Search results for " Air quality"

COVID-19 Pandemic and Reduced Physical Activity: Is There an Impact on Healthy and Asthmatic Children?

2021

Physical activity (PA) has been seen to improve asthma symptoms, lung function, and quality of life, as well as to reduce airway inflammation and bronchial responsiveness. As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the minimal amount of PA recommended by the World Health Organization—i.e., about 60 min/day of moderate-to-high intensity—is difficult to achieve for many children, particularly those living in urban areas. Short-term changes in PA because of the COVID-19 pandemic may become habitual, increasing the risk of adverse asthma outcomes in children. Indeed, prolonged home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic reduces PA levels and increases sedentary behaviors, possibly impairing i…

Indoor air quality in schools of a highly polluted south Mediterranean area

2019

This study aimed at surveying lower secondary schools in southern Italy, in a highly polluted area. A community close to an industrial area and three villages in rural areas was investigated. Indoor temperature, relative humidity (RH), gaseous pollutants (CO 2 and NO 2 ), selected biological pollutants in indoor dust, and the indoor/outdoor mass concentration and elemental composition of PM 2.5 were ascertained. Temperature and RH were within, or close to, the comfort range, while CO 2 frequently exceeded the threshold of 1000 ppm, indicating inadequate air exchange rate. In all the classrooms, median NO 2 levels were above the WHO threshold value. Dermatophagoides p. allergen concentration…

Unconventional Reducing Gases Monitoring in Everyday Places

2017

Abstract Air pollution, be it indoors or outdoors, is a major environmental health concern as it can lead to serious health effects, such as respiratory diseases, including asthma and lung cancer. Much progress has been made in Europe in improving outdoor air quality and limit values have been set for several pollutants. However, indoor air quality also requires attention because this is where we spend most of our time. Measurements at appropriate spatial and temporal scales are essential for understanding and monitoring heterogeneous environments with complex and highly variable emission sources, such as in urban areas. However, the costs and complexity of conventional air quality measurem…

Air quality and relative humidity in commercial aircrafts: an experimental investigation on short-haul domestic flights

2013

Abstract Nowadays the achievement of a comfortable environment in aircraft cabins is a factor of paramount importance in air travel business competition; on the other hand, the need of reducing the propulsion fuel cost has driven the airline companies to adopt air handling systems that may reduce the levels of thermal comfort and air quality inside the cabins of commercial airliners. With the aim of contributing to a better knowledge of this matter, this paper reports the results of an experimental study upon the indoor air quality aboard commercial aircrafts for 14 domestic flights less than 1 h and half long. The parameters monitored were temperature, relative humidity and carbon dioxide …

Ventilation Rates and Unsatisfied Percentage from Indoor CO2 Concentration

2010

This work reports the results of a survey carried out on a hall in a historic building in Palermo (Italy) with the aim of assessing the air quality by means of objective measurement of carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration and its subjective evaluation through a questionnaire. The measured values of CO2 concentration were compared with those evaluated using the Meckler equation under steady-state conditions, having verified necessary parameters such as the constancy of the indoor and outdoor CO2 levels and the uniformity of the CO 2 generation rate for all the occupants. The positive correspondence between measured and calculated results allowed us to utilise, under differing circumstances, t…

A comparative study on the quality of air in offices and homes.

2013

The main purpose of this study was to collect data on some of the factors that contribute to indoor air quality and to discomfort, in order to take the proper actions that can reduce the level of air pollution within houses and offices. To ascertain the contamination degree total bacterial counts, total fungal counts, suspended particulate matter, air temperature, and relative humidity have been determined. Additionally, mathematical statistical models have been elaborated for the total bacterial count, respirable particulate matter and humidity. A total number of 40 indoor air samples were collected from office and houses. The results shows that approximately 45% of the air samples from ho…

The Effects of Pandemic Restrictions on Public Health-Improvements in Urban Air Quality.

2022

The present study aims to provide evidence on the effects of pandemic curtailment measures on public health, targeting the changes in breathable air quality, within urban areas. The analyzed period covers the full impact of lockdowns in Europe in 2020. We used everyday data for each analyzed pollutant, NO2, SO2, CO, PM2.5 and PM10, from urban monitoring stations that provided real-time concentrations (provided by Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, Environmental Protection Agency repository and European Environment Agency map services) and satellite data (provided by NASA Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2). In the present study, the urban air quality was computed using a composite index t…

Assessment of ventilation equipment of groups of building by means of IAQ questionnaires

1995

Influence of greenhouse different coverings on chemical and physical risk factors

2005

Crop production in greenhouses needs the use of chemicals and requires high levels of temperature and relative humidity to assure the increasing of crop production. This can cause risks for the health of the operators, especially if they are not equipped with protection devices. The risks may also vary with the type and/or size and/or shape of the protected structures. In order to determine the influence of different coverings on type and amount of risks, chemical and physical risk factors were measured inside greenhouses with different cladding materials (glass panels and plastic films) after crop management. In these two different greenhouses typologies, that were similar for location and…

Indoor Comfort in School Buildings: The Case Study of Palermo

2014

Buildings primary energy consumption in developed countries accounts for about 40% of whole uses. Therefore, the European Union has released many regulations, concerning energy saving issues; particularly, it has enacted Directive 2002/91/EC regarding the energy performance of buildings, and its Recast Directive 2010/31/EU, that promotes the Nearly Zero Energy Building targets, introducing more strict parameters in this aim. Furthermore, the latter Directive asks Member States to include within their national plans measures aimed at supporting public authorities to become early adopters of building energy efficiency improvements. In the same time, Public Authorities should implement effecti…