Effects of architecture structure on volatile organic compound and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon diffusion in Singapore's integrated transport hubs
Millions of passengers wait for buses at Integrated Transport Hubs (ITH) daily in metropolitan cities. Environmental exposure and associated risk for passengers is of great public concern. In this study, eight volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the 16 EPA priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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2022
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/159699 |
| _version_ | 1826115539194347520 |
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| author | Lee, Suk Hyun Shen, Joanna Tan, Sze Tat Ng, Lee Ching Fang, Mingliang Jia, Shenglan |
| author2 | School of Civil and Environmental Engineering |
| author_facet | School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Lee, Suk Hyun Shen, Joanna Tan, Sze Tat Ng, Lee Ching Fang, Mingliang Jia, Shenglan |
| author_sort | Lee, Suk Hyun |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Millions of passengers wait for buses at Integrated Transport Hubs (ITH) daily in metropolitan cities. Environmental exposure and associated risk for passengers is of great public concern. In this study, eight volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the 16 EPA priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed in airborne samples collected from indoor waiting areas (Indoor) and bus parks of nine Singapore ITH, which comprises of two types of architectural structure (i.e., fully sheltered and open/partially enclosed). The median concentrations of total VOCs (TVOCs), total gaseous PAHs (TgPAHs) and total airborne particles-adsorbed PAH (TpPAHs) concentrations in Indoor were 30.42 μg/m3, 18.99 ng/m3 and 1.38 ng/m3; respectively. A strong correlation (r ≥ 0.75, p < 0.001) was observed between Indoor and bus parks air compounds. The "Indoor" to bus park pollutant concentration ratio (I/B ratio) showed lower values in the bus interchanges with fully sheltered bus parks (TVOCs: 0.98; TgPAHs: 0.76; TpPAHs: 0.71) than those with open/partially enclosed ones (TVOCs: 1.28; TgPAHs: 1.31; TpPAHs: 0.90). This result suggests that fully sheltered structure may cause the accumulation of air pollutants. The daily VOC and PAH exposure for commuters were further estimated by considering inhalation and dermal doses using Monte Carlo simulation (n = 100,000). Overall, the result showed that the risk is still within international guideline values. In sum, the effect of architecture structure on the migration of air pollutants should be taken into consideration in future transport hub design to reduce pollutant exposure to commuters. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T03:56:50Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/159699 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T03:56:50Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1596992022-06-29T05:00:33Z Effects of architecture structure on volatile organic compound and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon diffusion in Singapore's integrated transport hubs Lee, Suk Hyun Shen, Joanna Tan, Sze Tat Ng, Lee Ching Fang, Mingliang Jia, Shenglan School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute Engineering::Environmental engineering Bus Interchange VOCs Millions of passengers wait for buses at Integrated Transport Hubs (ITH) daily in metropolitan cities. Environmental exposure and associated risk for passengers is of great public concern. In this study, eight volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the 16 EPA priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed in airborne samples collected from indoor waiting areas (Indoor) and bus parks of nine Singapore ITH, which comprises of two types of architectural structure (i.e., fully sheltered and open/partially enclosed). The median concentrations of total VOCs (TVOCs), total gaseous PAHs (TgPAHs) and total airborne particles-adsorbed PAH (TpPAHs) concentrations in Indoor were 30.42 μg/m3, 18.99 ng/m3 and 1.38 ng/m3; respectively. A strong correlation (r ≥ 0.75, p < 0.001) was observed between Indoor and bus parks air compounds. The "Indoor" to bus park pollutant concentration ratio (I/B ratio) showed lower values in the bus interchanges with fully sheltered bus parks (TVOCs: 0.98; TgPAHs: 0.76; TpPAHs: 0.71) than those with open/partially enclosed ones (TVOCs: 1.28; TgPAHs: 1.31; TpPAHs: 0.90). This result suggests that fully sheltered structure may cause the accumulation of air pollutants. The daily VOC and PAH exposure for commuters were further estimated by considering inhalation and dermal doses using Monte Carlo simulation (n = 100,000). Overall, the result showed that the risk is still within international guideline values. In sum, the effect of architecture structure on the migration of air pollutants should be taken into consideration in future transport hub design to reduce pollutant exposure to commuters. National Environmental Agency (NEA) This work was funded by Singapore National Environment Agency Fund (M4061617) “Assessing the Public Health Risks and Enhancing the Health of Singapore’s Built Environment”. 2022-06-29T05:00:33Z 2022-06-29T05:00:33Z 2022 Journal Article Lee, S. H., Shen, J., Tan, S. T., Ng, L. C., Fang, M. & Jia, S. (2022). Effects of architecture structure on volatile organic compound and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon diffusion in Singapore's integrated transport hubs. Chemosphere, 287 Pt 1, 132067-. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132067 0045-6535 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/159699 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132067 34478959 2-s2.0-85114039876 287 Pt 1 132067 en M4061617 Chemosphere © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
| spellingShingle | Engineering::Environmental engineering Bus Interchange VOCs Lee, Suk Hyun Shen, Joanna Tan, Sze Tat Ng, Lee Ching Fang, Mingliang Jia, Shenglan Effects of architecture structure on volatile organic compound and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon diffusion in Singapore's integrated transport hubs |
| title | Effects of architecture structure on volatile organic compound and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon diffusion in Singapore's integrated transport hubs |
| title_full | Effects of architecture structure on volatile organic compound and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon diffusion in Singapore's integrated transport hubs |
| title_fullStr | Effects of architecture structure on volatile organic compound and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon diffusion in Singapore's integrated transport hubs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of architecture structure on volatile organic compound and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon diffusion in Singapore's integrated transport hubs |
| title_short | Effects of architecture structure on volatile organic compound and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon diffusion in Singapore's integrated transport hubs |
| title_sort | effects of architecture structure on volatile organic compound and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon diffusion in singapore s integrated transport hubs |
| topic | Engineering::Environmental engineering Bus Interchange VOCs |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/159699 |
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