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Measuring students’ exposure to particulate matter (PM) pollution across microenvironments and seasons using personal air monitors

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Abstract

Particulate matter (PM) pollution is a significant concern in public health, yet children’s exposure is not adequately characterized. This study evaluated PM exposures among primary school-aged children in NYS across different microenvironments. This study helps fill existing knowledge gaps by characterizing PM exposure among this population across seasons and microenvironments. Sixty students were recruited from randomly selected public primary schools representing various socioeconomic statuses. Individual real-time exposure to PM2.5 was measured continuously using AirBeam personal monitors for 48 h. Children were consistently exposed to higher PM2.5 concentrations in the fall (median: fall = 2.84, spring = 2.31, winter = 0.90 µg/m3). At school, 2.19% of PM2.5 measurements exceeded the EPA annual fine particle standard, 12 µg/m3 (winter = 7.38%, fall = 2.39%, spring = 1.38%). In classrooms, PM1-4 concentrations were higher in spring and overnight, while PM7-10 concentrations were higher in fall and school hours. At home, 37.2% of fall measurements exceeded EPA standards (spring = 10.39%, winter = 4.37%). Overall, PM2.5 levels in classrooms and during transportation never rose above the EPA standard for any significant length of time. However, PM2.5 levels routinely exceeded these standards at home, in the fall, and the evening. More extensive studies are needed to confirm these results.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Importantly, the EPA prevents revealing identifiable information for students or schools.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the previous researchers who conducted the in-school field sampling and measurements. Sincere gratitude is also extended to the teachers, principals, and superintendents of the primary schools and university departments that participated in the study. Lastly, the authors thank the United States Environmental Protection Agency for funding this vital project. This work will help protect children’s health and could not have been completed without your help.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University at Albany, State University of New York, Rensselaer, NY, USA

    Ian Ryan, Xinlei Deng, Haider Khwaja, Xiaobo Romeiko, Wangjian Zhang, Tia Marks & Shao Lin

  2. Department of Environmental Medicine, School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY, USA

    George Thurston

  3. Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY, USA

    Haider Khwaja

  4. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University at Albany, State University of New York, Rensselaer, NY, USA

    Bo Ye & Shao Lin

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  1. Ian Ryan
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Correspondence to Shao Lin.

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Human subjects’ approval statement

The University at Albany Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved the methods in this study, protocol number: 16-X-323–01. Each adult (college student, teacher) involved in the study and each participating child’s parental guardian signed a consent form.

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Fig. 4
figure 4

Comparison between Aerocet and AirBeam measurements during school hours by season

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Ryan, I., Deng, X., Thurston, G. et al. Measuring students’ exposure to particulate matter (PM) pollution across microenvironments and seasons using personal air monitors. Environ Monit Assess 195, 103 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-022-10624-5

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