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Pollution profiles at different kindergarten sites in Leipzig, Germany
Author(s) -
Rehwagen M.,
Schlink U.,
Herbarth O.,
Fritz G. J.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
environmental toxicology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.813
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1522-7278
pISSN - 1520-4081
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1522-7278(199907)14:3<321::aid-tox5>3.0.co;2-l
Subject(s) - pollution , air pollution , environmental science , pollutant , air quality index , environmental chemistry , environmental engineering , geography , meteorology , chemistry , ecology , organic chemistry , biology
Between Jan. and Dec. 1994, the outdoor air quality of the city of Leipzig, Germany, was examined at 13 kindergartens. SO 2 , CO, NO X , O 3 , total suspended particles, sedimentation dust and volatile organic compounds were measured. Although each monitoring site appears to have its own individual pollutant profile, two general pollution profiles could be identified using principal component analysis. These profiles are largely attributable to two dominant emission sources, domestic heating and traffic. Indicator components were identified for both pollution profiles. Benzene was found to be the indicator component for traffic and SO 2 for domestic heating. The predominating types of pollution are reflected in the prevalences of respiratory diseases among 311 children investigated based on parent‐completed questionnaires. High traffic pollution was found to be associated with an increased occurrence of asthma and allergies and domestic heating with bronchitis. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Environ Toxicol 14: 321–327, 1999