School air quality and thermal comfort: a multi-pollutant seasonal assessment

As evidence of children's vulnerability to air pollution grows, research on school air quality has increased significantly in the 21st century. Given the complex factors influencing indoor and outdoor air quality in schools, each study offers valuable insights. This study contributes by assessing particulate matter, gaseous pollutants, thermal comfort, and microorganisms in a large school encompassing different education levels over two seasons. The assessment combined passive and continuous sampling using various techniques, including chromatography and estimations of air change and ventilation rates. Classroom ventilation was insufficient to ensure adequate air renewal. During class hours, CO2 concentrations ranged from 760 to 1,118 ppm in winter and from 807 to 1,022 ppm in spring, repeatedly exceeding 1,000 ppm. CO2 and PM10 concentrations were significantly higher during school hours than when the classrooms were empty, indicating the strong influence of school activities. In contrast, PM1 and PM2.5 concentrations were more influenced by external factors, especially outside of school hours. The lack of thermal comfort created an unhealthy environment. Carbonyl concentrations were higher in classrooms (average: 68.8 μg m−3) compared to the schoolyard (3.86 μg m−3), in both seasons. Microbial analysis revealed the presence of fungi with toxigenic potential, with the highest fungal diversity observed in spring. These findings highlight that while some pollutant levels may appear low, they can occasionally reach extremely high levels, even in newer buildings. The novelty of this research lies in demonstrating that, despite recent improvements and numerous studies, significant progress is still needed to ensure healthier school settings.

Description

The authors would especially like to thank the school principal and teachers, who have willingly participated in this study. The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) to CESAM (UID Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar UID/50006 + LA/P/0094/2020, doi.org/10.54499/LA/P/0094/2020), through national funds, and to the PhD fellows I. Charres (DOI: 10.54499/2022.12142.BD), L. Furst (DOI: 10.54499/2020.08461.BD), and M. Soares (2023.04826.BD). FCT is also acknowledged for the research contract under Scientific Employment Stimulus to Estela D. Vicente (DOI: 10.54499/2022.00399.CEECIND/CP1720/CT0012). This work was performed within the project: Source drivers of (eco) Toxicity of airborne Particles in school environments in Estarreja: Strategies for minimising the risks (STOP) – funded by the LabEx-DRIIHM-OHM programme (CNRS – INEE, France). H&TRC authors gratefully acknowledge the FCT/MCTES national support through the UIDB/05608/2020 and UIDP/05608/2020.

Keywords

School children Indoor air Air quality Particulate matter Gaseous pollutants Bioburden Elementary school FCT_UIDB/05608/2020 FCT_UIDP/05608/2020

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.21/22338

Citation

Charres I, Furst L, Vicente ED, Viegas C, Cervantes R, Pena P, et al. School air quality and thermal comfort: A multi-pollutant seasonal assessment. J Build Eng. 2025;113:113997.