Table of contents

The 2021 The Air Quality and Climate Change (1^st AQCC) and The 3^rd Malaysia Air Quality Annual Symposium (MAQAS) organized by Clean Air Forum Society of Malaysia (MyCAS) and supported by Department of Environment Malaysia (Air Division) and Taiwan Association for Aerosol Research (TAAR) was held on the 17^th–18^th November 2021 in virtual form. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, "Combating Climate Change and Improving Air Quality in a Global Pandemic" was chosen as the theme of this year's conference. High challenges have been faced by our team members to manage this event due to the Covid-19. However, with the collaboration and hard work among committee members and participants this event was successfully conducted virtually and managed remotely from Bangi Resort Hotel, Putrajaya and from University Malaysia Terengganu as a second centre. With that, the conference had emphasized interdisciplinary research along with practices and fosters exchanges among tiscientists, practitioners, professionals and young researchers in finding solutions and sharing latest technology in aerosol and air quality studies and work during this situation. It was an honour to receive more than 50 papers submitted to the conference and I am very pleased to announce that around 17 papers have been selected to be published in the IOP proceeding. All papers which have been accepted were subjected to a rigorous peer-reviewing process to ensure quality and consistency.

Hence, it is vital to tackle air quality issues. The conference also served as an opportunity in establishing networking among scientists, practitioners, professionals and young researchers in international regions in strengthening international collaboration. A wide range of topics was covered from fundamental, applied and technology aspects of aerosol science and air quality that focused on monitoring, control strategies, health impact, policy and management, big data and air pollution modelling using earth observation data, atmospheric transport and emissions from combustion process.

I acknowledge with gratitude the assistance rendered by the scientific team of 2021 AQCC and MAQAS was led by Prof. Dr Juliana Jalaludin and her publication team along-with all the track chairs with continuous support and advice led to the smooth publication of this issue. Last, but not least, we thank the authors, reviewers and the conference secretariat for their contribution which has enabled this publication to become a reality.

Hopefully, all participants and other interested readers will benefit scientifically from the proceedings and also find it stimulating in the process.

With our warmest regards,

Ts Dr Noor Zaitun Yahaya (AHEA)

The Conference Chair lists are available in the pdf

All papers published in this volume have been reviewed through processes administered by the Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the b rofessional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published y IOP Publishing.

• Type of peer review: Double Anonymous

• Conference submission management system: Morressier

• Number of submissions received: 17

• Number of submissions sent for review: 17

• Number of submissions accepted: 14

• Acceptance Rate (Submissions Accepted / Submissions Received × 100): 82.4

• Average number of reviews per paper: 1.99

• Total number of reviewers involved: 22

• Contact person for queries:

Name: JULIANA JALALUDIN

Email: juliana@upm.edu.my

Affiliation: Universiti Putra Malaysia - Environmental and Occupational Health

Air Pollution Index (API) is used in Malaysia to measure the ambient air quality and PM2.5 is one of its parameters for ambient air quality monitoring. However, most of the PM_2.5 samplers available for research and monitoring by universities and monitoring providers are in manual mode in which the data was logged into the equipment data logger and was manually extracted to the personal computer before analysis. Therefore, this project is aimed to propose an Android Application Framework (AAF) containing IoT devices to monitor the real-time ambient air quality and disseminate computed API information through the social media platform. In this study, mobile apps which are Blynk was used and enabled the user to control remotely desirable outcomes at any time. E-sampler IoT interface, mobile application, data management, data management system, API judgment and information dissemination are proposed to make AAF succeed. As a result, the proposed AAF has been fully utilized in obtaining real-time pollutants data and finally analyzing PM_2.5 to obtain real-time API information. IoT device has successfully interface with E-Sampler, to obtain raw data and be able to be downloaded for further analysis. In conclusion, AAF has functioned great and information was disseminated to the public through social media.

Vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines are known as one of the most important Particulate Matters (PM) emissions sources. Many countries are aware of this issue and interested in employing more electric vehicles to reduce this emission. However, various past research claims that electric vehicles also emitted PM as conventional vehicles due to their non-exhaust emissions such as brake wear, tyre wear, road surface wear, and road dust resuspension. In addition, substantial evidence showed that there was indeed a positive correlation between the weight of vehicles and amounts of non-exhaust PM emissions. This study aims to measure on-road non-exhaust PM emissions from a hybrid electric vehicle during braking sequences. An onboard PM measuring device is attached to the side of the tested hybrid electric vehicle. PM measurements are monitored during the braking sequence in the electrified vehicle mode. Studies of increasing payloads that might affect the tendency of non-exhaust PM emissions are observed. The PM emission pattern during the braking sequence is captured by the current PM measuring setup as seen in the literature. The braking pattern (hard vs. soft brake) shows distinct amounts in PM emissions by a factor of two. Based on experimental data, it is found out that the additional payload of approximately 70 kg increases the amount of non-exhaust PM emissions by almost 20%.

