Children’s Exposure to Indoor Particulate Matter in Naturally Ventilated Schools in India

The high levels of indoor particulate matter in developing countries and the apparent scale of its impact on the global burden of disease underline the importance of particulate as an environmental health risk and the consequent need for monitoring them particularly in indoor school microenvironments. PM10, PM 2.5 and PM1.0 levels were monitored inside and outside the classrooms of four naturally ventilated schools during winter (December 2007 to January 2008) and summer (April 2008 to May 2008) as seasonal campaigns using Grimm 1.109 along with CO2, temperature, humidity and ventilation rate. Additionally, data on classroom condition, school building, surrounding area and prevalence of health symptoms were collected with the help of a questionnaire. During winter, mean indoor PM10, PM2.5 and PM1.0 concentrations ranged up to 497, 220 and 135 μg m —3, which lowered to 3, 3 and 2 times, respectively, in summer as compared to winter. The average indoor/outdoor ratios were found to be >1 at almost all the sites. Furthermore, indoor—outdoor correlations were carried out, indicating poor correlations at all the sites except at one school located in residential area. Inter-particulate ratios in the indoor environments were also obtained, indicating that strong correlations exist in both the campaigns, which were significant at p<0.01.

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

[2]  Lidia Morawska,et al.  The relationship between indoor and outdoor airborne particles in the residential environment , 2001 .

[3]  Christine A Erdmann,et al.  Mucous membrane and lower respiratory building related symptoms in relation to indoor carbon dioxide concentrations in the 100-building BASE dataset. , 2004, Indoor air.

[4]  Martin Braniš,et al.  Exposure of children to airborne particulate matter of different size fractions during indoor physical education at school , 2009 .

[5]  Ajay Taneja,et al.  Metal concentration of PM(2.5) and PM(10) particles and seasonal variations in urban and rural environment of Agra, India. , 2009, The Science of the total environment.

[6]  Hikmat H. Ali,et al.  Evaluating Indoor Environmental Quality of Public School Buildings in Jordan , 2009 .

[7]  E. B. Rico,et al.  Temporal and spatial variations of metal content in TSP and PM10 in Mexico City during 1996–1998 , 2002 .

[8]  Dan Norbäck,et al.  Subjective Indoor Air Quality in Schools – The Influence of High Room Temperature, Carpeting, Fleecy Wall Materials and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) , 1995 .

[9]  L. Sheppard,et al.  An association between fine particles and asthma emergency department visits for children in Seattle. , 1999, Environmental health perspectives.

[10]  H Grams,et al.  Aufatmen in Schulen: Untersuchungsergebnisse und Modellierungsansätze zur Raumluftqualität in Schulen , 2003 .

[11]  N. El-Hougeiri,et al.  Correlation of Indoor-Outdoor Air Quality in Urban Areas , 2004 .

[12]  Ian D. Williams,et al.  Characterisation of Particulate Matter Sampled during a Study of Children's Personal Exposure to Airborne Particulate Matter in a UK Urban Environment , 2000 .

[13]  Andrew P. Jones,et al.  Indoor air quality and health , 1999 .

[14]  D. Mannino,et al.  Surveillance for asthma--United States, 1980-1999. , 2002, Morbidity and mortality weekly report. Surveillance summaries.

[15]  Tracy L. Thatcher,et al.  Deposition, resuspension, and penetration of particles within a residence , 1995 .

[16]  U Keil,et al.  Self-reported wheezing and allergic rhinitis in children and traffic density on street of residence. , 1994, Annals of epidemiology.

[17]  J. Daisey,et al.  A Survey and Critical Review of the Literature on Indoor Air Quality, Ventilation and Health Symptoms in Schools. IEQ Strategies[TM]. , 1998 .

[18]  Shuncheng Lee,et al.  Indoor and outdoor air quality investigation at 14 public places in Hong Kong , 1999 .

[19]  Bert Brunekreef,et al.  Assessment of exposure to traffic related air pollution of children attending schools near motorways , 2001 .

[20]  P. Koutrakis,et al.  Characterization of Indoor Particle Sources Using Continuous Mass and Size Monitors , 2000, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association.

[21]  Francis Allard,et al.  Statistical analysis of parameters influencing the relationship between outdoor and indoor air quality in schools , 2005 .

[22]  H. Nitta,et al.  Respiratory health associated with exposure to automobile exhaust. I. Results of cross-sectional studies in 1979, 1982, and 1983. , 1993, Archives of environmental health.

[23]  J. Masih,et al.  Indoor/outdoor relationship of fine particles less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) in residential homes locations in central Indian region , 2009 .

[24]  J Schwartz,et al.  Ambient pollution and heart rate variability. , 2000, Circulation.

[25]  B. Ostro,et al.  Proximity of California public schools to busy roads. , 2003, Environmental health perspectives.

