Indoor air quality assessment and study of different VOC contributions within a school in Taranto City, South of Italy

Abstract

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.