Intercomparison of Indoor and Outdoor Pollen Concentrations in Rural and Suburban Research Workplaces

Armando Pelliccioni, Virginia Ciardini, Andrea Lancia, Simona Di Renzi, Maria Antonia Brighetti, Alessandro Travaglini, Pasquale Capone and Maria Concetta D’Ovidio
Additional contact information
Armando Pelliccioni: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), Monte Porzio Catone, 00078 Rome, Italy
Virginia Ciardini: Laboratory of Observations and Measures for the Environment and Climate, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), 00123 Rome, Italy
Andrea Lancia: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), Monte Porzio Catone, 00078 Rome, Italy
Simona Di Renzi: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), Monte Porzio Catone, 00078 Rome, Italy
Maria Antonia Brighetti: Department of Biology, Tor Vergata University, 00173 Rome, Italy
Alessandro Travaglini: Department of Biology, Tor Vergata University, 00173 Rome, Italy
Pasquale Capone: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), Monte Porzio Catone, 00078 Rome, Italy
Maria Concetta D’Ovidio: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), Monte Porzio Catone, 00078 Rome, Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 16, 1-18

Abstract: Pollen exposure in occupational settings involves different categories of workers. In this paper the effects of diurnal pollen variations have been evaluated in two sites characterized by different vegetation and urbanization: the suburban site of Tor Vergata (TV) and the rural site of Monte Porzio Catone (MPC). Aerobiological and meteorological monitoring was performed in the two sites during the winter of 2017. The data analysis focuses on the comparison between pollen concentrations observed in relation to meteorological variables. In general, it can be stated that the indoor and outdoor dynamics for MPC and TV are different, with the outdoor concentration of pollen for MPC always higher than for TV, in accordance with significant presence of vegetation. The high nocturnal peaks detected in MPC and completely absent in TV could be caused by the presence of particular conditions of stagnation combined with greater emissions from the pollen sources. Furthermore the higher I/O ratio observed during the working hours in TV compared to MPC could be ascribed to the workers’ behavior. Exposure to pollen can be responsible for several health effects and the knowledge of its level can be useful to improve the evaluation and management of this biological risk.

Keywords: pollen; aerobiology; allergens; indoor; outdoor; occupational health; daily patterns; hourly peaks; meteorological parameters; monitoring (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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