PM10 composition in urban and rural nursery schools in Upper Silesia, Poland: a trace elements analysis

Indoor air quality in nursery schools is an emerging public health challenge. Particular attention should be paid to younger children because they are more vulnerable to air pollution than older children. Here we present PM10 concentrations and trace element composition in naturally ventilated nursery schools located in Gliwice, Poland. The results indicate there is a problem with elevated PM10 concentrations inside the examined classrooms. The exposure of children to trace elements varied in terms of localisation and season. PM10 concentration and its trace element composition have been studied using correlation coefficients between the different trace elements, the enrichment factor (EF) and principal component analysis (PCA). PCA allowed for the identification of the three possible sources, namely: anthropogenic combustion emissions (31.1%), soil dust contaminated by sewage sludge dumping (19.9%) and mixed soil emissions (24.0%).