Indoor Air Quality at an Urban Primary School in Madrid (Spain): Influence of Surrounding Environment and Occupancy

Elisabeth Alonso-Blanco (), Francisco Javier Gómez-Moreno, Elías Díaz-Ramiro, Marcos Barreiro, Javier Fernández, Ibai Figuero, Alejandro Rubio-Juan, Jesús Miguel Santamaría and Begoña Artíñano
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Elisabeth Alonso-Blanco: Center for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research (CIEMAT), Avenida Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Francisco Javier Gómez-Moreno: Center for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research (CIEMAT), Avenida Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Elías Díaz-Ramiro: Center for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research (CIEMAT), Avenida Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Marcos Barreiro: Center for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research (CIEMAT), Avenida Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Javier Fernández: Center for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research (CIEMAT), Avenida Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Ibai Figuero: Center for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research (CIEMAT), Avenida Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Alejandro Rubio-Juan: Regional Center for Animal Selection and Reproduction (CERSYRA), Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of Castilla-La Mancha, Avenida del Vino, 2, 13300 Valdepeñas, Spain
Jesús Miguel Santamaría: Biodiversity and Environment Institute (BIOMA), Universidad de Navarra, Irunlarrea No. 1, 31008 Pamplona, Spain
Begoña Artíñano: Center for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research (CIEMAT), Avenida Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 10, 1-22

Abstract: Monitoring indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools is critical because children spend most of their daytime inside. One of the main air pollutant sources in urban areas is road traffic, which greatly influences air quality. Thus, this study addresses, in depth, the linkages of meteorology, ambient air pollution, and indoor activities with IAQ in a traffic-influenced school situated south of Madrid. The measurement period was from 22 November to 21 December 2017. Simultaneous measurements of indoor and outdoor PM 1 , PM 2.5 , and PM 10 mass concentrations, ultrafine particle number concentration (PNC) and equivalent black carbon (eBC) were analyzed under different meteorological conditions. PNC and eBC outdoor concentrations and their temporal trend were similar among the sampling points, with all sites being influenced in the same way by traffic emissions. Strong correlations were found between indoor and outdoor concentrations, indicating that indoor pollution levels were significantly affected by outdoor sources. Especially, PNC and eBC had the same indoor/outdoor (I/O) trend, but indoor concentrations were lower. The time delay in indoor vs. outdoor concentrations varied between 0.5 and 2 h, depending on wind speed. Significant differences were found between different meteorological conditions (ANOVA p -values < 2.14 × 10 −6 ). Atmospheric stability periods led to an increase in indoor and outdoor pollutant levels. However, the highest I/O ratios were found during atmospheric instability, especially for eBC (an average of 1.2). This might be related to rapid changes in the outdoor air concentrations induced by meteorology. Significant variations were observed in indoor PM 10 concentrations during classroom occupancy (up to 230 µg m −3 ) vs. non-occupancy (up to 19 µg m −3 ) days, finding levels higher than outdoor ones. This was attributed to the scholarly activities in the classroom. Conversely, PNC and eBC concentrations only increased when the windows of the classroom were open. These findings have helped to establish practical recommendations and measures for improving the IAQ in this school and those of similar characteristics.

Keywords: indoor air quality; indoor/outdoor ratio; primary school; black carbon; ultrafine particle number concentration; particulate matter (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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