Indoor air quality investigation of the school environment and estimated health risks: Two-season measurements in primary schools in Kozani, Greece

Between the ages of 6 and 18, children spend between 30 and 42 h a week at school, mostly indoors, where indoor environmental quality is usually deficient and does not favor learning. The difficulty of delivering indoor air quality (IAQ) in learning facilities is related to high occupancy rates and low interaction levels with windows. In non-industrialized countries, as in the cases presented, most classrooms have no mechanical ventilation, due to energy poverty and lack of normative requirements. This fact heavily impacts the indoor air quality and students’ learning outcomes. The aim of the paper is to identify the factors that determine acceptable CO2 concentrations. Therefore, it studies air quality in free-running and naturally ventilated primary schools in Chile, aiming to identify the impact of contextual, occupant, and building design factors, using CO2 concentration as a proxy for IAQ. The monitoring of CO2, temperature, and humidity revealed that indoor air CO2 concentration is above 1400 ppm most of the time, with peaks of 5000 ppm during the day, especially in winter. The statistical analysis indicates that CO2 is dependent on climate, seasonality, and indoor temperature, while it is independent of outside temperature in heated classrooms. The odds of having acceptable concentrations of CO2 are bigger when indoor temperatures are high, and there is a need to ventilate for cooling.

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Investigation of Indoor Air Quality and the Identification of Influential Factors at Primary Schools in the North of China

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su9071180 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. 1180 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

◽

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Primary Schools ◽

Influential Factors ◽

The North

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Indoor Air Quality in Primary Schools

Advanced Topics in Environmental Health and Air Pollution Case Studies ◽

10.5772/17609 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

Maria do Carmo Freitas ◽

Nuno Canha ◽

Maria Martinho ◽

Marina Almeida-Silva ◽

Susana Marta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Primary Schools

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Seasonal evaluation of outdoor/indoor air quality in primary schools in Lisbon

Journal of Environmental Monitoring ◽

10.1039/c0em00472c ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 657 ◽

Cited By ~ 49

Author(s):

P. N. Pegas ◽

C. A. Alves ◽

M. G. Evtyugina ◽

T. Nunes ◽

M. Cerqueira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Primary Schools

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Indoor air quality and atopic sensitization in primary schools: A follow-up study

Porto Biomedical Journal ◽

10.1016/j.pbj.2016.07.003 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 1 (4) ◽

pp. 142-146 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

João Cavaleiro Rufo ◽

Joana Madureira ◽

Inês Paciência ◽

Lívia Aguiar ◽

João Paulo Teixeira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Primary Schools ◽

Atopic Sensitization ◽

Follow Up Study

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Spatial Variations of Indoor Air Chemicals in an Apartment Unit and Personal Exposure of Residents

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph182111511 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (21) ◽

pp. 11511

Author(s):

Hironari Sakamoto ◽

Shigehisa Uchiyama ◽

Tomohiko Isobe ◽

Naoki Kunugita ◽

Hironao Ogura ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Health Risk ◽

Formic Acid ◽

Indoor Air Quality ◽

Health Risks ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Chemical Compounds ◽

Personal Exposure ◽

Spatial Variations ◽

Living Room

Indoor air quality (IAQ) can greatly affect health in people spending much time indoors. However, the influence of IAQ on personal exposure to chemical compounds in Japan remains poorly investigated. Hence, this study aimed to clarify this influence thoroughly within one apartment. We surveyed the concentrations of 61 chemical compounds in the air in nine different spaces within an apartment unit, as well as the personal exposure of two residents in Japan. Using three kinds of diffusive samplers, this study was conducted continuously for 7 days in summer and winter. Health risks were evaluated by calculating the margin of exposure (MOE) using the measured concentrations. Some chemical concentrations showed large spatial variations and the personal exposure concentrations of these compounds also differed among residents. According to the calculated MOE, the chemicals with the highest health risk were acrolein, p-dichlorobenzene, and acetaldehyde in summer and acrolein, nitrogen dioxide, formic acid, p-dichlorobenzene, and benzene in winter. The IAQ of the house could be divided in two, and the IAQ in the space where residents spent much time (i.e., bedroom) highly affected each of the residents’ exposure. Investigating chemical concentrations in multiple spaces (including bedroom and living room) is necessary to understand the effect of IAQ on personal exposure.

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