfort-related effects that seem to be linked directly to the time spent in the building. This issue is related to air quality in the building. The building is developed to save energy. The air circulation in this type of building is not good. The air spent many time in the building. The term of age of air was used for the first time to describe the time spent by the mass of air in the building. The complainants may be localized in a particular room or zone or may be widespread throughout the building. Generally, people spend about 90% of their time inside buildings [6]. To ensure the air quality in the building, Scientifics suggest using mechanical ventilation. The strategy of ventilation and its efficiency should be studied more in

as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and tuberculosis (TB).

**2**

**Author details**

Abderrahim Lakhouit

Tabuk, Saudi Arabia

provided the original work is properly cited.

Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, University of Tabuk,

© 2020 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

\*Address all correspondence to: abderrahim.lakhouit@usherbrooke.ca

order to have excellent air quality with minimum of energy.

[1] Dominici F, Peng RD, Bell ML, et al. Fine particulate air pollution and hospital admission for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Jama. 2006;**295**(10):1127-1134

[2] Hoseinzadeh E, Samarghandie MR, Ghiasian SA, et al. Evaluation of bioaerosols in five educational hospitals wards air in Hamedan, During 2011-2012. Jundishapur Journal of Microbiology. 2013;**6**(6)

[3] Li C-S, Hou P-A. Bioaerosol characteristics in hospital clean rooms. Science of the Total Environment. 2003;**305**(1-3):169-176

[4] Jung C-C, Wu P-C, Tseng C-H, Su H-J. Indoor air quality varies with ventilation types and working areas in hospitals. Building and Environment. 2015;**85**:190-195

[5] Pittet D, Allegranzi B, Sax H, Bertinato L, Concia E, Cookson B, et al. Considerations for a WHO European strategy on health-care-associated infection, surveillance, and control. The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2005;**5**(4):242-250

[6] Lakhouit A. Modelisation de la Qualite de l'air Dans une Unite de Bronchoscopie: Influence des Strategies de Ventilation. Canada: Ecole de Technologie Superieure (Canada); 2011

**Chapter 2**

**Abstract**

**1. Introduction**

attention [5].

**5**

Numerical Analysis of Indoor Air

Quality in Hospital Case Study:

*Hanaâ Hachimi, Chakib El Mokhi, Badr T. Alsulami*

This paper presents three ventilation scenarios for a bronchoscopy unit using a numerical study. A Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) is employed for this purpose. The results obtained are visualized using Smokeview (SMV), which is a program for displaying FDS results. The numerical results are compared with experimental ones from Cheong and Phua's research study. This study was chosen because it investigates ventilation strategies in hospital isolation rooms using a tracer gas technique. In the present work, six points of measurements are utilized to evaluate the concentrations of contaminants and air velocity. The results show that the concentrations estimated by FDS are inferior to the experimental results given by Cheong and Phua . For example, in the SP1 point of measurement, the concentrations estimated by FDS and by Cheong and Phua are 20 and 28.9 ppm, respectively, while in the SP5 point, the concentrations estimated by FDS and by Cheong and Phua are 28.6 and 32.9 ppm, respectively. The error percentages between FDS estimates and experimental measurements made by Cheong and Phua range between 1 and 32%.

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is an important aspect in the design of buildings due to the effect of IAQ on human health and well-being [1, 2]. In the developed world, people spend about 90% of their time indoors [3], where they are exposed to chemical and biological contaminants and possibly also to carcinogens [4]. Until recently, the health effects of indoor air pollution have received relatively little

In particular, the air quality at hospitals carries with it a risk factor for serious health consequences not only for the medical staff but also for patients and visitors. Infection is a common event in hospitals, and many studies have investigated the levels, sources, and characteristics of bioaerosols in these settings [6]. Due to multiple sources of pollution and the presence of vulnerable people, the health sector is particularly at risk of low IAQ [7]. Additionally, outdoor air pollution can affect indoor air quality [8]. Since hospitals are primarily and traditionally a place for people to recover from illness or disease, improving IAQ can help reduce recovery

Bronchoscopy Unit

**Keywords:** modelling, indoor air quality, ventilation

times and thus boost overall productivity [9].

*and Abderrahim Lakhouit*

## **Chapter 2**
