Title: | Evaluation of air quality in indoor and outdoor environments: Impact of anti-COVID-19 measures |
Author(s): | Ninya N; Vallecillos L; Marce RM; Borrull F; |
Address: | "Department of Analytical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Sescelades Campus, Marcel?O+li Domingo, 1, Tarragona 43007, Spain. Department of Analytical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Sescelades Campus, Marcel?O+li Domingo, 1, Tarragona 43007, Spain. Electronic address: francesc.borrull@urv.cat" |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155611 |
ISSN/ISBN: | 1879-1026 (Electronic) 0048-9697 (Print) 0048-9697 (Linking) |
Abstract: | "This study monitors the presence of 88 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semi-volatile organic compounds (semi-VOCs) at the gas phase of seven indoor settings in a school in the city of Tarragona, Spain, and five outdoor locations around the city. The VOCs and semi-VOCs monitored were solvents ( summation operatorSolvents), aldehydes ( summation operatorAldehydes), emerging organic compounds ( summation operatorEOCs), and other VOCs and semi-VOCs ( summation operatorOthers). Passive sampling campaigns were performed using Carbopack X tubes followed by thermal desorption coupled to gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS). Overall, 70 of the target compounds included in the method were determined in the indoor air samples analysed, and 42 VOCs and semi-VOCs in the outdoor air samples. Our results showed that solvents were ubiquitous throughout the school at concentrations ranging from 272 mug m(-3) to 423 mug m(-3) and representing 68%-83% of total target compounds ( summation operatorTotal). The values of summation operatorTotal in 2021 were three times as high as those observed at the same indoor settings in 2019, with solvents experiencing the greatest increase. A plausible explanation for these observations is the implementation of anti-COVID-19 measures in the indoor settings, such as the intensification of cleaning activities and the use of hydroalcoholic gels as personal hygiene. The summation operatorTotal values observed in the indoor settings evaluated were twenty times higher than those found outdoors. summation operatorSolvents were the most representative compounds found indoors (74% of the summation operatorTotal). The concentrations of VOCs and semi-VOCs observed in the outdoors were strictly related to combustion processes from automobile traffic and industrial activities, with summation operatorOthers contributing 58%, summation operatorSolvents 31%, and summation operatorAldehydes 11% of the summation operatorTotal. EOCs, on the other hand, were not detected in any outdoor sample" |
Keywords: | "*Air Pollutants/analysis *Air Pollution/analysis *Air Pollution, Indoor/analysis Aldehydes/analysis Environmental Monitoring/methods Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Solvents/analysis *Volatile Organic Compounds/analysis Air quality Impact of anti-COV;" |
Notes: | "MedlineNinya, Nicole Vallecillos, Laura Marce, Rosa Maria Borrull, Francesc eng Netherlands 2022/05/04 Sci Total Environ. 2022 Aug 25; 836:155611. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155611. Epub 2022 May 2" |