The Study of Respirable Dust, Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen Concentration Due to Incense Burning in Temples in Mueang District, Surat Thani province
Keywords:
Respirable dust, Carbon dioxide, Temple, Burning incenseAbstract
The aim of this study was to measure the respirable dust, carbon dioxide and oxygen concentrations caused by burning incense in four temples in Mueang district, Surat Thani province. These included Pattanaram temple, Thambucha temple, PhutornU-thit Sittharam temple and Namueang temple. Air samples were collected around incense burners, worship rooms and surrounding outdoor was using PVC filters at flow rate of 2.5 L/min for 2 hours. The results showed that the areas around the incense burners in Pattanaram temple had the highest respirable dust and carbon dioxide concentrations as a result of large numbers of worshipers and incenses. The worship room in Thambucha temple had the highest oxygen concentration due to its large area. In Namueang temple, the respirable dust in outdoor area was higher than in the worship room and around the incense burners because it was located near the main road resulting in respirable dust from traffic. The respirable dust, carbon dioxide and oxygen concentrations from the four temples was considerably below standard. However, these concentrations were below standard, the levels could still affect the health of worshipers who were exposed to respirable dust from incense for long periods of time. Therefore, during incense burning, temple staff should open doors and windows, or conduct incense burning outdoors instead of in worship rooms. Installing a local exhaust ventilation system in worship room around incense burners would also help significantly with air quality.
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