Comparison Study between Indoor and Outdoor Chemical Composition of PM2.5 in Two Italian Areas

Abstract

Outdoor air quality guidelines have been constantly implemented during the last decades. Nonetheless, no international regulations have been put into action in terms of indoor air quality standards and standardized procedures for indoor pollution measurements. In this study, we investigated the chemical composition of PM2.5 collected outdoors and indoors at six dwellings located in two Italian areas. The selected sites concerned inland/central and southern Italy, including urban, peri-urban, rural and coastal settings. The seasonal and site-specific particulate matter (PM) variations were analyzed outdoors and indoors, by estimating the impact of the main macro-sources and the contribution of the macro- and micro-components. Outdoors, organic matter represented the main contribution at inland and coastal sites, respectively during winter and summer. A clear, seasonal variation was also observed for secondary inorganic species. A site-specific dependence was exhibited by traffic-related components. Indoors, organic and soil-related species were influenced by the presence of the inhabitants. Some specific tracers allowed to identify additional local source contributions and indoor activities. Although the sampling season and site location defined the outdoor air quality, the higher PM concentrations and the chemical composition indoors were influenced by the infiltration of outdoor air and by the indoor activities carried out by its inhabitants.