Marianne Stranger

Characterization of indoor air quality in primary schools in Antwerp, Belgium

UNLABELLED The indoor air quality of 27 primary schools located in the city centre and suburbs of Antwerp, Belgium, was assessed. The primary aim was to obtain correlations between the various pollutant levels. Indoor:outdoor ratios and the building and classroom characteristics of each school were investigated. This paper presents results on indoor and local outdoor PM2.5 mass concentrations, its elemental composition in terms of K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Br, Pb, Al, Si, S, and Cl, and its black smoke content. In addition, indoor and local outdoor levels of the gases NO2, SO2, O3, and BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylene isomers) were determined. Black smoke, NO2, SO2 and O3, occurred at indoor:outdoor ratios below unity, indicating their significant outdoor sources. No linear correlation was established between indoor and outdoor levels for PM2.5 mass concentrations and BTEX; their indoor:outdoor ratios exceeded unity except for benzene. Classroom PM2.5 occurred with a different elemental composition than local outdoor PM2.5. The re-suspension of dust because of room occupation is probably the main contributor for the I/O ratios higher than 1 reported for elements typically constituting dust particles. Finally, increased benzene concentrations were reported for classrooms located at the lower levels. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS The elevated indoor PM2.5, and BTEX concentrations in primary school classrooms, exceeding the ambient concentrations, raise concerns about possible adverse health effects on susceptible children. This is aggravated by the presence of carpets and in the case of classrooms at lower levels. Analysis of PM2.5s elemental composition indicated a considerable contribution of soil dust to indoor PM2.5 mass. In order to set adequate threshold values and guidelines, detailed information on the health impact of specific PM2.5 composites is needed. The results suggest that local outdoor air concentrations measurements do not provide an accurate estimation of childrens personal exposures to the identified air pollutants inside classrooms.

Particulate matter and gaseous pollutants in residences in Antwerp, Belgium.

This comprehensive study, a first in Flanders, Belgium, aimed at characterizing the residential indoor air quality of subgroups that took part in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS I-1991 and ECHRS II-1996) questionnaire-based asthma and related illnesses studies. This pilot study aimed at the evaluation of particulate matter and various inorganic gaseous compounds in residences in Antwerp. In addition personal exposure to the gaseous compounds of one individual per residence was assessed. The main objective was to obtain some base-line pollutant levels and compare these with studies performed in other cities, to estimate the indoor air quality in residences in Antwerp. Correlations between the various pollutant levels, indoor:outdoor ratios and the micro-environments of each residence were investigated. This paper presents results on indoor and ambient PM(1), PM(2.5) and PM(10) mass concentrations, its elemental composition in terms of K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Br, Pb, Al, Si, S and Cl and the water-soluble ionic concentrations in terms of SO(4)(2-), NO(3)(2-), Cl(-), NH(4)(+) K(+), Ca(2+). In addition, indoor, ambient and personal exposure levels of the gases NO2, SO2, and O3 were determined. Elevated indoor:outdoor ratios were found for NO2 in residences containing gas stoves. In smokers houses increased PM concentrations of 58 and 43% were found for the fine and coarse fractions respectively. Contrary to the fact that all I/O ratios of the registered elements in each individual house were significantly correlated to each other, no correlation could be established between the I/O ratios of the different houses, thus indicating a unique micro-environment for each residence. Linear relationships between the particulate matter elemental composition, SO2 and O3 levels indoors and outdoors could be established. No linear relationships between indoor and outdoor NO2 and particulate mass concentrations were found.

Test chamber investigation of the volatilization from source materials of brominated flame retardants and their subsequent deposition to indoor dust

UNLABELLED Numerous studies have reported elevated concentrations of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in dust from indoor micro-environments. Limited information is available, however, on the pathways via which BFRs in source materials transfer to indoor dust. The most likely hypothesized pathways are (a) volatilization from the source with subsequent partitioning to dust, (b) abrasion of the treated product, transferring microscopic fibers or particles to the dust (c) direct uptake to dust via contact between source and dust. This study reports the development and application of an in-house test chamber for investigating BFR volatilization from source materials and subsequent partitioning to dust. The performance of the chamber was evaluated against that of a commercially available chamber, and inherent issues with such chambers were investigated, such as loss due to sorption of BFRs to chamber surfaces (so-called sink effects). The partitioning of polybrominated diphenyl ethers to dust, post-volatilization from an artificial source was demonstrated, while analysis in the test chamber of a fabric curtain treated with the hexabromocyclododecane formulation, resulted in dust concentrations exceeding substantially those detected in the dust pre-experiment. These results provide the first experimental evidence of BFR volatilization followed by deposition to dust. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are ubiquitous in indoor air and dust, leading to human exposure and resultant concerns about their adverse impact on health. Indoor dust has been demonstrated to constitute an important vector of human exposure to BFRs, especially for toddlers. Despite the greater importance of dust contamination in the context of human exposure to BFRs, the mechanisms via which BFRs transfer from source materials to dust have hitherto been subject to only limited research. In this study, a test chamber is utilized to simulate the migration of BFRs to dust via volatilization from source materials and subsequent deposition to dust.

The Human Side of Ecodesign from the Perspective of Change Management

The necessity for new insights regarding industrial ecodesign implementation is leading to an increase of interest for scientific knowledge from other disciplines which may provide such new insights. Research on success factors and obstacles for these introduction processes show the significance of the internal value chain of companies, in which human factors seem to play a significant role. A potentially contributing discipline in this field of the ‘human side’ of ecodesign is change management. This paper describes several aspects of change management; a cross-linking between the two latter disciplines is made. This leads to the formulation of several propositions, which might serve as a starting point for further research on this topic.

Elemental and ionic concentrations in the urban aerosol in Antwerp, Belgium.

Abstract The results of a study of the elemental and ionic composition of the ambient aerosol in and around Antwerp are presented. Four sampling campaigns were performed, covering all seasons. The samples were obtained by filtration and impaction methods. Subsequently, the filters were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry for elements, and the impactor substrates were leached with water and analyzed by ion chromatography for ions. When comparing the results of the chemical analysis with the meteorological information, it was found that the concentration of certain elements and ions in aerosol samples was affected considerably by the location of the sampling site and by the meteorological conditions. In relatively less polluted places like small towns and rural regions around Antwerp, the concentrations of some elements and ions showed qualitatively a positive or negative correlation in their time variations with the amount of precipitation. Hence, we suppose that in the first case these elements and ions are contained mainly in the more hygroscopic fraction (the most apparent is the behavior of Na and Cl), and that in the second case, the elements are mainly present in the less hygroscopic fraction of the ambient aerosol. However, this behavior of the elements and ions may be different for various particle size ranges. In the highly urbanized and industrial sites close to the central and industrial parts of Antwerp, these correlations were not found. This could be connected with the high and variable local aerosol generation rate, when only heavy rains are able to provide a sufficient removal of the aerosols from the atmosphere.