Data on CO2, temperature and air humidity records in Spanish classrooms during the reopening of schools in the COVID-19 pandemic

In order to reduce the advance of the pandemic produced by COVID-19, many actions and restrictions have been applied and the field of education has been no exception. In Spain, during the academic year 2020–2021, face-to-face teaching generally continued in both primary and secondary schools. Throughout the year, different measures have been taken to reduce the likelihood of contagion in classrooms, one of which was to improve ventilation by opening windows and doors. One of the most commonly used techniques to check for good ventilation has been CO2 monitoring. This work provides a set of 80,000 CO2 concentration records collected by low-cost Internet of Things nodes, primarily located within twelve classrooms in two primary schools. The published observations were collected between 1 May 2020 and 23 June 2021. Additionally, the same dataset includes temperature, air humidity and battery level observations

Assesment of PM10 pollution episodes in a ceramic cluster (NE Spain): Proposal of a new quality index for PM10, As, Cd, Ni and Pb

Environmental pollution control is one of the most important goals in pollution risk assessment today. In this sense, modern and precise tools that allow scientists to evaluate, quantify and predict air pollution are of particular interest. Monitoring atmospheric particulate matter is a challenge faced by the European Union. Specific rules on this subject are being developed (Directive 2004/107/EC, Directive 2008/50/EC) in order to reduce the potential adverse effects on human health caused by air pollution. Air pollution has two sources: natural and anthropogenic. Contributions from natural sources can be assessed but cannot be controlled, while emissions from anthropogenic sources can be controlled; monitoring to reduce this latter type of pollution should therefore be carried out. In this paper, we describe an air quality evaluation in terms of levels of atmospheric particles (PM10), as outlined by European Union legislation, carried out in an industrialised Spanish coastal area over a five-year period with the purpose of comparing these values with those of other areas in the Mediterranean Basin with different weather conditions from North of Europe. The study area is in the province of Castellón. This province is a strategic area in the frame work of European Union (EU) pollution control. Approximately 80% of European ceramic tiles and ceramic frit manufacturers are concentrated in two areas, forming the so-called “ceramics clusters”; ones in Modena (Italy) and the other in Castellón. In this kind of areas, there are a lot of air pollutants from this industry then it is difficult to fulfill de European limits of PM10 so it is necessary to control the air quality in them. The seasonal differences in the number of days in which pollutant level limits were exceeded were evaluated and the sources of contamination were identified. Air quality indexes for each pollutant have been established to determine easily and clearly the quality of air breathed. Furthermore, in accordance with Directive 2008/50/EC, an Air Quality Plan is proposed to protect human health, and the environment as a whole, in the study area. General and specific corrective measures of main emission sources are provided. A strategy for air pollution management is thus presented

Propuesta de un plan de saneamiento atmosférico en el clúster cerámico de Castellón

Desde principios de siglo la provincia de Castellón alberga uno de los núcleos más importantes a escala española y mundial de producción de pavimento y revestimiento cerámico. El elevado desarrollo alcanzado por este sector productivo ha llevado a que se introduzcan en el medio atmosférico una serie de sustancias químicas que producen una contaminación. Este hecho implica que se deban conocer las diferentes etapas del proceso productivo, así como las emisiones de contaminantes que provocan, con el fin de minimizar los efectos negativos que éstas pudieran ocasionar. Se busca un desarrollo sostenible que garantice un futuro con unos parámetros de calidad ambiental dentro de los límites normativos, y que asegure el bienestar de la población y preserve los ecosistemas naturales y los bienes materiales. Para ello se realiza una descripción de las emisiones de este sector industrial y de los niveles de inmisión en los municipios donde se ubica. El objetivo de este trabajo es la propuesta de un plan de saneamiento atmosférico con una serie de medidas correctoras a aplicar y un plan de vigilancia del mismo que garantice los parámetros de calidad ambiental fijados.Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the province of Castellón, East Spain, is one of the most important areas of floor and wall tile production on a national and worldwide scale. Given this productive sector’s rate of development, a series of pollution-producing chemical substances has been introduced into the atmosphere. This situation involves having to know the different stages of the production process and the emissions of the pollutants causing pollution in order to minimise the negative effects caused by these substances. Sustainable development is sought to guarantee that, in the future, the environmental quality parameters fall within the legal limits, and which also ensures the population’s wellbeing and conserves natural ecosystems and material assets. To this end, the emissions from this industrial sector have been described, as have the inmission levels in the towns near to where this sector is located. The aim of this work is the proposal of an atmospheric cleanup plan by applying a series of correcting measures and a surveillance scheme of these measures to ensure the environmental quality parameters established

Assessment of PM10 and heavy metals concentration in a Ceramic Cluster (NE Spain)

