Source apportionment and health risk assessment of PM10 in a naturally ventilated school in a tropical environment

Abstract

This studyaimedtoinvestigatethechemicalcompositionandpotentialsourcesofPM10 as wellasassess the potentialhealthhazardsitposedtoschoolchildren.PM10 samples weretakenfromclassroomsata school inKualaLumpur'scitycentre(S1)andoneinthesuburbancityofPutrajaya(S2)overaperiodof eight hoursusingalowvolumesampler(LVS).Thecompositionofthemajorionsandtracemetalsin PM10 werethenanalysedusingionchromatography(IC)andinductivelycoupledplasma-massspec- trometry (ICP-MS),respectively.TheresultsshowedthattheaveragePM10 concentration insidethe classroom atthecitycentreschool(82g/m3) washigherthanthatfromthesuburbanschool(77g/m3). Principal componentanalysis-absoluteprincipalcomponentscores(PCA-APCS)revealedthatroaddust wasthemajorsourceofindoorPM10 at bothschoolinthecitycentre(36%)andthesuburbanlocation (55%). Thetotalhazardquotient(HQ)calculated,basedontheformulasuggestedbytheUnitedStates EnvironmentalProtectionAgency(USEPA), wasfoundtobeslightlyhigherthantheacceptablelevelof1, indicating thatinhalationexposuretoparticle-boundnon-carcinogenicmetalsofPM10, particularlyCr exposurebychildrenandadultsoccupyingtheschoolenvironment,wasfarfromnegligible