The effect of ventilation during peak hours and cooking activities on coarse airborne particulates (PM₁₀ and TSP) in middle-class apartments in Surabaya: a multilevel approach

Indoor air pollution is a serious problem today in part because many people spend the majority of their time indoors. The result of multiple indoor activities and outdoor pollutants entering indoor spaces, indoor pollution can cause various potentially fatal respiratory diseases and yet is rarely studied. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between ventilation, peak hours and cooking activity on indoor pollutants. This research was conducted December 2017-April 2019 in 59 apartment units in Surabaya, Indonesia. A multilevel model with three models was used to determine the relationships between ventilation, peak hour, cooking activities and indoor pollutants, specifically, PM₁₀ and TSP. The concentrations of indoor PM₁₀ and TSP were generally 25-99 μg/m³, and at that concentration, peak hours occurred in the afternoon. Peak hour in the morning can increase indoor PM₁₀ and TSP. Cooking activities carried out near an open window can increase indoor concentrations of PM₁₀ and TSP, likely due to higher outdoor than indoor concentrations. (paper)