A Comparative Study on Concentrations of Indoor and Outdoor Particulate Matters in Elementary Schools

Elementary school students spend a lot of time in a school and are more exposed to indoor air pollution. Also the students are physically growing and have a relatively high respiratory rate per unit weight compared to adults, so it is known that there is a high sensitivity to indoor air pollution. Therefore, indoor air quality in a school is becoming an important factor for the student's health. In this study, a correlation analysis using levels of indoor and outdoor Particulate Matter (PM) measured from five elementary schools in Seoul was performed to evaluate the effect of outdoor PM on indoor PM. PM ratio and indoor/outdoor (I/O) ratio were also analyzed to investigate the actual condition of indoor air quality and effect of outdoor PM on indoor PM. As a result, the correlation between indoor and outdoor PM in elementary school was more significant in PM2.5 and PM1 than PM10. In the case of I/O ratio, the I/O ratio of PM10 was higher than that of 1 in four elementary schools except SD (BB:2.21, NS: 1.67, IS: 1.73, SI: 1.17). This indicates that the activity of students has a great effect on the concentration of indoor PM10.