Gaseous pollutants on rural and urban nursery schools in Northern Portugal

Abstract

14Indoor air quality in nursery schools is different from other schools and this has been

Evaluation of Low-Cost Mitigation Measures Implemented to Improve Air Quality in Nursery and Primary Schools

“…The selection of study locations was based in the INAIRCHILD project [19,20,21,22,23,43,44,45,46,47,48]. A total of sixteen ME from two nursery schools for infants (CR1 and CR3) and other two for pre-schoolers (JI1 and JI2), as well as two primary schools (PRIM1 and PRIM2) were studied.…”

“…The equipment was placed inside the ME, exactly in the same position (in both campaigns), avoiding to disturb the normal functioning of school activities, as close to the centre as possible, far from windows, doors and corners, approximately at the same height of the breathing zone of children. The sampling methodology, as well as the main characteristics of each equipment, including the associated errors were previously described in detail [19,20,21,22,23,43]. IAQ sampling was performed continuously between 17 February and 1 June 2016, in two campaigns, and consecutively at least during a complete day in each ME, and not exceeding two consecutive weekdays, since studies for longer periods had already been carried out applying the same methodology [19,20,21,22,23].…”

“…The sampling methodology, as well as the main characteristics of each equipment, including the associated errors were previously described in detail [19,20,21,22,23,43]. IAQ sampling was performed continuously between 17 February and 1 June 2016, in two campaigns, and consecutively at least during a complete day in each ME, and not exceeding two consecutive weekdays, since studies for longer periods had already been carried out applying the same methodology [19,20,21,22,23]. Although the measurement period took place at different seasons, both campaigns were carried out with the same physical characteristics of the ME, in the same school year and consequently with the same occupation rate, same schedule and activity patterns.…”

“…In order to improve IAQ, several IAP mitigation measures were identified, based on the literature [8,12,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,38,39] and grouped hierarchically in 5 different types, from the less to the most expensive and complex: Type I—raising awareness; Type II—behavioural changes; Type III—changes in products/materials and places of activities; Type IV—technical and technological changes; Type V—structural changes. Detailed description of those measures can be consulted in Table S1 (Supplementary Materials).…”

“…After observing high concentrations of indoor air pollutants, mainly particulate matter (PM), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and volatile organic compounds (VOC), several studies concluded that there is a pressing need to implement strategies to improve IAQ, through the implementation of measures to mitigate indoor air pollution (IAP): (i) the change of some behavioural habits, promoting efficient ventilation [8,12,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31]; (ii) the improvement of cleaning actions [19,21,22,23,27,29,31,32,33]; (iii) the replacement of carpets and carpeted floors by smooth panels [27,33]; (iv) the adequacy of occupational density and promotion of more class breaks and outdoor activities [12,27,32]; and (v) structural measures such as the installation of air purifiers [33], the replacement of building materials, furniture and windows [25,34] and the replacement of the heating system [26]. …”