Environmental pollution control is one of the most important goals in pollution risk assessment today. The aim of this study is conducting a retrospective view of the evolution of particulate matter (PM10) and heavy metals (As, Cd, Ni and Pb) at different localities in the Spanish cluster ceramic in the period between January 2007 and December 2011. The study area is in the province of Castellón. This province is a strategical area in the framework of European Union Pollution control. Approximately 80% of European ceramic tiles and ceramic frits manufacturers are concentrated in two areas, forming the so-called “Ceramics Clusters”; one is in Modena (Italy) and the other in Castellón (Spain). In this kind of areas, there are a lot of pollutants from this industry that represent an important contribution to soil contamination so it is necessary to control the air quality in them. These atmospheric particles are deposited in the ground through both dry and wet deposition. Soil is a major sink for heavy metals released into the environment. The level of pollution of soils by heavy metals depends on the retention capacity of the soil, especially on physical-chemical properties (mineralogy, grain size, organic matter) affecting soil particle surfaces and also on the chemical properties of the metal. The most direct consequences on the ground of air pollutants are acidification, salinization and the pollutions that can cause heavy metals as components of suspended particulate matter. For this purpose the levels of PM10 in ambient air and the corresponding annual and weekly trend were calculated. The results of the study show that the PM10 and heavy metals concentrations are below the limit values recommended by European Union Legislation for the protection of human health and ecosystems in the stud

A New Bayesian Inference Methodology for Modeling Geochemical Elements in Soil with Covariates. Characterization of Lithium in South Iberian Range (Spain)

When the scientific need to model geochemical elements in soil, is using geostatistical methodologies, for instance krigings, but we can use a new possibility with Bayesian Inference. The models for the analysis were specified by the authors and estimated using Bayesian inference for Gauss ian Markov Random Field (GMRF) through the Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation (INLA) algorithm. The results allow us to quantify and assess possible spatial relationships between the distribution of lithium and other possible explanatory elements. Are these other elements significant to the study? We believe the methods outlined here may help to find elements such as lithium, as well as contributing to the prediction and management of new extractions or prospection in a region in order to find each che mical element. The application for the modeling is to study the spatial variation in the distribution of lithium and its relationship to other geochemical elements is analyzed in terms of the different possibilities offered by geographical and environmenta l factors. All in all, Lithium presents many important and meaningful uses and applications such as: ceramics and glass, electrical and electronics standing out lithium ion batteries, as well as a lubricator for greases, in metallurgy, pyrotechnics, air pu rification, optics, organic and polymer chemistry, and medicine. This study aims to examine the distribution of lithium in sediments from the area of Beceite, in the Iberian Range and the Catalan Coastal Range (Catalànids), within the geological context of the Iberian Plate. The Atlas Geoquímico de España (IGME, 2012) was used as the main geochemical data bank in order to carry out a statistical analysis study

Assessment of PM10 and heavy metal concentration in a ceramic cluster (NE Spain) and the influence on nearby soils

Environmental pollution control is one of the most important goals in pollution risk assessment today. The aim of this study is to conduct a retrospective view of the evolution of matter particulate (PM10) and the heavy metals (Cd, Ni and Pb) at different localities (Alcora, Castellón and Onda) in the Spanish cluster ceramic in a period between January 2007 and December 2011. The study area is in the province of Castellón. This province is a strategic area in the framework of European Union Pollution control. Approximately 80% of European ceramic tiles and ceramic frits manufacturers are concentrated in two areas, forming the so-called "ceramic clusters"; one is in Modena (Italy) and the other in Castellón (Spain). In these kind of areas, there are a lot of pollutants from this industry that represent an important contribution to soil contamination so it is necessary to control their air quality. In these areas atmospheric particles are deposited in the ground through both dry and wet deposition. Soil is a major sink for heavy metals released into the environment. For this purpose the levels of PM10 in ambient air and the corresponding annual and seasonal trend were calculated. The results of the study show that the PM10 and heavy metal concentrations are below the limit values recommended by European Union Legislation for the protection of human health and ecosystems in the study period. There is an important reduction of them from 2009 in all control stations due to economic crisis and subsequent decrease of industrial activity. The atmospheric seasonal tendency of pollutant concentrations is marked by the rate of industrial activity and additionally by the temperature. Complementarily, a comparative study of heavy metal levels in soils was performed in this area. Soils with low pollution by Ni and Pb were detected, while different pollution by Cd was found depending on the sampling site. Although there is an evident reduction of PM10 and heavy metal levels, the results show that these pollut

Air Quality Trend of PM10. Statistical Models for Assessing the Air Quality Impact of Environmental Policies

