Suitability of an official building at an old salt and chlorine industrial site

Industrial sites have an inherited problem of contamination to air, water, and soil and have to be restored with extra care to eliminate all types of pollution associated with its operations and decommissioning. This work describes the rehabilitation effects of an old industrial site of a salt–chlorine plant situated at the prominent location on the Kuwait Bay. The site has reminiscence history for the uses of a considerable number of mercury cells for the electrolysis of brine to produce caustic soda and chlorine gas, resulting into mercury and other chemical spills in the coastal marine waters and silt sediments in the neighbouring areas. The present study is to assess indoor and outdoor air quality and the suitability of the official building constructed on this industrial abandoned site in the most attractive coastal location. Indoor and outdoor air quality is of significant concern with past historical contamination and hazardous pollutants from the industrial site and surrounding emissions. Overall results show that the new building has an adequate air quality for most of the monitored pollutants, and the mercury concentrations in ambient and indoor air were found to be very low, showing proper land reclamation and eliminating reminisce of the history associated with the industrial site. However, the indoor oxygenated organic compound was found to be 2–4 times that of outdoor concentrations, due to excessive use of solvents, paint, thinner, glue, and varnishes during the refurbishment of the building.