SUBJECTIVE INDOOR AIR-QUALITY IN SCHOOLS IN RELATION TO EXPOSURE

This payer presents data on indoor air quality in schools as perceived by those working in them and relates these data to exposure measureme nts. Data on subjective air quality, domestic exposures and health asp ects were gathered by means of a questionnaire which was sent to all p ersonnel in 38 schools; it was completed by 1410 persons (85% of the t otal). Data on exposure were gathered by exposure measurements in clas srooms. The ree suits indicate that 53% of the personnel perceived the indoor air quality as bad or very bad. It was perceived as worse by t hose who were younger, those who were dissatisfied with their psychoso cial work climate and those who were not exposed to tobacco smoke at h ome. In older school buildings and buildings with displacement ventila tion there was less dissatisfaction with the air quality. There were n o significant relations between complaints and air exchange rate or co ncentration of carbon dioxide. The air quality was perceived as worse at higher levels of exposure to a number of airborne compounds includi ng volatile organic compounds, moulds, bacteria and respirable dust. I t was concluded that exposure to indoor pollutants affects perception even at the low concentrations normally found indoors in nonindustrial buildings. (C) Indoor Air (1997).