Indoor air quality in schools

Abstract

In recent years, the use of synthetic materials in\ud building and furnishing, the adoption of new lifestyles, the\ud extensive use of products for environmental cleaning and\ud personal hygiene have contributed to the deterioration of\ud indoor air quality and introduced new sources of risk to\ud humans. Indoor environments include home, workplaces\ud such as offices, public buildings such as hospitals, schools,\ud kindergartens, sports halls, libraries, restaurants and bars,\ud theaters and cinemas and finally cabins of vehicles. Indoor\ud environments in schools have been of particular public\ud concern. According to recent studies, children aged\ud between 3 and 14 spend 90 % of the day indoors both in\ud winter and summer. Moreover, children have greater susceptibility\ud to some environmental pollutants than adults,\ud because they breathe higher volumes of air relative to their\ud body weights, and their tissues and organs are actively\ud growing. In this review, the authors explore the methodological\ud approaches used for the assessment of air quality in schools: monitoring strategies, sampling and analysis\ud techniques and summarizing an overview of main findings\ud from scientific literature concerning the most common\ud pollutants found in school environments

Indoor/Outdoor Air Quality Assessment at School near the Steel Plant in Taranto (Italy)

“…Airborne particles in classroom have been recognized as the principal class of contaminants that can affect indoor air quality and students health [2,3]. Furthermore, these particles consist of several compounds such as mineral fibers, heavy metals, and toxic chemical substances which may pose health concerns to occupants [4].…”

Characterization, Fate, and Re-Suspension of Aerosol Particles (0.3-10 µm): The Effects of Occupancy and Carpet Use

“…In fact, it is considered of extreme importance to develop methodologies that provide healthy indoor environments and reduce exposure to harmful particulate matter both indoors and outdoors (e.g., Gerharz et al, 2013;Hanninen et al, 2014;Hussein, 2015). For instance, De Gennaro et al (2014) reviewed some practical approaches used to improve the IAQ at schools in terms of building materials, furnishing, cleaning, personal hygiene products, and personal lifestyles. Similar approaches include potential indoor aerosol sources that are commonly used like printing practices, cigarette smoke, dust re-suspension, etc.…”

Indoor Air Quality Assessment and Study of Different VOC Contributions within a School in Taranto City, South of Italy

“…In these spaces, a number of factors influence good air quality including the number of inhabitants, activities conducted inside the classrooms and insufficient ventilation, aggravated by the poor construction and maintenance of many school buildings [8,9]. Among pollutants, volatile organic compounds (VOC) are considered important parameters for the assessment of air quality in indoor and outdoor environments because of their ubiquitous presence and their significant impact on the environment and human health [3,10].…”