Indoor Air Quality Assessment in Grocery Stores
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is a public and occupational health concern, as we are exposed to air pollutants daily given that we spend a great amount of our time in indoor environments. IAQ can be affected by numerous factors, from outdoor pollutants that get indoors through ventilation to building mat...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/24/12940 |
| _version_ | 1797461552584982528 |
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| author | Teresa Baptista Marina Almeida-Silva Dário Silva Carlos Diogo Nuno Canha |
| author_facet | Teresa Baptista Marina Almeida-Silva Dário Silva Carlos Diogo Nuno Canha |
| author_sort | Teresa Baptista |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is a public and occupational health concern, as we are exposed to air pollutants daily given that we spend a great amount of our time in indoor environments. IAQ can be affected by numerous factors, from outdoor pollutants that get indoors through ventilation to building materials, furnishings, and activities carried by the building occupants. Exposure to air pollutants has been linked to a panoply of adverse effects on our health, well-being, and performance. The aim of this study was to assess the IAQ in grocery stores (GSs) in the municipality of Cascais in the Lisbon metropolitan area (Portugal) to characterize the workers’ occupational exposure to air pollutants. The study was conducted in 13 small “family” grocery stores. The IAQ monitoring campaign was conducted using low-cost sensor technologies and focused on several parameters, namely: carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter (PM<sub>10</sub> and PM<sub>2.5</sub>), temperature (T), and relative humidity (RH). Overall, the IAQ of the studied GSs complied with Portuguese legislation, except for PM<sub>2.5</sub>, where 23% of GSs presented levels above the established limit value. The mean inhaled dose of workers during a workday was estimated to be 157.7 ± 57.2 μg for PM<sub>2.5</sub> and 165.8 ± 56.0 μg for PM<sub>10.</sub> The IAQ assessment allowed the identification of the best strategies to improve worker experience in indoor workplace environments. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:22:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-55e857de17074cfeadde2ac0d3293589 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:22:00Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-55e857de17074cfeadde2ac0d32935892023-11-24T13:07:23ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172022-12-0112241294010.3390/app122412940Indoor Air Quality Assessment in Grocery StoresTeresa Baptista0Marina Almeida-Silva1Dário Silva2Carlos Diogo3Nuno Canha4Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias Nucleares, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, E.N. 10 ao Km 139,7, 2695-066 Bobadela, PortugalH&TRC-Health & Technology Research Center, ESTeSL-Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, 1990-096 Lisboa, PortugalIDMEC, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, PortugalIDMEC, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, PortugalCentro de Ciências e Tecnologias Nucleares, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, E.N. 10 ao Km 139,7, 2695-066 Bobadela, PortugalIndoor Air Quality (IAQ) is a public and occupational health concern, as we are exposed to air pollutants daily given that we spend a great amount of our time in indoor environments. IAQ can be affected by numerous factors, from outdoor pollutants that get indoors through ventilation to building materials, furnishings, and activities carried by the building occupants. Exposure to air pollutants has been linked to a panoply of adverse effects on our health, well-being, and performance. The aim of this study was to assess the IAQ in grocery stores (GSs) in the municipality of Cascais in the Lisbon metropolitan area (Portugal) to characterize the workers’ occupational exposure to air pollutants. The study was conducted in 13 small “family” grocery stores. The IAQ monitoring campaign was conducted using low-cost sensor technologies and focused on several parameters, namely: carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter (PM<sub>10</sub> and PM<sub>2.5</sub>), temperature (T), and relative humidity (RH). Overall, the IAQ of the studied GSs complied with Portuguese legislation, except for PM<sub>2.5</sub>, where 23% of GSs presented levels above the established limit value. The mean inhaled dose of workers during a workday was estimated to be 157.7 ± 57.2 μg for PM<sub>2.5</sub> and 165.8 ± 56.0 μg for PM<sub>10.</sub> The IAQ assessment allowed the identification of the best strategies to improve worker experience in indoor workplace environments.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/24/12940indoor air qualitygrocery storesoccupational healthparticulate matterhuman exposure |
| spellingShingle | Teresa Baptista Marina Almeida-Silva Dário Silva Carlos Diogo Nuno Canha Indoor Air Quality Assessment in Grocery Stores Applied Sciences indoor air quality grocery stores occupational health particulate matter human exposure |
| title | Indoor Air Quality Assessment in Grocery Stores |
| title_full | Indoor Air Quality Assessment in Grocery Stores |
| title_fullStr | Indoor Air Quality Assessment in Grocery Stores |
| title_full_unstemmed | Indoor Air Quality Assessment in Grocery Stores |
| title_short | Indoor Air Quality Assessment in Grocery Stores |
| title_sort | indoor air quality assessment in grocery stores |
| topic | indoor air quality grocery stores occupational health particulate matter human exposure |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/24/12940 |
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