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Seasonal Variation, Sources, and Health Risk Assessment of Indoor/Outdoor BTEX at Nursery Schools in Hanoi, Vietnam

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Abstract

There is an increasing research interest in indoor air quality at schools as children who are among the most sensitive to air pollution spend a lot of time indoors. This study aims to estimate BTEX levels, sources, and assess their health risk at ten preschools in Hanoi, Vietnam. Two sampling campaigns were conducted in November and December, 2017, and May and June, 2018, with a total of 80 samples collected. BTEX were sampled by mini air samplers, and the analysis was performed by using GC/MS. During class, indoor concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene were within the range of 1.22–6.01, 1.6–63.4, 0.94–6.34, and 0.86–3.52 μg m−3, while corresponding values obtained in the absence of children were 1.62–6.90, 1.20–125.3, 0.58–25.1, and 0.60–6.65 μg m−3, respectively. Indoor/outdoor ratios of BTEX varied from school to school, and ranged from 0.4 to 14.2, implying the presence of indoor emission sources. Insignificant indoor sources of benzene were found in all examined schools, whereas there were sources of toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes, probably associated with paint’s solvents, glues, and cleaning agents. Outdoor BTEX originated from the common sources, being mainly composed of automobile traffic. There was insignificant cancer and non-carcinogenic risk to children at the monitored preschools, with LCR values within the range of 0.059–6.6 × 10−5, and HQ values below 0.31. Monte Carlo simulation revealed that indoor and outdoor concentrations of BTEX influenced the most the results on lifetime cancer risk for indoors and outdoors, with a typical contribution of more than 90% to LCR variance.

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Funding

This research is funded by Vietnam National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) under grant number 104.99-2016.67.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. VNU-Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials for Greem Growth, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Science, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, 19 Le Thanh Tong Street, Hanoi, Hoan Kiem, Vietnam

    Trinh Dinh Tran, Truong Xuan Nguyen, Duc Sy Dao & Noi Van Nguyen

  2. School of Environmental Science and Technology, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, N0. 1 Dai Co Viet road, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Hien Thi Thu Nguyen, Ha Thi Le Vo & Dung Trung Nghiem

  3. Center for Environmental Technology and Sustainable Development (CETASD), University of Science, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, 334 Nguyen Trai Street, Hanoi, Thanh Xuan, Vietnam

    Tuyen Huu Le

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  1. Trinh Dinh Tran
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Tran, T.D., Nguyen, T.X., Nguyen, H.T.T. et al. Seasonal Variation, Sources, and Health Risk Assessment of Indoor/Outdoor BTEX at Nursery Schools in Hanoi, Vietnam. Water Air Soil Pollut 231, 273 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-020-04635-6

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