Quantification of mass concentrations aerosols PM2.5 in primary schools. Case study: Tiaret city (Algeria)

Abstract

23 primary schools have been selected in Tiaret city, and the collection of PM2.5 was performed in the morning, afternoon and evening, in the presence and absence of the pupils. The results found have shown a gradient of concentrations of PM2.5 by site typology. Low and average concentrations are recorded in the areas close to forests: 23.32±2.77 µg/m3 and the high concentrations are observed in the sites exposed to road traffic: 33.57±3.27 µg/m3 in winter. However, concentrations recorded in the urban sites are lower in the summer (sites exposed to road traffic: 25.33±2.85 µg/m3, sites close to the forests 23.78± 1.92µg/m3). We also noticed that the dominance of PM2.5 has been observed in the vicinity of the major axes of movement. The dispersion of these particles is illustrated by a detailed maps. The maps present information obtained by hierarchical classification, they aim to answer a need for spatial knowledge of the problem of particulate pollution in urban areas in the city of Tiaret. The hierarchical classification allowed to distinguish three groups of schools: urban, urban highly subject to dense road traffic and schools close to green spaces and forests. The results obtained revealed a high contamination of the atmospheric environment of the city of Tiaret by PM2.5 aerosols, taking into account the results recorded in primary schools. Mass concentration of PM2.5 in the 1st period (autumn and winter) is higher than that of the 2nd period (spring and summer). Indeed, the highest concentrations are recorded in the presence of pupils in winter.

Exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollution in schools in Africa: Current status, knowledge gaps, and a call to action

“… Reddy et al [ 34 ] Durban, South Africa TEOM; (24 h average), (continuous eight months). Sampling year: nr Four Primary schools, n = 341, grades 3–6 Industrial PM 10 & PM 2.5 51 ± 25.2 & 20 ± 15.0 na na Correlation between air pollution and respiratory diseases (asthma) was observed in schoolchildren in industrial areas Naidoo et al [ 52 ] Tiaret City, Algeria Dekati® PM10 impactor, Finland), (8 h average), Sampling year: 2016–2017 23 primary schools) Roadside na na PM 2.5 33 ± 3.27 PM 2.5 was elevated in the classroom with the presence of students Khadidja et al [ 36 ] Nairobi, Kenya Particle counter Sampling (Annual average), year:2016–2017 4 Schools n = 578) students (9–14) years old, dry/wet season Industrial na na PM 10 & PM 2.5 56-59 & 11-13 Low-cost sensors can collect school data, addressing poor air quality and filling data gaps. DeSouza et al [ 53 ].…”

“…Indoor PM 10 concentrations in schools in Kenya and Nigeria ranged between 43 and 269 μg m −3 [ 30 , 31 ], and indoor concentrations of PM 2.5 ranged between 20 and 76 μg m −3 [ 30 , 32 ], respectively. The outdoor concentrations of PM 10 in schools in South Africa ranged from 16 to 86 μg m −3 [ 33 , 34 ], while the outdoor exposure levels for PM 2.5 ranged between 11 and 33 μg m −3 [ 35 , 36 ]. ( Table 1 ).…”

Contamination characteristics, mass concentration, and source analysis of metal elements in PM2.5 in Lanzhou, China

“…The main research methods include health risk assessment model for risk analysis (Huang et al, 2018), enrichment factor (EF; Zhang et al, 2018), principal component analysis (PCA; Terrouche et al, 2016), correlation analysis (Soleimani et al, 2018), and positive matrix factorization (Amato and Hopke, 2012) for determining the element origin. The main research directions include the spatiotemporal change characteristics of PM 2.5 and its relevance with meteorological factors (Huang et al, 2015), the levels of PM 2.5 in city (Zhang and Cao, 2015) and school (Khadidja et al, 2019), the latent risk of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in PM 2.5 (Gao et al, 2016), and features, origins, and health risk assessment of heavy metals (Li et al, 2016). However, there are still some deficiencies in the current understanding of the spatiotemporal changes of PM 2.5 .…”