THESIS
2015
xiii, 122 leaves : illustrations (chiefly color), color maps ; 30 cm
Abstract
Children are more susceptible to polluted air than adults. It is essential to maintain a good
indoor air quality (IAQ) at school areas, where school-aged children normally stay for around
6-8 hours per day. Numerous studies have already revealed the close association between
deteriorated IAQ and poorer children’s respiratory health and/or lung function growth.
Moreover, the prevalence of sick building syndromes (SBSs) has been repeatedly linked to
the poor IAQ, resulting in the declining academic performances of the students. Nevertheless,
academic researches on local educational center’s IAQ are limited and outdated. The present
study aims at widening the understanding of the attributes on air quality in local primary
schools. A 2.5-years air quality measurement campaign was co...[
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Children are more susceptible to polluted air than adults. It is essential to maintain a good
indoor air quality (IAQ) at school areas, where school-aged children normally stay for around
6-8 hours per day. Numerous studies have already revealed the close association between
deteriorated IAQ and poorer children’s respiratory health and/or lung function growth.
Moreover, the prevalence of sick building syndromes (SBSs) has been repeatedly linked to
the poor IAQ, resulting in the declining academic performances of the students. Nevertheless,
academic researches on local educational center’s IAQ are limited and outdated. The present
study aims at widening the understanding of the attributes on air quality in local primary
schools. A 2.5-years air quality measurement campaign was conducted in 20 local primary
schools from July 2012 to November 2014, covering both the cold and hot seasons.
The seasonal variations and the indoor–to-outdoor relationships were investigated. A clear
seasonal difference was exhibited by particulate matters (PMs), CO
2 and airborne bacteria.
The winter fine suspended particle (FSP) concentrations in local primary schools’ classrooms
were found around twice of those in summer measurements. In contrast, a low indoor to
outdoor ratio (I/O ratio) of 0.39 was obtained for O
3 among school measurements in both
seasons. In the absence of characteristic pollutant sources, ambient air plays as an important
role on local school’s air quality. The school measurement results were found closely
associated with those at the closest general air monitoring stations managed by the HKEPD.
A clear north-south spatial difference on the O
3 level was also identified among the studied
schools after a standardization process on seasonal variations. Besides, indoor traffic-related
pollutants, ultrafine particles (UFP) and NO
2, were 30-50% higher among schools close to
busy motorways. Among the studied schools in this study, the traffic impacts were mainly
affected by the vehicles within 250 m. And the traffic impacts were obvious among
classrooms that are more proximal to the major motorways. The use of air-conditioning in hot
summers limits the fresh air supply in classroom (Mean = 7.5 L/s.person), leading to a strong
association of a high level of summer indoor CO
2 (> 1000 ppmv) and airborne bacteria (>
1000 cfu/m
3) in the classrooms in the present study.
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