INDOOR AIR QUALITY ASSESSMENT (PILOT STUDY)

By being part of the public buildings with the highest usability ratio, educational establishments are bound by certain requirements on the construction, maintenance, control and especially the reduction of the risk factors associated with school environment and related to adolescents’ health and physical development. Air quality in school buildings and its role as a multicomponent risk factor, having a modulating effect on the health of students and teachers, has been the subject of an epidemiological study carried out in three comprehensive schools in the town of Haskovo. The study aimed at identifying the main air pollutants in the classrooms. Some physical, chemical and biological indicator parameters, such as air temperature, relative humidity, PM10, PM2.5, ozone, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide, volatile organic compounds, moisture and mold presence, have been analyzed. It was found that a large percentage of the schoolchildren in the early school age (grades 1-4) occupied classrooms where carbon dioxide (90% of the classrooms) and fine particulate matter (50% of the classrooms) significantly exceeded the recommended concentrations for each. The remaining pollutants marked deviations from their respective standards only in isolated cases. The dynamics of the abovementioned pollutant levels measured in real time during classroom occupation as well as the air quality in the classrooms, defined by the microclimatic parameters and the presence of some chemical pollutants, were directly related to ventilation intensity, classroom occupancy, student activity, heating fuel type and building location. The results of this study generally support the hypothesis of a relationship between air quality in classrooms, their occupancy and ventilation intensity

Indoor air pollution, physical and comfort parameters related to schoolchildren's health:Data from the European SINPHONIE study

Substantial knowledge is available on the association of the indoor school environment and its effect among schoolchildren. In the same context, the SINPHONIE (School indoor pollution and health: Observatory network in Europe) conducted a study to collect data and determine the distribution of several indoor air pollutants (IAPs), physical and thermal parameters and their association with eye, skin, upper-, lower respiratory and systemic disorder symptoms during the previous three months. Finally, data from 115 schools in 54 European cities from 23 countries was collected and included 5175 schoolchildren using a harmonized and standardized protocol. The association between exposures and the health outcomes were examined using logistic regression models on individual indoor air pollutants (IAPs); a VOC (volatile organic compound) score defined as the sum of the number of pollutants to which the children were highly exposed (concentration > median of the distribution) in classroom was also introduced to evaluate the multiexposure \u2013 outcome association, while adjusting for several confounding factors. Schoolchildren exposed to above or equal median concentration of PM2.5, benzene, limonene, ozone and radon were at significantly higher odds of suffering from upper, lower airways, eye and systemic disorders. Increased odds were also observed for any symptom (sick school syndrome) among schoolchildren exposed to concentrations of limonene and ozone above median values. Furthermore, the risks for upper and lower airways and systemic disorders significantly increased with the VOCs score. Results also showed that increased ventilation rate was significantly associated with decreased odds of suffering from eye, skin disorders whereas similar association was observed between temperature and upper airways symptoms. The present study provides evidence that exposure to IAPs in schools is associated with allergic and respiratory symptoms in children. Further investigations are needed to confirm our findings