Evaluation of air quality in conditioned indoor and outdoor environments of a university in São Carlos/SP

• Grant number: 13/00700-2
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: May 01, 2013
• End date: April 30, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Mônica Lopes Aguiar
• Grantee: Mônica Lopes Aguiar
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Wiclef Dymurgo Marra Junior

Abstract

Over the last decades, a great deal of research has been conducted about indoor air quality (IAQ), however there is a lack of Brazilian rules on the subject and the few ones are specific to environments with mechanical ventilation. Classrooms had special attention from researchers because it was proved that high occupation rates in addition to poor ventilation rates and bad building maintenance contribute to poor air quality, affecting the teachers' and students' health. In this context, particulate matter in its respirable fractions (PM10 and PM2,5), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have to be examined to avoid deleterious effects. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the parameter concentrations inside classrooms with mechanical ventilation in Federal University of São Carlos as well as in the outdoor environment next to them, providing data for the comparison between these locations and the specific legislation for indoor and outdoor environments. The choice of this university was due to its location on Washington Luís Highway, with intense vehicular traffic, and to its proximity to two chemical industries, one of them produces paints and solvents and the other produces paper and packaging, whose particulate matter and gaseous emissions could affect the air quality in the surroundings. Besides the parameters mentioned, levels of temperature and relative humidity, occupancy and ventilation rates of classrooms are also evaluated in this study. (AU)