Physicochemical Assessment of Ambient Indoor Air Quality of a Tertiary Health Care Institution in South-Eastern Nigeria

This study investigated the presence and concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), SO 2 , particulate matter (PM), O 3, NO 2 , and CO in the indoor environment of a general hospital—Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia in Abia State, Nigeria using the following sampling sites: Accident and Emergency ward (A and E), Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Main Operating Theatre (MT), Microbiology Laboratory (ML), Surgical Ward (SW), and Administrative Department (AD), which served as the control. Among the indoor air pollutants assessed, O 3 and SO 2 were not found in any of the locations at any time, but the other contaminants were present in varying concentrations across all six sites with only VOCs exceeding accepted guidelines. This exceedance occurred in all the sampled sites both during the morning period (A and E: 1.0 ppm, AD: 1.0 ppm, ICU: 4.0 ppm, MT: 146 ppm, ML: 1.0 ppm and SW: 1.0 ppm) and in 4 sites during the afternoon period (A and E: 1.0 ppm, ICU: 4.0 ppm, MT: 43 ppm and ML: 1.0 ppm). Exceedance may be attributed to the use of chemical cleaning agents and surgical smoke generated by surgical energy devices. Thus, the IAQ levels of this general hospital were below satisfactory. Therefore, it is recommended that conscious and concerted efforts be made to greatly minimize indoor air pollution and ensure that good IAQ is maintained within the environment of this hospital located in South East of Nigeria.