A statistical modelling of PM10 concentration (2006–2015) is applied to understand the behaviour, to know the influence of the variables to exposure risk, to treat the missing data to evaluate air quality, and to estimate data for those sites where they are not available. The study area, Castellón region (Spain), is a strategic area in the framework of EU pollution control. A decrease of PM10 is observed for industrial and urban stations. In the case of rural stations, the levels remain constant throughout the study period. The contribution of anthropogenic sources has been estimated through the PM10 background of the study area. The behaviour of PM10 annual trend is tri-modal for industrial and urban stations and bi-modal in the case of rural stations. The EU Normative suggests that 90% of the data per year are necessary to control air quality. Thus, interpolation statistical methods are presented to fill missing data: Linear Interpolation, Exponential Interpolation, and Kalman Smoothing. This study also focuses on testing the goodness of these methods in order to find the ones that better approach the gaps. After analyzing graphically and using the RMSE the last method is confirmed to be the best option

Variability of PM10 in industrialized-urban areas. New coefficients to establish significant differences between sampling points

One of the main problems that arise in the assessment of air quality in an area is to estimate the number of representative sampling points of each microenvironment within it. We present a new model that reduces the variability and increases the quality of the comparison of the sampling points. The study is based on the comparison between a city in eastern Spain, Vila-real, a macro city in México, Monterrey and the Piemonte region regarding the assessment of PM10 in microenvironments. Vila-real is located in the province of Castellón. This province is a strategic area in the framework of European Union (EU) pollution control. On the other hand, Monterrey in México, located in the northern state of Nuevo León, has several problems with particulate material in the atmosphere produced by the extraction of building materials in the hill that surround the city. Finally, the Piemonte region, which is located in the north of Italy, has to be in consideration due to higher concentrations of PM10 in the Po river basin. In the case of Vila-real the PM10 samples were collected by a medium volume sampler according to European regulations. Particle concentration levels were determined gravimetrically (EN 12341:1999). In the case of Monterrey the PM10 concentrations were determined by Beta Ray Attenuation according to US-EPA regulations. In the Piemonte region, the average concentration of PM10 was also obtained by means of the Beta Ray Attenuation as well as using gravimetric instruments. The methodology carried out in this paper is a useful tool for developing future Air Quality Plans in other industrialised areas

Assessment of PM10 and heavy metal concentration in a ceramic cluster (NE Spain) and the influence on nearby soils

Environmental pollution control is one of the most important goals in pollution risk assessment today. The aim of this study is to conduct a retrospective view of the evolution of matter particulate (PM10) and the heavy metals (Cd, Ni and Pb) at different localities (Alcora, Castellón and Onda) in the Spanish cluster ceramic in a period between January 2007 and December 2011. The study area is in the province of Castellón. This province is a strategic area in the framework of European Union Pollution control. Approximately 80% of European ceramic tiles and ceramic frits manufacturers are concentrated in two areas, forming the so-called “ceramic clusters”; one is in Modena (Italy) and the other in Castellón (Spain). In these kind of areas, there are a lot of pollutants from this industry that represent an important contribution to soil contamination so it is necessary to control their air quality. In these areas atmospheric particles are deposited in the ground through both dry and wet deposition. Soil is a major sink for heavy metals released into the environment. For this purpose the levels of PM10 in ambient air and the corresponding annual and seasonal trend were calculated. The results of the study show that the PM10 and heavy metal concentrations are below the limit values recommended by European Union Legislation for the protection of human health and ecosystems in the study period. There is an important reduction of them from 2009 in all control stations due to economic crisis and subsequent decrease of industrial activity. The atmospheric seasonal tendency of pollutant concentrations is marked by the rate of industrial activity and additionally by the temperature. Complementarily, a comparative study of heavy metal levels in soils was performed in this area. Soils with low pollution by Ni and Pb were detected, while different pollution by Cd was found depending on the sampling site. Although there is an evident reduction of PM10 and heavy metal levels, the results show that these pollutants have been accumulated in the soil close to emission sources

Reliability Validation of a Low-Cost Particulate Matter IoT Sensor in Indoor and Outdoor Environments Using a Reference Sampler

A suitable and quick determination of air quality allows the population to be alerted with respect to high concentrations of pollutants. Recent advances in computer science have led to the development of a high number of low-cost sensors, improving the spatial and temporal resolution of air quality data while increasing the effectiveness of risk assessment. The main objective of this work is to perform a validation of a particulate matter (PM) sensor (HM-3301) in indoor and outdoor environments to study PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations. To date, this sensor has not been evaluated in real-world situations, and its data quality has not been documented. Here, the HM-3301 sensor is integrated into an Internet of things (IoT) platform to establish a permanent Internet connection. The validation is carried out using a reference sampler (LVS3 of Derenda) according to EN12341:2014. It is focused on statistical insight, and environmental conditions are not considered in this study. The ordinary Linear Model, the Generalized Linear Model, Locally Estimated Scatterplot Smoothing, and the Generalized Additive Model have been proposed to compare and contrast the outcomes. The low-cost sensor is highly correlated with the reference measure ( R2 greater than 0.70), especially for PM2.5, with a very high accuracy value. In addition, there is a positive relationship between the two measurements, which can be appropriately fitted through the Locally Estimated Scatterplot Smoothing model