In this study, exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) was evaluated in commercial personal computer (PC) rooms with different separation types of non-smoking areas. The particulate matter less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) level was simultaneously measured by aerosol spectrometers in the non-smoking and smoking areas of these commercial PC rooms. Average PM2.5 concentrations in non-smoking and smoking areas were 75 μg/m3 and 136 μg/m3, respectively. Although the PM2.5 concentrations in non-smoking areas were significantly less than those in smoking areas (p<0.01), the levels still exceeded the US National Ambient Air Quality Standard of 35 μg/m3. Average PM2.5 concentrations in non-smoking areas were not significantly different with regard to area separation type, with 73 μg/m3 in the no-wall type, 83 μg/m3 in the wall-type, and 39 μg/m3 in the separated-floor-type areas (p>0.1). Separation of the non-smoking area thus did not eliminate SHS exposure in commercial PC rooms, regardless of the type of area separation. This study demonstrates that simple separation of non-smoking areas in commercial PC rooms does not protect users from SHS.
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