Indoor air quality in London schools. Part 1: ‘performance in use’

Abstract

This study aims to assess the adequacy of current guidelines, framed around thermal comfort, estimated ventilation rates, and CO 2 levels, for the provision of indoor air quality (IAQ) in school classrooms. It draws on detailed monitoring data from a sample of 18 classrooms from 6 London schools. Overheating during the non-heating season was identified in eight south-, south-east-, and east-facing classrooms in two Victorian and two contemporary schools. Four classrooms in these contemporary schools also failed to keep average indoor CO 2 levels below 1500 ppm in the non-heating season. During the heating season, eight classrooms exceeded the daily average indoor CO 2 levels. Mean indoor particulate matter (PM) 10 and PM 2.5 levels recorded in all classrooms in both seasons were higher than 20 and 10 μg/m 3 , respectively, indicating that school exposure during an academic year may exceed annual recommended WHO [2006. Air Quality Guidelines: Global Update 2005: Particulate Matter, Ozone, Nitrogen Dioxide, and Sulfur Dioxide. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe; 2010. WHO Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality: Selected Pollutants. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe.] guideline values in all classrooms. In both seasons, all classrooms were found to have indoor total volatile organic compounds levels (median: 269 ppb and interquartile range: 64-408 ppb) above guideline thresholds (130 ppb) associated with sensory irritations. Identification of specific volatile organic compounds indicated the presence of strong indoor sources including furniture, cleaning products, and teaching materials. Findings suggest that these school classrooms often have poor IAQ due to a combination of sub-optimal building operation and management practices. Furthermore, while CO 2 and ventilation rates are a useful tool for IAQ assessment, findings indicate that consideration of specific pollutants is necessary to ensure a healthy indoor environment.

Assessment of indoor air quality in office buildings across Europe – The OFFICAIR study

“…They remain consistent with the observation of Konopinski (1985) for formaldehyde in one office building in the US. They are also consistent with what was already observed in schools for benzene and formaldehyde (Canha et al, 2016), and terpenes (Chatzidiakou et al, 2014), as well as in dwellings for benzene (Langer et al, 2016), formaldehyde (Salthammer et al, 2010), terpenes (Schlink et al, 2010), O 3 (Cattaneo et al, 2011), and NO 2 (Cattaneo et al, 2011;WHO, 2010). Even if office buildings are expected to be more controlled environments due to the presence of HVAC systems compared to schools and dwellings, the season nevertheless shows an effect.…”

Is CO2 a good proxy for indoor air quality in classrooms? Part 1: The interrelationships between thermal conditions, CO2 levels, ventilation rates and selected indoor pollutants

“…A detailed description of the school sample, and inferential statistics on indoor and outdoor concentrations can be found in previous publications. 4,5 Case studies…”

“…A more detailed description of the sample selection of schools and classrooms has been published previously. 4 Data on building characterisation included information on: the microclimate; construction characteristics; maintenance and operation of school buildings; and occupancy patterns (Table 3). The data were collected from onsite observations and standardised checklists administered as semi-structured interviews to school occupants involved with daily maintenance and operation of the schools and classrooms, such as classroom teachers, headteachers and facility managers.…”

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Lichens reveal the quality of indoor air in Selangor, Malaysia

“…Several studies on indoor air quality in school and kindergarten environments have been conducted (Darus et al 2012;Zwoździak et al 2013;Chatziadiakou et al 2015), and other studies have also shown that there is a relationship between indoor air quality and the safety of students and teachers in schools (Salameh et al 2015;Lin et al 2017). These studies highlighted the value of monitoring air quality in a school setting, with the main objective being to minimize the exposure of students to air pollution and to better understand the technique to be used to mitigate the decline in indoor air quality to establish a more favorable, healthy, and efficient school atmosphere and to ensure student and staff safety.…”