Monitoring of urban ambient air quality at locations of preschool and school facilities in Serbia

Abstract

Exposing children to environmental pollutants during periods significant for their physiological development can lead to long-lasting health effects, dysfunction, and disease. The aim of this paper was to focus on a relatively scarce ambient AQ monitoring practice at the locations of preschol and school institutions in Serbia, within the local network of AQ monitoring stations. This was a cross-sectional study covering period 2015 to 2020. Measuring points (SO2, NO2, soot, PM10) were in front of kindergardens, primary and secondary schools in urban settlements. Results originate from the continuous public health programme conducted by the Institute of Public Health of Serbia. Only PM10 and B(a)P values at some points have exceeded annual limit values in front of chosen facilities in 2020. In sum, both the absolute number of urban ambient AQ measuring points monitored by the local network of Institutes of Public Health and those in front of the educational facilities have increased in this period: from 73/17 to 172/26. In a percentual view, these facilities are chosen more seldom within this time frame, dropping from 23.29 to 15.12% of all AQ monitoring points. As such facilities are mainly located at important city intersections, in order to assess the exposure to air pollution of vulnerable population groups (children from preschool to adolescence age), there is a need to locate measuring points near them.