Effects of Air Cleaners and School Characteristics on Classroom Concentrations of Particulate Matter in 34 Elementary Schools in Korea

Details

• Personal Author:
  Jo YM ; Lee TJ ; Oh H ; Park MJ ; Park, Ju-Hyeong
• Description:
  Exposure to particulate matter (PM) in school environments has been associated with respiratory illnesses among children. Although using air cleaners was reported to reduce PM exposure and improve residents' health in homes, their effects in classrooms are not well understood. We examined how the use of air cleaners in classrooms and school/classroom characteristics affect the levels of indoor PM. Our environmental study included 102 classrooms from 34 elementary schools located on the mainland peninsula and an island in Korea. Indoor and outdoor PM were monitored simultaneously with portable aerosol spectrometers, and indoor gravimetric PM levels were measured with low volume, size-selective samplers during the class hours. Correlations among PM measurements were computed and final multiple regression models for indoor PM were constructed with a model building procedure. Correlation between indoor and outdoor PM2.5 (PM < 2.5 microm in aerodynamic diameter) was higher (r = 0.78, p < 0.01) than that of PM10 (PM < 10 microm) (r = 0.49, p < 0.01). School location, classroom occupant density, and ambient PM levels significantly (p-values<0.05) affected classroom PM concentrations. The adjusted PM levels in classrooms using air cleaners were significantly (p-values<0.01) lower by approximately 35% than in classrooms not using them. However, air cleaners appeared to remove PM2.5 more effectively than PM10, perhaps because coarse particles settle more rapidly than fine particles on surfaces, or their resuspension and generation rate by occupants exceeds the removal rate by air cleaners. Our study suggests that routine cleaning to remove surface dust along with the use of air cleaners might be required to effectively reduce occupants' exposure in classrooms. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Education Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Spectrum Analysis
• Keywords:
  Aerosol Sampling Airborne Particles Air Cleaner Air Cleaning Author Keywords: Particulate Matter Children Classroom Cleaning Exposure Assessment Gravimetric Analysis IAQ Indoor Air Quality Outdoors Particulates Regression Analysis Respiratory System Disorders School Spectrographic Analysis

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• ISSN:
  0360-1323
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  RHD - Respiratory Health Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  167
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20057508
• Citation:
  Build Environ 2020 Jan; 167:106437
• Contact Point Address:
  Ju-Hyeong Park, Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
• Email:
  gzp8@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Building and Environment
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:106d2cb8670a18c46d5d6bfce96c2ea8fc6e914a10208d5a7642adda5251eac3dbe3c007f280576d3c1febf4b7ba1fe85dbbe5a05b72c3b1adaf588ec03d328f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/214846/cdc_214846_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.22 MB ]