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The effects of ventilation and building characteristics on indoor air quality in waterpipe cafés

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 30, pages 805–813 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

To determine the concentration of carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PMs), indoor air samples were collected from 60 waterpipe cafés in Ardabil city of Iran. Moreover, the influence of several structural, operational, and ventilation system were evaluated on the concentration of the selected pollutants. The results showed that the mean concentration of CO (12.0 ± 7.2 mg/m3) and PMs (PM1 = 171.5 ± 119.6 μg/m3, PM2.5 = 303.3 ± 201.9 μg/m3, PM10 = 440.3 ± 272.2 μg/m3) were notably higher than the guideline levels. According to the results, open face/café area was influenced by the natural ventilation rate and the mean air exchange rate was 3.1 ± 1.1 min−1. The natural ventilation has a functional role on air quality of the cafes, and fan-type mechanical ventilation was influencing factor on CO concentration when the natural ventilation was restricted. “Type of used charcoal” had the highest influence on the releasing of pollutants inside the cafés as the pollutant concentrations were lower for simple (raw) charcoal compared with the favored (aromatic) one. The results indicated that the building characteristics and natural ventilation considerably affect air quality of the cafes.

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Acknowledgements

The authors declare their gratitude to funding support of this research work by Ardabil University of medical sciences.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Mehdi Fazlzadeh, Behzad Saranjam

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research center for health sciences and technologies, Semnan University of medical sciences, Semnan, Iran

    Roohollah Rostami

  2. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Kazem Naddafi, Shahrokh Nazmara & Mehdi Fazlzadeh

  3. Systems Environmental Health and Energy Research Center, The Persian Gulf Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran

    Hossein Arfaeinia

  4. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health and Nutrition, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran

    Hossein Arfaeinia

  5. Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran

    Mehdi Fazlzadeh

  6. Department of Occupational Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran

    Behzad Saranjam

  7. Health Sciences Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran

    Behzad Saranjam

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  1. Roohollah Rostami
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  2. Kazem Naddafi
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Contributions

KN and RR participated in the conceptualization and design of the research and supervised the work. BS and SN are responsible for sampling, experimental analysis, and interpretation of data. HA and MF wrote the first draft of paper. All authors have read and approved the final paper as submitted.

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Correspondence to Mehdi Fazlzadeh or Behzad Saranjam.

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Rostami, R., Naddafi, K., Arfaeinia, H. et al. The effects of ventilation and building characteristics on indoor air quality in waterpipe cafés. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 30, 805–813 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-020-0240-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-020-0240-4

Keywords

  • Particulate matter
  • CO
  • Smoking
  • Ventilation
  • Indoor air quality

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