This is due to the fact that the prices tend to be less in these retail stores as well as ease for the costumer to get all general goods at a single space . It was also observed that all these retail stores had cafeterias and food outlets so that customers could have their dinner , lunch or snacks after a tiresome shopping session . Retail store environments are prone to have many pollutants due to the fact that it has a lot of products that tend to emit one or another indoor pollutant ( Xu et al . 2014 ). The main pollutants in the indoor air environment are Volatile Organic Compounds ( VOCs ) and Particulate Matter ( PM ) ( Chan et al . 2014 ).
Amodio et al . ( 2014 ) has concluded through their field study that most VOCs were seen in supermarket food areas and by further VOC analyses and it was seen that it was due to the excessive cleaning in the food area that increased the VOCs ’ concentration in that space . Many field studies have been carried out to find out the type of particulate matter or its characteristics and effects on humans in indoor environments . Particulate matter especially PM 2.5 ( Chan et al . 2015 ) have shown to produce adverse effect on customers and people working in retail environments ( Zaatari and Siegel 2014 ). Chan et al . ( 2014 ) and Nirlo et al . ( 2014 ) argued that the best way to improve indoor air quality is through ventilation .
Bluyssen ( 2009 ) divides pollutants in the air as chemical and biological pollutants , where the former consist of gaseous and particulate matter and the latter consist of micro biological organisms or matter . Two main contaminants of concern in a retail store are discussed below .
Volatile Organic Compounds ( VOCs ) Molhave ( 1991 ) reports that volatile organic compounds found in the indoor air can lead to health issues and lower comfort levels . EPA has pointed out that VOCs vaporize at room temperatures and they include all organic compounds with 17 carbon molecules in their molecular structure and which has a boiling point of 250 degree Celsius . Abundance of volatile organic compounds are seen in indoor air and it mainly due to the reason that the indoor air do not get diluted easily as the chemicals are trapped within the enclosed space ( Hess-Kosa 2011 ).
Figure 3 : Contaminants in indoor air ( Bluyssen 2009 )
Most common VOCs that can be found in a retail store are formaldehyde , benzene , Carbon tetra chloride , Tetrachloroethylene , chloroform , Dichlorobenzene , Ethyl benzene , Toluene and Xylene ( Fig . 3 ). Health effects due to VOCs would vary from chemical to chemical but the usual symptoms involved are headache , irritation in eyes , nose irritation , throat irritation , light-headedness and nausea . Severe symptoms include cognitive impairment , lethargy and personality change which would be due to high exposure to a certain VOC ( Hess – Kosa 2011 ). Amodio et al . ( 2014 ) has shown through his study that most VOCs are generated through cleaning agents in retail environments .
Impact of retail indoor environment on consumer wellbeing and performance 801