{"title":"Outdoor trends and indoor investigations of volatile organic compounds in two high schools of southern Italy","authors":"Andrea Bergomi, Cristina Mangia, Paola Fermo, Alessandra Genga, Valeria Comite, Silvia Guadagnini, Pierina Ielpo","doi":"10.1007/s11869-024-01509-2","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a class of ubiquitous substances that are present in outdoor and indoor air. They are emitted by a wide range of sources and can penetrate and accumulate specifically in indoor environments. Concern is growing among the scientific community regarding the potential health impacts of exposure to a high concentration of VOCs in indoor spaces. Due to their still-developing respiratory and immune systems, children may be the most fragile subjects in this regard, and therefore, the study of indoor air quality in schools is of the utmost importance. In this work, the concentrations of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) and of 20 specific compounds belonging to this class were determined in a school in Squinzano, a town in the province of Lecce (Apulia region, southern Italy). Sampling was carried out in indoor (classrooms and bathrooms) and outdoor (terrace) areas using passive diffusive samplers for VOCs and photoionization detectors for TVOCs. Average concentrations of both TVOC (303 ± 47 µg m<sup>−3</sup>) and individual VOCs (< 0.5 µg m<sup>−3</sup>) were below levels of concern; however, specific indoor sources such as cleaning activities and student occupancy were responsible for peaks in TVOC concentrations above harmless levels for children and school staff. The data were then compared to the ones obtained in a similar study conducted in a school in Galatina, another town of the Apulia region, highlighting the impact of the surrounding outdoor environment on the indoor profile of VOCs.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49109,"journal":{"name":"Air Quality Atmosphere and Health","volume":"17 6","pages":"1325 - 1340"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11869-024-01509-2.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Air Quality Atmosphere and Health","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11869-024-01509-2","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a class of ubiquitous substances that are present in outdoor and indoor air. They are emitted by a wide range of sources and can penetrate and accumulate specifically in indoor environments. Concern is growing among the scientific community regarding the potential health impacts of exposure to a high concentration of VOCs in indoor spaces. Due to their still-developing respiratory and immune systems, children may be the most fragile subjects in this regard, and therefore, the study of indoor air quality in schools is of the utmost importance. In this work, the concentrations of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) and of 20 specific compounds belonging to this class were determined in a school in Squinzano, a town in the province of Lecce (Apulia region, southern Italy). Sampling was carried out in indoor (classrooms and bathrooms) and outdoor (terrace) areas using passive diffusive samplers for VOCs and photoionization detectors for TVOCs. Average concentrations of both TVOC (303 ± 47 µg m−3) and individual VOCs (< 0.5 µg m−3) were below levels of concern; however, specific indoor sources such as cleaning activities and student occupancy were responsible for peaks in TVOC concentrations above harmless levels for children and school staff. The data were then compared to the ones obtained in a similar study conducted in a school in Galatina, another town of the Apulia region, highlighting the impact of the surrounding outdoor environment on the indoor profile of VOCs.
期刊介绍：
Air Quality, Atmosphere, and Health is a multidisciplinary journal which, by its very name, illustrates the broad range of work it publishes and which focuses on atmospheric consequences of human activities and their implications for human and ecological health.
It offers research papers, critical literature reviews and commentaries, as well as special issues devoted to topical subjects or themes.
International in scope, the journal presents papers that inform and stimulate a global readership, as the topic addressed are global in their import. Consequently, we do not encourage submission of papers involving local data that relate to local problems. Unless they demonstrate wide applicability, these are better submitted to national or regional journals.
Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health addresses such topics as acid precipitation; airborne particulate matter; air quality monitoring and management; exposure assessment; risk assessment; indoor air quality; atmospheric chemistry; atmospheric modeling and prediction; air pollution climatology; climate change and air quality; air pollution measurement; atmospheric impact assessment; forest-fire emissions; atmospheric science; greenhouse gases; health and ecological effects; clean air technology; regional and global change and satellite measurements.
This journal benefits a diverse audience of researchers, public health officials and policy makers addressing problems that call for solutions based in evidence from atmospheric and exposure assessment scientists, epidemiologists, and risk assessors. Publication in the journal affords the opportunity to reach beyond defined disciplinary niches to this broader readership.
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