particulate matter

Recently, studies have shown that the classroom environment is very important for students' health and performance. Thus, the evaluation of indoor air quality (IAQ) in a classroom is necessary to ensure students' well-being. In this paper the emphasis is on airborne concentration of particulate matter (PM) in adult education rooms. The mass concentration of PM10 particulates was measured in two classrooms under different ventilation methods in the University of Reading, UK, during the winter period of 2008.

Particulate matter is a complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets. It is a diversepollutant class whose excessive presence in indoor air contributes to an array of adverse health andmaterial-damage effects. The size of particles is directly linked to their potential for causing healthproblems.

The indoor air quality management of the public places is gaining wide attention in Korea, because theindoor air quality of the public places are obliged to satisfy the guidelines suggested by Korean Ministryof Environment. According to this regulation, the railroad stations are regarded as public places whilethe passenger cabin of train is excluded. However, because the passengers spend more time in thepassenger cabin than in the stations, the indoor air quality management of the passenger cabin is moreimportant.

The provision of a healthy and satisfactorily clean indoor environment requires that consideration be given to a range of issues, such as the type of indoor environment, indoor and outdoor sources, indoor activity and others. The selection of relevant measures to achieve the required indoor air quality (IAQ) depends on knowledge and understanding of the mechanisms and parameters affecting the concentration levels indoors.

Epidemiological studies suggest that cooking with gas leads to an increase of air pollutants and may enhance symptoms of respiratory diseases. However, little experimental data are available concerning the emission of pollutants due to different cooking processes. The goal of this study was to investigate the influence of cooking under standardized conditions on the indoor air quality. A model kitchen was built and three different gas stoves and one electric stove were included in the study. Two different menus were prepared with different settings of the ventilation rate of the exhaust.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has collected extensive indoor air quality data in 100 randomly selected office buildings following a standardized protocol developed for the Building Assessment Survey and Evaluation (BASE) study. These data were collected to provide normative data in typical office buildings for various uses including: a) basis for making policy and guidance development; b) hypothesis development and testing; c) input into risk assessments and environmental models; and, d) comparison of complaint buildings to "typical" building stock.