Pt surface modification of SnO2 nanorod arrays for CO and H2 sensors.

Uniform SnO(2) nanorod arrays were deposited on a 4 inch SiO(2)/Si wafer by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PEVCD) at low deposition temperature of around 300 degrees C. The SnO(2) nanorods were connected at the roots, thus the nanorod sensors could be fabricated by a feasible way compatible with microelectronic processes. The surface of the sensors was modified by Pt nanoparticles deposited by dip coating and sputtering, respectively. The sensing properties of the Pt-modified SnO(2) nanorod sensors to CO and H(2) gases were comparatively studied. After surface modification of Pt, the sensing response to CO and H(2) gases increased dramatically. The 2 nm Pt-modified SnO(2) nanorod sensors by sputtering showed the best sensing performance. By increasing Pt thickness from 2 nm up to 20 nm, the optimal working temperature decreased by 30 degrees C while the sensing response also decreased by about 4 times. Comparing these two Pt modification approaches by dip coating and sputtering, both could achieve comparable promotion effect if the Pt thickness can be controlled around its optimal value. The deposition technique of SnO(2) nanorod arrays by PECVD has good potential for scale-up and the fabrication process of nanorod sensors possesses simplicity and good compatibility with contemporary microelectronics-based technology.

Valuing the health benefits of improving indoor air quality in residences.

Unlike commercial premises, the indoor air quality of residences is more dynamic, uncontrolled, and prone to human behavioral changes. In consequence, measuring the health benefit gains derived from improving indoor air quality in residences is more complicated. To overcome this, a human thermal comfort model was first integrated with indoor microenvironment models, and subsequently linked with appropriate concentration-response and economic data for estimating the economic benefit gains derived from improving indoor air quality in residences for an adult and an elderly person. In this study, the development of the model is illustrated by using a typical residential apartment locating at the worst air quality neighborhood in Hong Kong and the daily weather profiles between 2002 and 2006. Three types of personal intervention measures were examined in the study: (i) using air cleaner in residence, (ii) changing time spent in residence, and (iii) relocating to a better air quality neighborhood. Our results revealed that employing air cleaners with windows closed in residence throughout the entire year was the most beneficial measure as it could provide the greatest annual health benefit gains. It would give a maximum of HK$2072 in 5-year cumulative benefit gain for an adult and HK$1700 for an elderly person. Employing air cleaners with windows closed in only cool season (October through March) could give the highest marginal return per dollar spent. The benefit gains would become smaller when windows were opened to a greater extent. By contrast, relocating to a better air quality neighborhood and changing the time spent in residence did not appeal to be beneficial intervention measures.

Evaluation of health benefits for improving indoor air quality in workplace.

In contrast to a majority of reported damage-cost literature being focused on outdoor pollution, this paper describes the development of a protocol that links population exposure data with reported epidemiological concentration-response coefficients. A change in indoor particulate level is expressed as a change in total exposure levels, which is then linked with a corresponding change in ambient particulate concentrations before evaluating the associated health benefits. In this study, the development of protocol is illustrated by using a typical office building environment and daily time activity patterns of office occupants in Hong Kong. Our results indicate that some benefit gains for the owners-employers and the society would be anticipated if certain filter set configurations had been adopted. However, the amount of benefit gains for the owners-employers is shown to be increased with the average salary level of employees and the duration of their stay in offices.

Assessing the benefit and cost for a voluntary indoor air quality certification scheme in Hong Kong.

A voluntary indoor air quality certification scheme has been proposed in Hong Kong for assessing and evaluating the indoor air quality level in a variety of public places like offices, restaurants and pubs. The scheme intends to promote the public well being, however, its technical and financial practicality has led to serious discussions among the government officials, practitioners and premises owners. Accordingly, this study intends to develop a protocol for examining its financial viability by linking the appropriate dose-response and economic data with the results from indoor micro-environment models. The financial viability of the scheme is evaluated by examining the cost and benefit associated with compliance on the different prescribed indoor particulate (PM10) levels. According to our analysis, the indoor action level of 180 microg/m3 as 8-h mean (with the objective of protecting the health of general public) does not require office owners to improve beyond the base setting. Nevertheless, owners should consider altering the base settings in their air conditioning systems so as to secure more benefit on every dollar they spent. On the contrary, the 20 microg/m3 level as 8-h mean (with the objective of providing comfort) is not considered to be financially viable for office owners as they will incur financial loss on compliance. Subsequent sensitivity analysis indicates that the total net benefit derived have a great dependency on the value-of-life estimates used. If conservative health estimates are adopted, the optimum level determined to be beneficial to both owners and the society will be 55 microg/m3, which can be obtained by operating the air conditioning system with a ventilation rate of 10 l/s, primary filters of 80-85% efficiency and secondary filters efficiency of 60-65% arrestance. This information should be extremely valuable for government officials and policy makers in assessing the financial viability of the voluntary indoor assessment scheme.