An assessment of indoor air concentrations and health risks of volatile organic compounds in three primary schools.

Concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including formaldehyde, in classrooms, kindergartens, and outdoor playgrounds of three primary schools were measured in spring, winter, and fall terms in İzmir, Turkey. A health-risk assessment was conducted for odor detection, sensory irritation, chronic toxic effects, and cancer. Active sampling was applied for VOCs and formaldehyde on Tenax TA and DNPH tubes, respectively. VOCs were analyzed in a thermal desorption-GC-MS system. Formaldehyde analysis was performed using an HPLC instrument. Benzene, toluene, and formaldehyde were the most abundant compounds with 95th percentile indoor air concentrations of 29, 87, and 106 μg/m(3), respectively. Naphthalene and xylenes followed them with an order of magnitude lower concentrations. Two isomers of dichlorobenzene (1,3 and 1,4) were the other notable compounds. The concentrations were utilized to classify the indoor air pollutants with respect to potential health effects. In addition, carcinogenic and chronic toxic risks were estimated using Monte-Carlo simulation. Formaldehyde appears to be the most concerning pollutant with high chronic toxic and carcinogenic risk levels according to the health assessment followed by naphthalene, benzene, and toluene due to their chronic effects.

[1]  M. Bulsara,et al.  Association of domestic exposure to volatile organic compounds with asthma in young children , 2004, Thorax.

[2]  Hai Guo,et al.  Source characterization of BTEX in indoor microenvironments in Hong Kong , 2003 .

[3]  John D. Spengler,et al.  A Cancer Risk Assessment of Inner-City Teenagers Living in New York City and Los Angeles , 2006, Environmental health perspectives.

[4]  Dan Norbäck,et al.  Subjective Indoor Air Quality in Schools in Relation to Exposure , 1997 .

[5]  Mamdouh I. Khoder,et al.  Formaldehyde and Aromatic Volatile Hydrocarbons in the Indoor Air of Egyptian Office Buildings , 2006 .

[6]  K Ikeda,et al.  Variations of formaldehyde and VOC levels during 3 years in new and older homes. , 2006, Indoor air.

[7]  S. Crow,et al.  Causes of Indoor Air Quality Problems in Schools: Summary of Scientific Research. Revised Edition. , 2000 .

[8]  S. Mentese,et al.  Variations and Sources of Formaldehyde Levels in Residential Indoor Air in Ankara, Turkey , 2006 .

[9]  A. Demir,et al.  Asthma and allergic diseases in schoolchildren: third cross‐sectional survey in the same primary school in Ankara, Turkey , 2004, Pediatric allergy and immunology : official publication of the European Society of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology.

[10]  J. Hlavay,et al.  Toluene−Benzene Concentration Ratio as a Tool for Characterizing the Distance from Vehicular Emission Sources , 1997 .

[11]  G. Heath,et al.  Do indoor pollutants and thermal conditions in schools influence student performance? A critical review of the literature. , 2005, Indoor air.

[12]  E. Faustman,et al.  Mechanisms underlying Children's susceptibility to environmental toxicants. , 2000, Environmental health perspectives.

[13]  S. Stick,et al.  Indoor environmental quality in a 'low allergen' school and three standard primary schools in Western Australia. , 2006, Indoor air.

[14]  Wonho Yang,et al.  Indoor air quality investigation according to age of the school buildings in Korea. , 2009, Journal of environmental management.

[15]  S. Batterman,et al.  Indoor air quality in Michigan schools. , 2007, Indoor air.

[16]  B. Hanoune,et al.  Formaldehyde measurements in libraries: Comparison between infrared diode laser spectroscopy and a DNPH-derivatization method , 2006 .

[17]  J. Konz,et al.  Exposure factors handbook , 1989 .

[18]  Z. T. Selçuk,et al.  The prevalence of allergic diseases in primary school children in Edirne, Turkey , 1997, Clinical and experimental allergy : journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

[19]  Ruveyde Bundak.  Türk Çocuklarında Vücut Kitle İndeksi , 2012 .

[20]  Songül Acar Vaizoğlu,et al.  Determining Domestic Formaldehyde Levels in Ankara, Turkey , 2003 .

[21]  ALFRED T. HODGSONa,et al.  Classification of Measured Indoor Volatile Organic Compounds Based on Noncancer Health and Comfort Considerations , 2003 .

[22]  O. Neyzi,et al.  Heights and weights of Turkish children. , 1973, The Journal of tropical pediatrics and environmental child health.

[23]  Gurumurthy Ramachandran,et al.  Outdoor, Indoor, and Personal Exposure to VOCs in Children , 2004, Environmental health perspectives.

[24]  M G Apte,et al.  Indoor air quality, ventilation and health symptoms in schools: an analysis of existing information. , 2003, Indoor air.

[25]  Hai Guo,et al.  Inter-comparison of air pollutant concentrations in different indoor environments in Hong Kong , 2002 .

[26]  Gurumurthy Ramachandran,et al.  Estimating Volatile Organic Compound Concentrations in Selected Microenvironments Using Time–Activity and Personal Exposure Data , 2007, Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part A.

[27]  Hakan Pekey,et al.  The Relationship Between Indoor, Outdoor and Personal VOC Concentrations in Homes, Offices and Schools in the Metropolitan Region of Kocaeli, Turkey , 2008 .

[28]  D. Norbäck,et al.  Volatile organic compounds, respirable dust, and personal factors related to prevalence and incidence of sick building syndrome in primary schools. , 1990, British journal of industrial medicine.

[29]  Junfeng Zhang,et al.  Air concentrations of VOCs in portable and traditional classrooms: Results of a pilot study in Los Angeles County , 2004, Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology.

[30]  A. Somer,et al.  The first camps in Turkey for asthmatic children: six years' experience. , 2005, The Turkish journal of pediatrics.

[31]  D. Kotzias.  Indoor air and human exposure assessment--needs and approaches. , 2005, Experimental and toxicologic pathology : official journal of the Gesellschaft fur Toxikologische Pathologie.

[32]  M. Mendell,et al.  Indoor residential chemical emissions as risk factors for respiratory and allergic effects in children: a review. , 2007, Indoor air.

[33]  A. Yorgancioglu,et al.  Prevalence and risk factors of allergies in Turkey: Results of a multicentric cross‐sectional study in children , 2007, Pediatric allergy and immunology : official publication of the European Society of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology.

[34]  E Righi,et al.  Air quality and well-being perception in subjects attending university libraries in Modena (Italy). , 2002, The Science of the total environment.

[35]  M. Odabasi,et al.  Volatile organic compounds in the air of Izmir, Turkey , 2001 .

[36]  Mehmet Kitis,et al.  Occurrence, oral exposure and risk assessment of volatile organic compounds in drinking water for Izmir. , 2006, Water research.

[37]  Jeanne Mager Stellman,et al.  Encyclopaedia of occupational health and safety , 1998 .