The respiratory health of Malaysian Traffic Police has been compromised by working in heavy traffic and congested junctions with bad air for long hours. A wireless outdoor individual exposure device is vital to track their exposure, however, the efficacy of the system remains uncertain. While existing techniques exist to examine the efficacy of such system, there is a lack of methodology for engaging multiple assessment methods to evaluate the degree of user experience. This paper aims to propose a methodological framework tool for a quantitative evaluation of the wireless outdoor individual exposure indicator system prototype. A systematic search was conducted in major electronic databases (MEDLINE, Web of Science, Google), grey literature sources and all relevant data in the field. A three-stage framework consisting of simulation real-time monitoring, in-field testing, and usability testing is assembled. The three-stage framework proposed serves as a generic approach for evaluating the prototype with the purpose of tracking individual outdoor exposure. The method is capable of describing the complete evaluation process, from the accuracy and performance of the sensor to the extent of the end-user experience. Using the three-stage approach, future researchers may be able to create a monitoring system that is relevant to their needs.

Refurbishments of the ship's external and internal structures are the main scopes of a refit program. These activities may affect the indoor air quality (IAQ) inside ships and increase the indoor air pollutants (IAP) concentrations onboard. Therefore, continuous IAQ monitoring is needed to determine IAP exposure to the ship's crew. This study evaluates the changes in IAQ conditions inside a naval ship over a two-time interval to determine the effect of compliance with the recommended engineering control measures proposed in the first assessment. Following the standard of the Industry Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality 2010 (ICOP on IAQ 2010), seven IAQ parameters (temperature, relative humidity (RH), carbon dioxide (CO₂), respirable particulates/particulate matter (PM₁₀), total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), bacterial count, and fungal count) were measured in two assessment phases. The first phase was conducted after the ship completed the refit program, and the second phase began three months later, following the execution of the recommended engineering control measures. According to the findings of this study, all IAQ parameters improved when compared to the first phase assessment. However, some of the readings were still non-compliance with the standards of ICOP on IAQ 2010. In conclusion, the ship's IAQ parameters were improved following the recommended engineering control measures, although more enhanced approaches were required to ensure all parameters complied with the ICOP on IAQ 2010.

The components of indoor air determine the quality of the indoor environment, which affects the health and well-being of inhabitants. Exposure to high levels of indoor air pollution in a kindergarten environment has a detrimental influence on children's learning performance and increases the risk of respiratory problems that could lead to absenteeism. This paper explores and summarises the literature on indoor air pollution in kindergartens in the Malaysian environment. A review was done by analyzing papers taken from four electronic databases: Scopus, Science Direct, PubMed and Google Scholar. Information on indoor pollution levels and determinants sources were extracted from 17 studies. The most investigated pollutants were carbon dioxide (CO²), particulate matter (PM^2.5 and PM¹⁰), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide (CO), fungi and bacteria. Inadequate ventilation systems and overcrowded classrooms all contributed to excessive CO² levels. Indoor PM^2.5 sources are generated from cooking activities while cleaning, opening windows and movement activities of children were the primary sources of coarse particles. High concentrations of VOCs are emitted from a wide variety of indoor sources. Mobile vehicles and the proximity of kindergartens to busy roads were key contributors to higher CO concentrations. The findings highlight the importance of interventions to improve indoor air pollution in kindergarten premises in various settings.

High developed industry regions, provincial centers with a heavy traffic and dense populations with cold winters, using low-quality fossil fuel consumption have an effect on quality of life especially for people with respiratory diseases. The air quality data gathered from air monitoring stations for the City Center of Konya, Turkey were analysed statistically during the period when curfew due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The restrictions that cause the reduction of vehicle exhaust emissions, which are important factors in the formation of some air pollutants, are thought to be effective in improving the air quality as well as meteorological conditions are effective on the days when the air quality is analysed. It is thought that the reduction in HC, NOx, CO and PM emissions, which can be evaluated as exhaust emissions, will be an effective factor due to the restrictions of Covid-19 pandemic. Comparing between the 2019 and 2020 MCO data, we identified that most of the gases decreased with NO₂ (-24 µg/m³), SO₂ (-24 µg/m³), CO (-37 µg/m³) and an increment of O₃ of +50 µg/m³ which indicates that the MCO and restricted of movement were give an impact to air quality levels in Konya City. The increase in O₃ values were found by the existing of the sun rays in the atmosphere with the formation of O₃ during the clean air period.

