Indoor dust composition from selected laboratrory in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Cawangan Pahang / Muhammad Alif Suratmin

Most student spends their time in the laboratory to conduct experiment which has
been established in their syllabus of study. Unknowingly, high concentrations of
indoor pollutants in the laboratory might affect the students' health and performance.
The aims of this study are to determine the concentration of selected heavy metals in
indoor dust from the selected laboratory in UiTM Cawangan Pahang and to identify
the potential source of heavy metal in indoor dust samples whether natural or
anthropogenic. The dust sample was collected from Makmal Kimia 3 (MKK 3)
Makmal Fizik 4 (MKF 4) and Makmal Biologi 1 (MKB 1) based on the frequency of
the location occupied by student and ventilation system. The selected heavy metals
studied are aluminium (AI), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu) and lead (Pb). The dust
samples were analyzed by using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission
Spectrometry (lCP-OES). The highest concentrations of the heavy metals is Al with
(5.067 ugg-1), followed by Cu with 1.269 ugg-1 ,0.538 ugg-l ,0.030 ugg-I for Pb
and Cd respectively. The overall concentrations of heavy metals were found to be in
order of Al > Cu > Pb > Cd. The enrichment factor (EF) calculation indicated that
the heavy metal determined in indoor dust was influenced by natural (soil) and
anthropogenic sources. Pb was found to have the highest enrichment in indoor dust
collected from MKF 4 which may be contributed by indoor material and vehicle
emission. It is recommended that a wide range and variety of heavy metal in indoor
dust should be studied in the future.