Indoor Air Quality Assessment in Grocery Stores

Abstract

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is a public and occupational health concern, as we are exposed to air pollutants daily given that we spend a great amount of our time in indoor environments. IAQ can be affected by numerous factors, from outdoor pollutants that get indoors through ventilation to building materials, furnishings, and activities carried by the building occupants. Exposure to air pollutants has been linked to a panoply of adverse effects on our health, well-being, and performance. The aim of this study was to assess the IAQ in grocery stores (GSs) in the municipality of Cascais in the Lisbon metropolitan area (Portugal) to characterize the workers’ occupational exposure to air pollutants. The study was conducted in 13 small “family” grocery stores. The IAQ monitoring campaign was conducted using low-cost sensor technologies and focused on several parameters, namely: carbon dioxide (CO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), temperature (T), and relative humidity (RH). Overall, the IAQ of the studied GSs complied with Portuguese legislation, except for PM2.5, where 23% of GSs presented levels above the established limit value. The mean inhaled dose of workers during a workday was estimated to be 157.7 ± 57.2 μg for PM2.5 and 165.8 ± 56.0 μg for PM10. The IAQ assessment allowed the identification of the best strategies to improve worker experience in indoor workplace environments.

Indoor PM2.5 concentrations in various retail stores in an urban city: Levels, sources and health risk assessment

“…Sudden increases in PM concentrations were highlighted indoors, and these are typically due to indoor activities and also the size of the selling areas has an effect on the measurement results. 80 Contrary to the situation in grocery store, indoor PM 2.5 concentrations were higher than outdoor concentrations in the restaurant, dry cleaner and hairdresser during the lessactive hours of both weekdays and weekend measurements.…”

“…The results of the outdoor measurements were higher than the indoor concentrations in all sampling periods in the grocery store. In the study by Baptista et al, 80 indoor PM 2.5 measurements were made in grocery stores of different sizes during the winter season. The indoor concentrations measured in winter in our study (average concentration: 91.6 ± 9.4 µg/m 3 ) were much higher than in the study by Baptista et al 80 (average concentration: 20.2 ± 7.3 µg/m 3 ).…”

“…In the study by Baptista et al, 80 indoor PM 2.5 measurements were made in grocery stores of different sizes during the winter season. The indoor concentrations measured in winter in our study (average concentration: 91.6 ± 9.4 µg/m 3 ) were much higher than in the study by Baptista et al 80 (average concentration: 20.2 ± 7.3 µg/m 3 ). Sudden increases in PM concentrations were highlighted indoors, and these are typically due to indoor activities and also the size of the selling areas has an effect on the measurement results.…”

Variability of Air Pollutants in the Indoor Air of a General Store

“…Regarding the distribution of gender, a similar proportion of male subjects (77.7%) experienced symptoms compared to female subjects (72.7%) (p = 0.77). The employees reporting four or more symptoms were younger (median age 30 years old-range [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45]. The symptoms mentioned more often were fatigue (38.7%), skin problems (22.6%), throat-related issues (22.6%), headache, and flu-like symptoms (each reported by 16.1% of subjects), followed by dry eyes and chest pain (Figure 6B).…”

“…These particles can come from various sources, including dust, pet dander, pollen, smoke, and fumes from cooking or burning fuel. A high concentration of particulate matter with mean levels of 20.2 ± 7.3 µg/m 3 (ranging from 1.4 µg/m 3 to 278.5 µg/m 3 ) for PM2.5 and 21.3 ± 7.2 µg/m 3 (ranging from 2.9 µg/m 3 to 279.0 µg/m 3 ) for PM10 were found in 13 grocery stores in the Lisbon District (Portugal) [32]. The same range of concentrations was found for nine shopping malls in Hong Kong, with a maximum PM2.5 concentration of 217 µg/m 3 [33].…”