A severe acute respiratory syndrome, COVID-19 outbreak started in December 2019 reported in the city of Wuhan, China has spread rapidly in other countries around the world. Declared as a pandemic, the lockdowns, industrial shutdowns, closing international borders and overall reduced mobility of the population either for tourism or work commutes have led to air pollution reduction. The lockdown implemented worldwide including Malaysia has come as a respite to the environment, especially in air pollutant levels. Utilizing the Air Pollutant Index (API) data recorded on an hourly basis throughout different series of national lockdown phases, this study is undertaken to evaluate the air quality status before, during and after the implementation of MCO by comparing the selected urban and suburban areas in Malaysia. Six (6) locations including Bandaraya Melaka, Cheras and Alor Setar (urban) and Seri Manjung, Kangar and Kuantan (suburban) were chosen in this study. The result revealed that the air quality has shown improvements after a further extension of lockdown days at both urban (API 36.3-61.5%) and suburban areas (API 46.5-48.6%). It has indirectly changed the air quality status from 'moderate' to 'good' in all 6 urban and suburban areas. The air quality trends, however, gradually deteriorate and has increased as more restrictions were eased at a later stage. The implementation of lockdown measures not only restricted the spread of infection rate but has reduced ambient air pollutants levels that lead to enhanced air quality. The results obtained in this study can be a useful insight for the regulatory agencies in controlling air pollution and restore the environment quality.

Outdoor air pollution for anthropogenic sources is generally caused by the emission of the combustion process which are industries, motor vehicles, and others. These industrial areas emitted a lot of hazardous gases into the atmosphere, polluting the surrounding air to its worse. The close proximity from the industry and duration of stay at the current area could worsen the respiratory health of the children. Compared to adults, children were more likely to get worse implications when exposed to air pollution. This cross-sectional comparative study aimed to determine the exposure to industrial air pollution its association with respiratory symptoms among children aged 3 to 12 years old in Parit Raja, Batu Pahat. Children who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected to participate in this study. Those who reside less than 5 km from the industrial area were chosen as the exposed group, while children living more than 5 km from the industrial areas were selected as the comparative group. A questionnaire adapted from the American Thoracic Society was used to determine children's background information and respiratory health symptoms. Nature of area, distance from the main road and industrial area, type of house, building materials, and carpet usage were found significant among the groups. There was a significant difference in respiratory health symptoms of cough and phlegm for the exposed and the comparative group at p = 0.038 and p = 0.008, respectively. Phlegm was revealed to be associated with the duration of stay in the current area for the exposed group (OR = 5.149, 95% CI = 1.080-18.365). On the other hand, phlegm and cough had an association with distance from the industrial area at (OR = 3.889, 95% CI = 1.004 - 15.068) and (OR = 6.707, 95% CI = 1.406 - 31.989), respectively. In multiple logistic regression done on phlegm, it was found that duration of stay (years) was the most significant variable after controlling all confounders at (B = 3.469, p = 0.004, AOR = 3.094, 95% CI = 3.108-31.353).

Previously, several studies conducted related to hypertension which associated with sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. The number of East Java's hypertension cases from 2015 to 2017 had increased. It is predicted that the number of hypertension cases would be increased. This study was aimed to determine the association between short term exposure to sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide with the number of hypertension cases in East Java. This research was an ecological study, where ambient air pollutants data were taken from the Environmental Management Information Report of East Java 2017, while the number of hypertension cases was taken from the report of Health Profile of East Java Province 2017. Spearman coefficient correlation was used to determine the objective. There was no association between sulphur dioxide with the number of hypertension cases according to gender (male: p= 0.624, r= -0.082; female: p= 0.697, r= -0.065; all cases: p= 0.768, r= -0.050) and nitrogen dioxide (male: p= at 0.24, r= 0.195; female: p= 0.611, r= 0.085; all cases: p= at 0.254, r= 0.190). There was an increase in the number of East Java hypertension cases. However, there was no association between SO₂ and NO₂ with the number of East Java hypertension cases.

Exposure to in-vehicle air pollutants has been recognized as a risk factor for respiratory diseases. The present study, therefore, investigates the factors, including duration of employment and in-vehicle concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) that can influence the prevalence of respiratory symptoms in commercial bus drivers. A total of 34 bus drivers and 51 administrative staff (comparative group) from the bus operator in Kota Bahru, Malaysia were randomly enrolled in this cross-sectional study. The personal characteristics and respiratory symptoms were reported using a validated questionnaire from the American Thoracic Society (ATS-DLD-78-A). In-vehicle concentrations of PM_2.5, CO₂ and NO₂ were continuously measured over eight hours on each bus driver. The prevalence of self-reported cough, phlegm and chronic phlegm among bus drivers were 55.9%, 73.5% and 35.3%, respectively, significantly higher compared to the comparative group (p < 0.001). Moreover, the duration of employment with bus operators for more than four years was significantly related to the manifestation of phlegm (OR = 8.27, 95% CI = 3.12-21.89) and cough (OR = 4.57, 95% CI = 1.66-12.59). Among the pollutants measured, concentrations of PM_2.5 (92.1 µg/m³) and CO₂ (286.9 ppm) inside the buses were significantly higher in the morning compared to afternoon hours (p < 0.001). These findings provide important evidence for further surveillance programs that could reduce occupational exposure for bus drivers.

