Assessment of indoor PM2.5 and CO2 in selected kitchens of home-based cooking business in Klang Valley

Mohd Yusri, Muhammad Yasir Iman (2024) Assessment of indoor PM2.5 and CO2 in selected kitchens of home-based cooking business in Klang Valley. [Project Paper] (Submitted)

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Abstract

Introduction: Indoor air pollution is a major health risk, especially for people who spend a lot of time indoors, like home cooks and people who does home-based food businesses. Cooking is proven to be a big source of indoor air pollution, releasing harmful particles and chemicals like particulate matters 2.5 and carbon dioxide. This could lead to many respiratory health problems, heart disease, and even cancer which is concerning. Measurement of the pollutants towards the home-based food handlers (HBFHs) shall be studied to determine the exposure levels towards them which can be obtained from the calculation of inhalation dose as well as the average daily dose of the pollutants. Objective: This study aims to assess the levels of indoor PM2.5 and CO2 in selected home-based food business in Klang Valley, Selangor, Malaysia. Methodology: The study was conducted at six selected houses that operated home- based cooking (namely H1,H2,H3,H4,H5, and H6) which undergone a convenience sampling located in Klang Valley, Malaysia. These houses were then categorised according to their food business which includes Bakery (H1, H2), Malay cuisine (H3, H4, H5), and Western cuisine (H6). The MILESEEY Laser Distance Meter was used to obtain the volume of kitchen space of the selected location. PM2.5 concentrations were measured using TSI DustTrak II Aerosol Monitor 8532. CO2, relative humidity and temperature were recorded using HOBO CO2 Logger (MX1102). In addition, mass concentrations of PM2.5 were quantified from collected 37-mm PTFE filter fitted in Gilair Plus Personal Air Sampling Pump at 1.8 min/l flow rate. All measurements were conducted for 6 hours during the day operation of home cooking business. Time- activity diary was also utilised in recording different types of cooking activity used in different time span across the operating business. The decay rate, inhalation dose, and average daily dose of PM2.5 and CO2 were also quantified. Result: PM2.5 levels were observed the highest in houses that operated for Malay cuisine (median: 72.4, IQR: 59.1-98.0), followed by Bakery (median: 64.8, IQR: 54.9-76.5) and Western cuisine (median: 52.0, IQR: 50.0-53.5). The levels of PM2.5 were influenced by the size of the kitchen, the type of ventilation system used, and the cooking methods employed. CO2 levels were found to the highest at Bakery (median: 903.8, IQR: 607.9-1409.4), followed by Western cuisine and Malay cuisine (median: 769.5, IQR: 695.0-874.0; median: 663.2, IQR: 605.6-727.1). For relative humidity (RH), Malay cuisine had the highest value followed by Western cuisine and Bakery (median: 68.1, IQR: 65.6-70.5; median: 66.9, IQR: 66.5-67.2; median: 61.9, IQR: 60.5-63.1). As for the temperature (T), the highest recorded value was by Western cuisine (median: 31.9, IQR: 31.8-31.9). The second highest was Malay cuisine (median: 31.5, IQR: 30.8-31.8) followed with Bakery (median: 29.6, IQR: 28.9-29.8). This study found a fair positive correlation between PM2.5 and CO2 in all businesses which were Bakery, Malay cuisine, and Western cuisine (p = 0.645; p = 0.425; p = 0.534). The decay rate was found lowest in Western cuisine (0.1 h-1), followed by Bakery (1.4 h-1), and the highest was Malay cuisine (1.7 h-1). Houses that operated for Malay cuisine businesses resulted the highest inhalation dose of PM2.5 (318 μg) and average daily dose (85.9 m3/kg-day), followed by Bakery and Western cuisine (221.6 μg and 48.6 m3/kg-day; 177.8 μg and 37.1 m3/kg-day). This finding indicates that when the inhalation dose of PM2.5 is high, the vi ADD of PM2.5 towards the food handlers are also high. For CO2, the inhalation dose was the highest in Malay cuisine (6.68 × 106 μg), and the highest ADD was by Malay cuisine (1.45 x 106 m3/kg-day). The lowest inhalation dose and ADD of CO2 was by Western cuisine with value of 4.82 × 106 μg and 0.78 x 106 m3/kg-day respectively. Further analysis was conducted to find significant between different types of businesses and the inhalation dose. ANOVA analysis test was conducted and found no significant between them, thus similar pattern of PM2.5 was generated throughout the cooking activities in all of the kitchen. Finally, inhalation dose of PM2.5 was also calculated across different types of cooking methods in each business. For the inhalation dose of PM2.5, it was discovered that baking from Bakery generated the highest amount of PM2.5 across all of the businesses (median: 90.9). For Malay cuisine, the highest inhaled dose for PM2.5 was during the frying and stirring activity while for Western cuisine, the highest was during stir frying (median: 28.9; median: 42). No previous studies were conducted to support the findings, and this could act as a baseline for compare and a further study. Conclusion: Overall, the study found that home-based food businesses in Malaysia have poor indoor air quality due to high PM2.5 and CO2 levels. The levels of PM2.5 were influenced by the size of the kitchen, the type of ventilation system used, and the cooking methods employed. At the same time, the food handlers were also exposed to the pollutants via inhalation which make them susceptible to develop a long-term or chronic pulmonary disorders. The study recommends that home-based food businesses shall improve their indoor air quality by using proper ventilation systems and by adopting cooking methods that generate less PM2.5 such as using less oil in the cooking methods. A change of behaviour towards health is also recommended such as turning on available hood, open windows, and regular cleaning of the kitchen. It is also suggested to utilise ventilation system such as air purifier with good maintenance to filter the particulates thus reducing the exposure towards the food handlers. These findings highlight the need for further research into specific cooking practices and ventilation strategies to develop targeted PM2.5 mitigation strategies to improve indoor air quality towards the food handlers as well as the occupants in diverse food businesses. Keywords: Indoor Air Quality, home-based food businesses, average daily dose, PM2.5, types of cooking

Item Type:	Project Paper
Faculty:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Science
Depositing User:	Ms Norafizah Radzuan
Date Deposited:	26 May 2025 06:55
Last Modified:	26 May 2025 06:55
URI:	http://psaspb.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/2415

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