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Characterization of the indoor particles and their sources in an Antarctic research station

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Abstract

Many studies have been carried out on the environmental impact of the research stations on the Antarctic continent. However, the assessment of indoor air quality in these confined environments has been neglected. The main objectives of this study are to investigate the granulometric distribution of the indoor particles in the different compartments of the Brazilian Antarctic Station, to examine the number and mass concentration of the indoor particles, to conduct chemical and morphological analyses of the indoor PM2.5, and to identify the possible sources of the PM. The results showed that Na, K, Cl, Fe, Zn, S and Si were the main elements detected. High levels of black carbon were recorded in the workshop, which may be associated with the use of diesel vehicles. To identify the human activities related to the indoor particle emission in the station, the size distribution of the particles in the living room was monitored for seven consecutive days, during normal station operation. It was possible to identify the influence of individual processes, such as incineration, cooking and the movement of people, upon the particle size number concentration. The indoor/outdoor (I/O) ratio for the total suspended particles (TSP), PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 measured was significantly larger than those reported for urban buildings. In general, the I/O ratio distribution for all the compartments shows peak values between 2.5 and 10 μm, which is often related to human activity, such as cleaning, personnel circulation or clothing surfaces. The maximum I/O ratio at this range varied from 12 to 60. In addition, the compartments affected by combustion processes tend to present a significant number of submicron particles.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the FAPES/CNPQ PRONEX, CAPES, INCT-APA, PROANTAR and FINEP, for financial or equipment support, and the Brazilian Navy and Air Force for their logistical support. We would like to dedicate this work to the memory of Sargent Roberto Lopes dos Santos and Soldier Carlos Alberto Vieira Figueiredo, who both died in their heroic attempts to control the fire at the Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station in February 2012.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Av. Fernando Ferrari 514, 29.060-910, Vitória, ES, Brazil

    Érica Coelho Pagel, Neyval Costa Reis Jr. & Jane Méri Santos

  2. Department of Architecture and Urbanism, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Av. Fernando Ferrari 514, 29.060-910, Vitória, ES, Brazil

    Érica Coelho Pagel & Cristina Engel de Alvarez

  3. Instituto Federal do Espírito Santo, IFES, Av. Vitória 1729, 29.040-780, Vitória, ES, Brazil

    Melina Moreira Conti & Ricardo Salvador Boldrini

  4. Institute of Physics, Universidade de São Paulo, P O Box 66318, 05314-970, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Américo Sansigolo Kerr

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  1. Érica Coelho Pagel
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  2. Neyval Costa Reis Jr.
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  3. Cristina Engel de Alvarez
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Correspondence to Érica Coelho Pagel.

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Pagel, É.C., Costa Reis, N., de Alvarez, C.E. et al. Characterization of the indoor particles and their sources in an Antarctic research station. Environ Monit Assess 188, 167 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-016-5172-z

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