This paper investigated the influence and interactions of air pollution concentrations by using the stochastic boosted regression trees between variables for each station and the impact of the COVID-19 Movement Control Order at Ipoh City air quality station. The one-hour data were gathered from the Department of Environment from January until June 2019 and 2020. Two thousand two hundred thirty-one data of particles, gases (Nitrogen oxides, Sulphur Dioxide, Ozone, Carbon Monoxide) concentrations and meteorological data (wind speed, wind directions, temperature, and relative humidity) were captured. The BRT model development process with an algorithm using a comprehensive package, R Software and its packages to understand the variability and trends. It was found that the relationship between the number of samples and number of trees (nt) of 4372 for oob were found the best iterations obtained. The performance of the boosting model was assessed and found that the FAC2 was 0.91, the R² values were above 0.56 (R = 0.74), and the Index of Agreements (IOA) was 0.67, which fall ranges are within an acceptable for model performance. The Relative Variable Importance (RVI) that influenced PM_2.5 for non-MCO data was CO (18.9% ), SO₂ (14.6 %), O₃ (12.9 %), and wd (10.66 %) while CO (22.6%), RH (13.4%), 14.7% and O₃ (12.1%) were RVI factors influenced to PM2.5 concentrations during MCO periods. Estimating the strength of interaction effects (SIE) between variables was 0.24 for CO-wind directions, followed by 0.19 for ozone-wind speeds and 0.15 for NO₂-CO. Results showed that the model developed was within the acceptable range and could be used to understand particles and identify important parameters that influence particle concentrations.

Abstract Plastics are widely used in daily lives but uncontrollably dumped into the ocean by humans. Plastic pollution is harmful to the marine environment and organisms as it can break down into microplastics (MPs) and release chemicals into the water. Microplastics (MPs) are small, fragmented plastic pieces (< 5mm) that exist in every part of the ocean. MPs are problematic because they are hard to recover and can be easily consumed by marine organisms, resulting in bioaccumulation and biomagnification in the food chain. Malaysia is a tropical country located at the heart of Southeast Asia (SEA) and owns diverse marine ecosystems and organisms. Malaysia is affected by plastic pollution due to rapid development and intense economic activities. In this paper, we discuss the plastic pollution crisis in Malaysia and its contributing factor. We review the possible effect on the marine environment in Malaysia. Knowledge gaps to manage plastic pollution in Malaysia are also addressed. As MPs are consistently discovered in different compartments of the Malaysian marine environment, there is an urgency to develop a better waste management system and strong cooperation from all societal levels to handle plastic pollution in the country.

Smelting plant is an activity that produces emissions in the form of heavy metal particulates that can cause pollution and are harmful to human health in excessive concentrations. This research was conducted to determine the heavy metals' characteristics in the soil around the metal smelting area of Beji industrial area, Pasuruan, Indonesia. A total of 33 soil samples were collected at 200 m, 500 m, 2km and 5km from the metal smelting area. The concentrations of heavy metals Zn (669.47 - 63.25 mg/kg), Cd (94.88 - 40.30 mg/kg) and V (198.98 - 108.19 mg/kg) in the soil were determined by using EDXRF Spectrometer Minipal 4. The concentration of zinc reduces with distance from an industrial region. The amounts of cadmium and vanadium did not change considerably with distance. Then the potential pollution risks of heavy metal in the soil were evaluated by method of assessment of heavy metal contaminations in soil. These C_f values indicated that the assessment of heavy metal contamination in soils from smelters was category: Indicates no contamination, suspected contamination, slight contamination and extreme contamination.

Plastics' broad application in a wide range of industries has resulted in an increase in global plastic production rates over time. The continued need for plastic, which can take up a lot of space in landfills due to the accumulation of plastic trash, has contributed to environmental problems. To address the problem of plastic waste, many options, such as recycling and energy recovery technologies, have been created. One possible technique to address landfill issues is to convert plastic waste into diesel fuel. In this review, the potential use of plastic-derived diesel fuel in internal combustion engines as a renewable and sustainable energy source is discussed. It's been found that due to similar properties in plastic-derived diesel fuel, it inherits similar performance in internal combustion engines.