Indoor particulate pollution in fitness centres with emphasis on ultrafine particles

Abstract

Fitness centres (FC) represent a unique indoor microenvironment. Exercising on regular basis provides countless health benefits and improves overall well-being, but if these facilities have poor indoor air quality, the respective exercisers might be subjected to some adverse risks. Considering the limited existent data, this work aimed to evaluate particulate pollution (PM PM, and ultrafine particles - UFP) in indoor air of FC and to estimate the respective risks for occupants (both staff and exercising subjects). Sampling was conducted during 40 consecutive days of May-June 2014 in general fitness areas, studios and classrooms (for group activities) of four different fitness centres (FC1-FC4) situated within Oporto metropolitan area, Portugal. The results showed that across the four FC, PM ranged between 5 and 1080 μg m with median concentrations (15-43 μg m) fulfilling the limit (50 μg m) of Portuguese legislation in all FC. PM (medians 5-37 μg m; range 5-777 μg m) exceeded thresholds of 25 μg m at some FC, indicating potential risks for the respective occupants; naturally ventilated FC exhibited significantly higher PM ranges (p < 0.05). Similarly, UFPs (range 0.5-88.6 × 10 # cm) median concentrations were higher (2-3 times) at FC without controlled ventilation systems. UFP were approximately twice higher (p < 0.05) during the occupied periods (mean of 9.7 × 10vs. 4.8 × 10 # cm) with larger temporal variations of UFP levels observed in general fitness areas than in classrooms and studios. Cardio activities (conducted in studios and classrooms) led to approximately twice the UFPs intakes than other types of exercising. These results indicate that even short-term physical activity (or more specifically its intensity) might strongly influence the daily inhalation dose. Finally, women exhibited 1.2 times higher UFPs intake than men thus suggesting the need for future gender-specific studies assessing UFP exposure.

Human exposure to air contaminants in sports environments

“…In some cases, increased median PM concentrations were found during non-occupied periods (during the night when empty). 96 That finding could be explained by the formation of new aerosols caused by oxidation of volatile organic compounds 98 emitted from late-afternoon cleaning or the effect of outdoor emissions accumulating due to the motionless conditions preventing mixing. 99 Slezakova et al 96 monitored higher (by two times) indoor concentrations of ultrafine particles during occupied periods with larger temporal variations noted in general fitness areas than in classrooms and studios.…”

“…96 That finding could be explained by the formation of new aerosols caused by oxidation of volatile organic compounds 98 emitted from late-afternoon cleaning or the effect of outdoor emissions accumulating due to the motionless conditions preventing mixing. 99 Slezakova et al 96 monitored higher (by two times) indoor concentrations of ultrafine particles during occupied periods with larger temporal variations noted in general fitness areas than in classrooms and studios. 96 They also found that women exhibited 1.2 times higher UFPs intake than men, suggesting the need for gender-specific studies about UFP exposure in indoor sports environments.…”

“…99 Slezakova et al 96 monitored higher (by two times) indoor concentrations of ultrafine particles during occupied periods with larger temporal variations noted in general fitness areas than in classrooms and studios. 96 They also found that women exhibited 1.2 times higher UFPs intake than men, suggesting the need for gender-specific studies about UFP exposure in indoor sports environments. lowest concentrations were monitored in the early morning and early afternoon (at ~08:00-09:00 and ~15:00-16:00 They noticed that the mean CO 2 concentrations were higher in the evening than in the morning or afternoon.…”

Microbial diversity of bioaerosol inside sports facilities and antibiotic resistance of isolated Staphylococcus spp.

“…In view of the fact that exercising constitutes an important element of a daily routine of people with sedentary jobs in well-developed countries, the air quality in indoor spaces used for practising sports should be routinely monitored (Ž itnik et al 2016). Regular exercise may provide numerous benefits for the body and mind, but poor air quality in sports facilities may put health of the users at risk (Sezakova et al 2018). The impact of air contamination on human health should never be underestimated, even at low contaminant concentrations .…”

Indoor air quality in health clubs: Impact of occupancy and type of performed activities on exposure levels

“…However, indoor sport environments have been studied considerably less. The main scientific focus was on particulate matter (namely PM10, PM2.5, PM1), with data coming either from educational settings (elementary/primary schools gymnasiums, university sport facilities; [9,[12], [13], [32], [33], [34], [35], [36], [37], [38], [39], [40]]) or from sport facilities (gymnastic and sport halls; [ [41], [42], [43], [44], [45]]); health or fitness clubs have been addressed considerably less [15,[46], [47], [48], [49]]. World Health Organization (WHO) recommends 150 (at least) -300 min (for additional benefits) of moderate-intensity physical activity per week [50], which translates approximately to 1 h/day on 5 days/week.…”