Indoor Air Quality Assessment and Study of Different VOC Contributions within a School in Taranto City, South of Italy
Children spend a large amount of time in school environments and when Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is poor, comfort, productivity and learning performances may be affected. The aim of the present study is to characterize IAQ in a primary school located in Taranto city (south of Italy). Because of the pr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2017-03-01
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| Series: | Environments |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/4/1/23 |
| _version_ | 1811306978640658432 |
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| author | Annalisa Marzocca Alessia Di Gilio Genoveffa Farella Roberto Giua Gianluigi de Gennaro |
| author_facet | Annalisa Marzocca Alessia Di Gilio Genoveffa Farella Roberto Giua Gianluigi de Gennaro |
| author_sort | Annalisa Marzocca |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Children spend a large amount of time in school environments and when Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is poor, comfort, productivity and learning performances may be affected. The aim of the present study is to characterize IAQ in a primary school located in Taranto city (south of Italy). Because of the proximity of a large industrial complex to the urban settlement, this district is one of the areas identified as being at high environmental risk in Italy. The study carried out simultaneous monitoring of indoor and outdoor Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) concentrations and assessed different pollutants’ contributions on the IAQ of the investigated site. A screening study of VOC and determination of Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Xylenes (BTEX), sampled with Radiello® diffusive samplers suitable for thermal desorption, were carried out in three classrooms, in the corridor and in the yard of the school building. Simultaneously, Total VOC (TVOC) concentration was measured by means of real-time monitoring, in order to study the activation of sources during the monitored days. The analysis results showed a prevalent indoor contribution for all VOC except for BTEX which presented similar concentrations in indoor and outdoor air. Among the determined VOC, Terpenes and 2-butohxyethanol were shown to be an indoor source, the latter being the indoor pollutant with the highest concentration. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T08:56:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7200e01f04d148eda06c24882fcebe71 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3298 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T08:56:33Z |
| publishDate | 2017-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environments |
| spelling | doaj.art-7200e01f04d148eda06c24882fcebe712022-12-22T02:53:16ZengMDPI AGEnvironments2076-32982017-03-01412310.3390/environments4010023environments4010023Indoor Air Quality Assessment and Study of Different VOC Contributions within a School in Taranto City, South of ItalyAnnalisa Marzocca0Alessia Di Gilio1Genoveffa Farella2Roberto Giua3Gianluigi de Gennaro4Regional Agency for Environmental Protection and Prevention of the Puglia (ARPA Puglia), Corso Trieste, 27, 70126 Bari, ItalyRegional Agency for Environmental Protection and Prevention of the Puglia (ARPA Puglia), Corso Trieste, 27, 70126 Bari, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry, University of Bari, via Orabona, 4, 70126 Bari, ItalyRegional Agency for Environmental Protection and Prevention of the Puglia (ARPA Puglia), Corso Trieste, 27, 70126 Bari, ItalyRegional Agency for Environmental Protection and Prevention of the Puglia (ARPA Puglia), Corso Trieste, 27, 70126 Bari, ItalyChildren spend a large amount of time in school environments and when Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is poor, comfort, productivity and learning performances may be affected. The aim of the present study is to characterize IAQ in a primary school located in Taranto city (south of Italy). Because of the proximity of a large industrial complex to the urban settlement, this district is one of the areas identified as being at high environmental risk in Italy. The study carried out simultaneous monitoring of indoor and outdoor Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) concentrations and assessed different pollutants’ contributions on the IAQ of the investigated site. A screening study of VOC and determination of Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Xylenes (BTEX), sampled with Radiello® diffusive samplers suitable for thermal desorption, were carried out in three classrooms, in the corridor and in the yard of the school building. Simultaneously, Total VOC (TVOC) concentration was measured by means of real-time monitoring, in order to study the activation of sources during the monitored days. The analysis results showed a prevalent indoor contribution for all VOC except for BTEX which presented similar concentrations in indoor and outdoor air. Among the determined VOC, Terpenes and 2-butohxyethanol were shown to be an indoor source, the latter being the indoor pollutant with the highest concentration.http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/4/1/23IAQindoor/outdoor ratioreal-time monitoringindustrial area |
| spellingShingle | Annalisa Marzocca Alessia Di Gilio Genoveffa Farella Roberto Giua Gianluigi de Gennaro Indoor Air Quality Assessment and Study of Different VOC Contributions within a School in Taranto City, South of Italy Environments IAQ indoor/outdoor ratio real-time monitoring industrial area |
| title | Indoor Air Quality Assessment and Study of Different VOC Contributions within a School in Taranto City, South of Italy |
| title_full | Indoor Air Quality Assessment and Study of Different VOC Contributions within a School in Taranto City, South of Italy |
| title_fullStr | Indoor Air Quality Assessment and Study of Different VOC Contributions within a School in Taranto City, South of Italy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Indoor Air Quality Assessment and Study of Different VOC Contributions within a School in Taranto City, South of Italy |
| title_short | Indoor Air Quality Assessment and Study of Different VOC Contributions within a School in Taranto City, South of Italy |
| title_sort | indoor air quality assessment and study of different voc contributions within a school in taranto city south of italy |
| topic | IAQ indoor/outdoor ratio real-time monitoring industrial area |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/4/1/23 |
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