On the seasonal aerosol pollution levels and its sources in some primary schools in Vilnius, Lithuania

Prokopčiuk, Nina; Franck, Ulrich; Dudoitis, Vadimas; Tarasiuk, Nikolaj; Juskiene, Izabele; Valiulis, Arūnas; Cepuraite, Daiva; Staras, Kestutis; Ulevičius, Vidmantas

doi:10.1007/s11356-020-08093-9

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Particularly high PMC values (up to 230 μg/m 3 ) were earlier reported in the air of classrooms School No. 9 ( 61 ), while vanadium concentration in dust samples from the same school was as high as 52 ppm. This allows us to calculate the hypothetic amount of inhaled vanadium before it turns to dust aggregates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

The incidence of upper respiratory infections in children is related to the concentration of vanadium in indoor dust aggregates

Prokopciuk,

Taminskiene,

Vaideliene

et al. 2024

Front. Public Health

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BackgroundIt has been reported that the disease-initiated and disease-mediated effects of aerosol pollutants can be related to concentration, site of deposition, duration of exposure, as well as the specific chemical composition of pollutants.ObjectivesTo investigate the microelemental composition of dust aggregates in primary schools of Vilnius and determine trace elements related to acute upper respiratory infections among 6-to 11-year-old children.MethodsMicroelemental analysis of aerosol pollution was performed using dust samples collected in the classrooms of 11 primary schools in Vilnius from 2016 to 2020. Sites included areas of its natural accumulation behind the radiator heaters and from the surface of high cupboards. The concentrations of heavy metals (Pb, W, Sb, Sn, Zr, Zn, Cu, Ni, Mn, Cr, V, and As) in dust samples were analyzed using a SPECTRO XEPOS spectrometer. The annual incidence rates of respiratory diseases in children of each school were calculated based on data from medical records.ResultsThe mean annual incidence of physician-diagnosed acute upper respiratory infections (J00-J06 according to ICD-10A) among younger school-age children was between 25.1 and 71.3% per school. A significant correlation was found between vanadium concentration and the number of episodes of acute upper respiratory infections during each study year from 2016 to 2020. The lowest was r = 0.67 (p = 0.024), and the highest was r = 0.82 (p = 0.002). The concentration of vanadium in the samples of dust aggregates varied from 12.7 to 52.1 parts per million (ppm). No significant correlations between the other trace elements and the incidence of upper respiratory infections were found, which could be caused by a small number of study schools and relatively low concentrations of other heavy metals found in the samples of indoor dust aggregates.ConclusionA significant and replicable correlation was found between the concentration of vanadium in the samples of natural dust aggregates collected in primary schools and the incidence of acute upper respiratory infections in children. Monitoring the concentration of heavy metals in the indoor environment can be an important instrument for the prevention and control of respiratory morbidity in children.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

The incidence of upper respiratory infections in children is related to the concentration of vanadium in indoor dust aggregates

Prokopciuk,

Taminskiene,

Vaideliene

et al. 2024

Front. Public Health

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“…The outdoor particle concentrations were also measured in the school environment. For these data, see our previous publications [28,29].…”

Section: Collecting Of Clinical and Air Pollution Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Indoor air pollution effects on pediatric asthma are submicron aerosol particle–dependent

et al. 2022

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Up to day, only a few studies evaluated the influence of the school environment on the respiratory health of younger schoolage children. At the same time, there is a shortage of studies analyzing the effects of different size range aerosol pollutants. When children enter the first grade of primary school, they are relatively naive to air pollution other than in the home environment. Therefore, children in this age group were chosen as the target group. Our study aimed to evaluate indoor air pollution particle number and mass concentrations in primary schools and the impact of different size range particles on asthma morbidity among younger school-age children.

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“… 10–12 . It has been reported in a study conducted in Lithuania that bronchial asthma and acute bronchitis occur the most in children aged between 0 and 14 years in places where the PM 10 levels were much higher than 40 μg/m 3 13 . Measurements conducted in 64 primary schools in five Central European countries (Poland, Slovenia, Hungary, Italy, Czech Republic) showed that maximum allowable 24‐h and annual average WHO ambient air guideline values, 14 that are applicable to indoors, 15 were exceeded in 56% and 85% of the cases, respectively, among which majority of the schools (80%) were not able to provide well‐ventilated classrooms (CO 2 > 1000 ppm) 2 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…and acute bronchitis occur the most in children aged between 0 and 14 years in places where the PM 10 levels were much higher than 40 μg/m 3 . 13 Measurements conducted in 64 primary schools in five Central European countries (Poland, Slovenia, Hungary, Italy, Czech Republic) showed that maximum allowable 24-h and annual average WHO ambient air guideline values, 14 that are applicable to indoors, 15 were exceeded in 56% and 85% of the cases, respectively, among which majority of the schools (80%) were not able to provide wellventilated classrooms (CO 2 > 1000 ppm). 2 Indoor air CO 2 concentrations are utilized as indicators of inadequate ventilation, 16 notwithstanding the lack of an internationally agreed regulation for naturally ventilated school buildings.…”

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confidence: 99%

Indoor environmental quality in naturally ventilated schools of a dusty region: Excess health risks and effect of heating and desert dust transport

et al. 2022

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Indoor air quality (IAQ) is impacted by polluted outdoor air in naturally ventilated schools, especially in places where both anthropogenic and natural sources of ambient air pollution exist. CO2, PM2.5, PM10, temperature, relative humidity (RH), and noise were measured in five naturally ventilated primary schools in City of Sanliurfa, in a dusty region of Turkey, Southeast Anatolia. Excess risk levels were estimated for particulate matter. Investigation was conducted through an educational year including two seasons in terms of anthropogenic effect, that is, heating/non‐heating, and natural effect, that is, desert dust transport/non‐dust transport. The median CO2 concentration was measured to be >1000 ppm in all seasons/schools. Temperature and RH fell out of the comfort zone in October–December, during which pollutant concentrations were considerably increased, specifically in November, that heating and dust transport periods coincide. The overall mean indoor PM10 and PM2.5 levels were 58 and 31.8 μg/m3, respectively. Risk assessment indicate that both short (incidence of asthma symptoms in asthmatic children) and long‐term (prevalence of bronchitis) effects are considerable with 10.9 (2.4–19.6)% and 19.5 (2.2–38.8)%, respectively. The findings suggest that mechanical ventilation retrofitting with particle filtration is needed to mitigate potential negative health consequences on children.

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On the seasonal aerosol pollution levels and its sources in some primary schools in Vilnius, Lithuania

Cited by 7 publications

References 16 publications

The incidence of upper respiratory infections in children is related to the concentration of vanadium in indoor dust aggregates

The incidence of upper respiratory infections in children is related to the concentration of vanadium in indoor dust aggregates

Indoor air pollution effects on pediatric asthma are submicron aerosol particle–dependent

Indoor environmental quality in naturally ventilated schools of a dusty region: Excess health risks and effect of heating and desert dust transport

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