Marian Smoluchowski Institute of Physics, Jagiellonian University, ul. Łojasiewicza 11, 30-348, Kraków, Poland.
Department of Zoology and Animal Welfare, Faculty of Animal Science, Agricultural University of Cracow, Kraków, Poland.
Sci Rep. 2023 Oct 25;13(1):18261. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-45426-3.
A child's body is highly sensitive to air quality, especially regarding the concentration of particulate matter (PM). Nevertheless, due to the high cost of precision instruments, measurements of PM concentrations are rarely carried out in school areas where children spend most of their daily time. This paper presents the results of PM measurements made by a validated, low-cost university air pollution measurement system operating in a rural area near schools. An assessment of children's exposure to PM during school hours (8 a.m.-6 p.m.) at different times of the year was carried out. We show that PM concentrations in the air, particularly in winter, often exceeded the alert values of 50 µg m, posing a health risk to children, especially when children exercise outside the school building. We also calculated the rate and total PM deposition in the respiratory tract during various physical activities performed in clean and polluted air. Monitoring actual PM concentrations as presented in this paper, using a low cost sensors, offer school authorities and teachers an opportunity to reduce health risks for children. This can be achieved by adjusting the duration and exercise intensity of children's outdoor physical activities according to the measured air quality.
儿童的身体对空气质量高度敏感，尤其是对颗粒物（PM）的浓度。然而，由于精密仪器的成本高昂，因此很少在儿童大部分日常时间都在的学校区域进行 PM 浓度测量。本文介绍了在学校附近农村地区使用经过验证的低成本大学空气污染测量系统进行的 PM 测量结果。评估了儿童在一年中不同时间在学校上课时间（上午 8 点至下午 6 点）期间暴露于 PM 的情况。我们表明，空气中的 PM 浓度，尤其是在冬季，经常超过 50μg/m 的警报值，对儿童健康构成威胁，尤其是当儿童在学校建筑物外进行户外活动时。我们还计算了在清洁和污染空气中进行各种体育活动时，呼吸道中 PM 的沉积速率和总量。使用低成本传感器监测本文中呈现的实际 PM 浓度，为学校当局和教师提供了一个机会，可以根据空气质量降低儿童的健康风险。可以通过根据测量的空气质量调整儿童户外活动的持续时间和运动强度来实现这一目标。
