Assessment of school building air quality in a desert climate

This study, to our knowledge, presents the first indoor data for a range of major air pollutants in school buildings in various locations in the State of Kuwait. Indoor air testing was performed within secondary schools over a 7-month period and sampling was conducted on a spot basis during normal school hours. As part of this program, samplers were deployed in student occupied classrooms at 46 selected buildings and monitored for air quality. The collected data was then compared to various international standards and guidelines relevant to the indoor environment. The results indicate that PM10 concentrations in 54% of the schools and CO2 in 24% of the schools exceed allowable standards during school hours that may cause potential health hazards to exposed occupants. Other pollution parameters measured in this study conformed to the standards. The results of a questionnaire given to the student occupants showed significant correlations between indoor PM10 and CO2 concentrations and some health ailments suffered by the students. Ultimately, the data in this study will serve as a baseline for comparison with future air quality assessment in buildings. In addition, recommendations are proposed in order to control the air quality problem in the identified schools, which may be useful information for policy makers, health related officials, academicians and scientists. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.