PM2.5 in Urban and Rural Nursery Schools in Upper Silesia, Poland: Trace Elements Analysis

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Anna Mainka²  Elwira Zajusz-Zubek²  Konrad Kaczmarek³  Gary Adamkiewicz¹ 

[1] Department of Air Protection, Silesian University of Technology, 22B Konarskiego St., Gliwice 44-100, Poland; E-Mail;Department of Air Protection, Silesian University of Technology, 22B Konarskiego St., Gliwice 44-100, Poland; E-Mail:;Institute of Mathematics, Silesian University of Technology, 23 Kaszubska St., Gliwice 44-100, Poland; E-Mail:

关键词: indoor air quality;    children;    PM_2.5;    trace elements;    enrichment factor (EF);    principal component analysis (PCA);   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph120707990

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Indoor air quality (IAQ) in nursery schools is an emerging public health challenge. Particular attention should be paid to younger children, because they are more vulnerable to air pollution than older children. Among air pollutants, fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) is of the greatest interest mainly due to its strong association with acute and chronic effects on children’s health. In this paper, we present concentrations of PM_2.5 and the composition of its trace elements at naturally ventilated nursery schools located in the area of Gliwice, Poland. The nursery schools were selected to characterize areas with different degrees of urbanization and traffic densities during the winter and spring seasons. The results indicate there is a problem with elevated concentrations of PM_2.5 inside the examined classrooms. The children’s exposure to trace elements was different based on localization and season. PM_2.5 concentration and its trace element composition have been studied using correlation coefficients between the different trace elements, the enrichment factor (EF) and principal component analysis (PCA). PCA allowed the identification of the three components: anthropogenic and geogenic sources (37.2%), soil dust contaminated by sewage sludge dumping (18.6%) and vehicular emissions (19.5%).

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.