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Indoor and Outdoor Monitoring of Volatile Organic Compounds in School Buildings: Indicators Based on Health Risk Assessment to Single out Critical Issues

Author

Listed:
  • Gianluigi De Gennaro

    (Department of Chemistry, University of Bari, via Orabona, 4, Bari 70126, Italy)

  • Genoveffa Farella

    (Department of Chemistry, University of Bari, via Orabona, 4, Bari 70126, Italy
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Annalisa Marzocca

    (Department of Chemistry, University of Bari, via Orabona, 4, Bari 70126, Italy
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Antonio Mazzone

    (Department of Chemistry, University of Bari, via Orabona, 4, Bari 70126, Italy
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Maria Tutino

    (Department of Chemistry, University of Bari, via Orabona, 4, Bari 70126, Italy
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

Abstract

Children are more sensitive to pollutants than adults and yet they spend large amounts of time in school environments where they are exposed to unknown levels of indoor pollutants. This study investigated the concentrations of the most abundant volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in eight naturally ventilated school buildings in Italy. The schools were chosen to include areas with different urbanization and traffic density characteristics in order to gather a more diverse picture of exposure risks in the different areas of the city. VOCs were sampled for one week in the presence/absence of pupils using diffusive samplers suitable for thermal desorption inside three classrooms at each school. The samples were then analyzed with thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS). In addition, outdoor measurements were carried out in the yard at each school. VOC identification and quantification, and indoor/outdoor concentration plots were used to identify pollutant sources. While some classrooms were found to have very low VOC levels, others had a significant indoor contribution or a prevalent outdoor contribution. High concentrations of terpenes were found in all monitored classrooms: a-pinene and limonene were in the range of 6.55–34.18 µg/m 3 and 11.11–25.42 µg/m 3 respectively. Outdoor concentrations were lower than indoors for each monitored school. Indicators based on health risk assessment for chronic health effects associated with VOCs (either carcinogenic or non-carcinogenic) were proposed to rank sites according to their hazard level.

Suggested Citation

  • Gianluigi De Gennaro & Genoveffa Farella & Annalisa Marzocca & Antonio Mazzone & Maria Tutino, 2013. "Indoor and Outdoor Monitoring of Volatile Organic Compounds in School Buildings: Indicators Based on Health Risk Assessment to Single out Critical Issues," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-19, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:10:y:2013:i:12:p:6273-6291:d:30722
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Mahsa Tashakor & Reza Dahmardeh Behrooz & Seyed Reza Asvad & Dimitris G. Kaskaoutis, 2022. "Tracing of Heavy Metals Embedded in Indoor Dust Particles from the Industrial City of Asaluyeh, South of Iran," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-19, June.
    2. Lexuan Zhong & Feng-Chiao Su & Stuart Batterman, 2017. "Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in Conventional and High Performance School Buildings in the U.S," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-18, January.
    3. Kristin Shrader-Frechette & Andrew M. Biondo, 2020. "Protecting Children from Toxic Waste: Data-Usability Evaluation Can Deter Flawed Cleanup," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-35, January.
    4. Anna Mainka & Elwira Zajusz-Zubek, 2015. "Indoor Air Quality in Urban and Rural Preschools in Upper Silesia, Poland: Particulate Matter and Carbon Dioxide," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-15, July.
    5. Jia-Kun Chen & Charlene Wu & Ta-Chen Su, 2021. "Positive Association between Indoor Gaseous Air Pollution and Obesity: An Observational Study in 60 Households," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-13, October.
    6. C. Bambang Dwi Kuncoro & Moch Bilal Zaenal Asyikin & Aurelia Amaris, 2022. "Smart-Autonomous Wireless Volatile Organic Compounds Sensor Node for Indoor Air Quality Monitoring Application," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-15, February.
    7. Shengjia Jin & Lu Zhong & Xueyi Zhang & Xinhe Li & Bowei Li & Xuekun Fang, 2023. "Indoor Volatile Organic Compounds: Concentration Characteristics and Health Risk Analysis on a University Campus," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(10), pages 1-16, May.

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