Characterization of the indoor particles and their sources in an Antarctic research station

Abstract

Many studies have been carried out on the environmental impact of the research stations on the Antarctic continent. However, the assessment of indoor air quality in these confined environments has been neglected. The main objectives of this study are to investigate the granulometric distribution of the indoor particles in the different compartments of the Brazilian Antarctic Station, to examine the number and mass concentration of the indoor particles, to conduct chemical and morphological analyses of the indoor PM2.5, and to identify the possible sources of the PM. The results showed that Na, K, Cl, Fe, Zn, S and Si were the main elements detected. High levels of black carbon were recorded in the workshop, which may be associated with the use of diesel vehicles. To identify the human activities related to the indoor particle emission in the station, the size distribution of the particles in the living room was monitored for seven consecutive days, during normal station operation. It was possible to identify the influence of individual processes, such as incineration, cooking and the movement of people, upon the particle size number concentration. The indoor/outdoor (I/O) ratio for the total suspended particles (TSP), PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 measured was significantly larger than those reported for urban buildings. In general, the I/O ratio distribution for all the compartments shows peak values between 2.5 and 10 μm, which is often related to human activity, such as cleaning, personnel circulation or clothing surfaces. The maximum I/O ratio at this range varied from 12 to 60. In addition, the compartments affected by combustion processes tend to present a significant number of submicron particles.

Assessment of Indoor-Outdoor Particulate Matter Air Pollution: A Review

“…The recurrence of the use non-typical PM classes (i.e., PM 5 , PM 4 , PM 1 ) is also found in many studies, frequently joint with the most-used indicators [49,50,54,57,62,71].…”

“…The design of contemporary measurement campaigns is adopted in order to neglect the time variability of PM among I-O environments. Few exceptions are reported in relation to limited parts of the studies (i.e., additional samplings, instrumentation failures) or for the unfeasibility of achieving simultaneous samplings as, for example, due to extreme weather conditions reported in the Antarctica study by Pagel et al [49].…”

“…Similar results are found in other studies [46,47] which investigate I-O concentrations of particle phase PAHs in total dust. Other applications are found in researches considering large sets of indicators including TSP, PM 10 , PM 4 , PM 2.5 , PM 1 , and UFP at different environments, such as museums, offices, industries, schools, and an Antarctic research station [48][49][50][51][52]. 4.1.2.…”

Impact of human activities on the concentration of indoor air particles in an antarctic research station

“…In spite of the importance of the indoor air quality in Antarctic buildings, most of the reported studies are focused on the outdoor particles (MISHRA et al, 2004;PANT;SIINGH;KAMRA, 2011;PEREIRA;LOUREIRO;VASCONSELLOS, 1992;TEINILÄ et al, 2014). One of the first reported studies aimed at indoor air quality in an Antarctic Research Station was presented by Pagel et al (2016), who demonstrated that indoor/outdoor concentration ratios (I/O) for PM10 and PM2.5 are considerably larger for Antarctic stations compared to urban environments.…”

“…One of the first reported studies aimed at indoor air quality in an Antarctic Research Station was presented by Pagel et al (2016), who demonstrated that indoor/outdoor concentration ratios (I/O) for PM10 and PM2.5 are considerably larger for Antarctic stations compared to urban environments. The study performed a physicochemical characterization of the indoor particles, highlighting the importance of indoor sources for the air quality inside the research station.…”