Indoor air quality in primary schools

Abstract

Nowadays, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is a subject of high importance due the several studies that were conducted in the past years and which revealed the impact of poor IAQ upon on schools, such as students' absence and acute health symptoms that decrease students' performance. The IAQ in classrooms is expected to play a key role in the assessment of the effects of the children's personal exposure to air pollution since they spend on average 7-11h per weekday at school. A statistical treatment was conducted over a database of indoor air parameters and the primary schools where these parameters were sampled (Urban area of Lisbon, Portugal). The aim of this study was to assess the associations between indoor air parameters (measured inside classrooms of primary schools) with the schools building characteristics, through the use of statistical methods. Several associations were found. Overall, the conclusions of this study point to the following recommendations: 1) classrooms should face streets rather than patios and should not be located in basements, 2) the density of students can affect the indoor environment and should be limited, 3) wooden materials appear to have advantages as building materials due to a lower input of contaminants. Other factors, like ventilation, cleanings and use chalk versus whiteboard pens, can reduce or increase specific contaminants inside the classrooms.