Assessment of bioaerosols in urban and rural primary schools using passive and active sampling methodologies

Abstract

Abstract:People spend most of their time in indoor environments and, consequently, these environments are more signifi cant for the contribution of the daily pollutant exposure than outdoors. In case of children, a great part of their time is spent at school. Therefore, evaluations of this microenvironment are important to assess their time-weighted exposure to air pollutants.The aim of this study was to assess the children exposure to bioaerosols at schools from two different types of areas, urban and rural. A methodology based upon passive sampling was applied to evaluate fungi, bacteria and pollens, simultaneously with active sampling for fungi and bacterial assessment. Results showed very good correlations between sampling methods, especially for summer season. Passive sampling methodologies presented advantages such as no need of specifi c and expensive equipment, and they allow achieving important qualitative information.The study was conducted in different periods of the year to study the seasonal variation of the bioaerosols. Fungi and pollen presented higher levels during the summer time whereas bacteria did not present a seasonal variation. Indoor to outdoor ratios were determined to assess the level of outdoor contamination upon the indoor environment. Levels of fungi were higher outdoor and bacteria presented higher concentrations indoors.Indoor levels of bioaerosols were assessed in primary schools of urban and rural areas, using the active method along with a passive sampling method. Very good correlations between methods were found which allow the use of the passive sampling method to supply important and reliable qualitative information of bioaerosols concentrations in indoor environments. Seasonal variation in bioaerosols concentrations were found for fungi and pollen. Concentrations of fungi and bacteria above AMV (Acceptable Maximum Value) were found for most of the studied classrooms showing the importance of this microenvironment for the high exposure of children to bioaerosols.

Assessment of Bacterial Aerosol in a Preschool, Primary School and High School in Poland

“…Since the I/O ratio was >1 it can clearly be concluded that the major sources of bacterial aerosol are internal sources, such as building occupants, in this case, children/students and their activities, as well as building materials that host microbiological growth. The studies carried out in the school's buildings in Portugal showed that the I/O ratio of bacteria was 16.33 [6]. The I/O ratio value obtained in a kindergarten in Ankara, Turkey was 73.53 [19].…”

“…One group of particular concern are children. They are more vulnerable to environmental pollutants compared to adults since they breathe more air relative to their body weight and they also have a lower ability to deal with the toxic chemicals due to their undeveloped airways [6][7][8].…”

“…The studies carried out in educational buildings showed that poor IAQ in classrooms was demonstrated to exert a negative impact on children's learning performance, with absenteeism and adverse health effects such as increased risk of asthma and other health-related symptoms [6,10]. Aerosol particles are one of the pollutants that can cause a decrease of IAQ in different educational buildings.…”

“…The sampling and analysis of the microbiological quality of air in educational buildings has drawn our attention in recent years because the air quality in these buildings is becoming increasingly important. Studies have been conducted all over the world to determine and improve the current state of IAQ knowledge [6,10,[21][22][23]. The majority of studies focused only on the total concentration of biological aerosols, however, this information is indispensable for the assessment of population exposure, as well as for the identification of the sources of biological aerosol emissions.…”

Application of phytoncidal plants for improvement of ecological parameters of the air of library interiors

“…The main ecological factors are temperature, humidity, air movement, qualitative and quantitative air microflora composition. These indices depend on many parameters: locality of a building, quality of used construction and finishing materials [1], аs well as stay of people in the building [2]. People often spend 80% -90% of time indoors [4].…”