[26]  R. D. Morris,et al.  Airborne particulates and hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease: a quantitative review of the evidence. , 2001, Environmental health perspectives.

[27]  H. Nitta,et al.  Respiratory health associated with exposure to automobile exhaust. II. Personal NO2 exposure levels according to distance from the roadside. , 1997, Journal of exposure analysis and environmental epidemiology.

[28]  O. Poupard,et al.  Relationship between outdoor and indoor air quality in eight French schools. , 2005, Indoor air.

[29]  Stephanie Schrag,et al.  Prevention of Perinatal Group B Streptococcal Disease Revised Guidelines from CDC , 2002 .

[30]  J. Schwartz.  Air pollution and children's health. , 2004, Pediatrics.

[31]  G. Raw,et al.  Further findings from the office environment survey , 1990 .

[32]  Steven Korenstein,et al.  An exposure assessment of PM10 from a major highway interchange: are children in nearby schools at risk? , 2002, Journal of environmental health.

[33]  Alvin C.K. Lai,et al.  Particle deposition indoors: a review , 2002 .

[34]  A. Chaloulakou,et al.  Indoor and outdoor PM mass and number concentrations at schools in the Athens area , 2007, Environmental monitoring and assessment.

[35]  Neelima M Gadkari,et al.  Study of personal–indoor–ambient fine particulate matters among school communities in mixed urban–industrial environment in India , 2010, Environmental monitoring and assessment.

[36]  B. Brunekreef,et al.  Personal exposure to fine particles in children correlates closely with ambient fine particles. , 1999, Archives of environmental health.

[37]  D G Shendell,et al.  Evidence of inadequate ventilation in portable classrooms: results of a pilot study in Los Angeles County. , 2004, Indoor air.

[38]  Yi-Chen Wu,et al.  Proximity of schools in Detroit, Michigan to automobile and truck traffic , 2006, Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology.

[39]  J. Kaiser.  Evidence Mounts That Tiny Particles Can Kill , 2000, Science.

[40]  D. Dockery,et al.  Daily diaries of respiratory symptoms and air pollution: methodological issues and results. , 1991, Environmental health perspectives.

[41]  Christopher Y.H. Chao,et al.  Comparison between indoor and outdoor air contaminant levels in residential buildings from passive sampler study , 2001 .

[42]  K. Berhane,et al.  Prospective study of air pollution and bronchitic symptoms in children with asthma. , 2003, American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine.

[43]  H. Frommea,et al.  Particulate matter in the indoor air of classrooms — exploratory results from Munich and surrounding area , 2006 .

[44]  R. Perry,et al.  Relationships between indoor and outdoor air quality in four naturally ventilated offices in the United Kingdom , 1993 .

[45]  P A Scheff,et al.  Indoor air quality in a middle school, Part I: Use of CO2 as a tracer for effective ventilation. , 2000, Applied occupational and environmental hygiene.

[46]  S. Kingham,et al.  Temporal variations in particulate exposure to wood smoke in a residential school environment , 2008 .

[47]  Michael T. Kleinman,et al.  Incidence and Apparent Health Significance of Brief Airborne Particle Excursions , 2000 .

[48]  J. E. Janssen,et al.  Ventilation for acceptable indoor air quality , 1989 .

[49]  Petr Gajdos,et al.  Actions to Reduce the Impact of Construction Products on Indoor Air: Outcomes of the European Project HealthyAir , 2010 .

[50]  A Biggeri,et al.  Road traffic and adverse respiratory effects in children. SIDRIA Collaborative Group. , 1998, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[51]  D Faulkner,et al.  Associations between classroom CO2 concentrations and student attendance in Washington and Idaho. , 2004, Indoor air.

[52]  Kiros Berhane,et al.  Childhood Incident Asthma and Traffic-Related Air Pollution at Home and School , 2010, Environmental health perspectives.

[53]  Takako Yamaguchi,et al.  Cytotoxicity of Airborne Particulates Sampled Roadside in Rodent and Human Lung Fibroblasts , 2001 .

[54]  Bernhard Liebl,et al.  Particulate matter in the indoor air of classrooms—exploratory results from Munich and surrounding area , 2007 .

[55]  R. Delfino,et al.  Symptoms in pediatric asthmatics and air pollution: differences in effects by symptom severity, anti-inflammatory medication use and particulate averaging time. , 1998, Environmental health perspectives.

[56]  Steven H. Cadle,et al.  Effect of Ambient Temperature and E-10 Fuel on Primary Exhaust Particulate Matter Emissions from Light-Duty Vehicles , 1997 .

[57]  P. Scheff,et al.  Indoor air quality in a middle school, Part II: Development of emission factors for particulate matter and bioaerosols. , 2000, Applied occupational and environmental hygiene.

[58]  S C Lee,et al.  Indoor and outdoor air quality investigation at schools in Hong Kong. , 2000, Chemosphere.