Indoor Air Quality and Its Effects on Health among Urban Residents in Jakarta and Surabaya, Indonesia

Abstract

In rapidly growing countries, such as in Indonesia, dramatic increase in new urban houses constructed of modern building materials without sufficient material standards or minimum ventilation rates may cause health problems related with indoor air quality (IAQ). This study investigates the current IAQ and health condition in Kampongs and high-rise apartments in Jakarta and Surabaya, Indonesia. Concentrations of formaldehyde and TVOC were measured, whereas a questionnaire was conducted to collect the data of building attributes, cleaning behaviour, ventilation duration, personal information and health. 707 respondents were interviewed, and 163 rooms were measured from September 2017 to October 2018 in Surabaya and Jakarta. The results showed that overall, the newly constructed apartments recorded higher formaldehyde compared to Kampongs—more than 60% in apartments exceeded the WHO standard of 0.08 ppm. On the other hand, there was little difference in TVOC between Kampongs and apartments and the maximum values reached from 8, 000 up to 21, 800 µg/m3. In general, the multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) of occupants in apartments was twice as high as that in Kampongs. Further, the occupants with higher IAQ measurement results corresponded to the higher MCS risk. The primary results showed a high possibility of IAQ-related health problems in both Kampongs and newly constructed apartments in Indonesia although the main causes were probably different between them.