Identification of representative pollutants in multiple locations of an Italian school using solid phase micro extraction technique

Background: Good indoor air quality is crucial for teachers and students attendance, performance, and health. Limited information is available as regards typical volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) found in school indoor air. It is urgent to find out which are the main atmospheric pollutants to which students and staff are exposed. Objectives: The aim of this study was to screen, speciate, and identify the school indoor and outdoor VOCs and, for the very first time, SVOCs, in order to find out the most representative airborne model pollutants. Methods: Solid phase micro extraction technique (SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were used to sample and analyse air of 16 school locations. Results: A very high number (119) of school airborne contaminants have been identified. They may have both an indoor and an outdoor origin. Pollutants with a clear indoor source, such as 2-butoxy-ethanol, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, terpenes and terpenoids, butylated-hydroxytoluene, lilial, benzaldehyde, and phthalates, are highly eligible markers of the indoor air pollution. Even if none of them are carcinogenic or mutagenic, they play a role in the arising of the sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms. Conclusions: Since many of the airborne pollutants have indoor sources, adequate ventilation can prevent excess indoor exposure to pollutants only if the outdoor pollutant levels are low; the most effective way to reduce exposure is to eliminate their origins. SPME is a highly eligible sampling technique for pollutants speciation in surveillance programs. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.