Exposure Assessment Survey in Schools: Pilot Project in Osijek, Croatia

Abstract

Children's health is affected by the quality of indoor and outdoor environments. In order to prevent environmentally mediated diseases among children, the Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region adopted the Parma Declaration on Environment and Health in 2010, which includes commitments to provide children with access to safe water and sanitation, improve indoor air quality in children's facilities, and make schools tobacco- and smoke-free places. To measure progress towards these goals, WHO facilitated the development of a survey toolkit for national surveys. In preparation for a national school survey in Croatia, this toolkit was pilot tested in two high schools in the city of Osijek, Croatia, in spring 2012. The main problems detected in the survey were: 1) high prevalence of smoking, with 34% of pupils smoking inside or outside school during school hours; 2) poor ventilation, with pupils spending over 30% of their school time in classrooms with carbon dioxide concentrations exceeding 1,000 ppm; and 3) the presence of dampness in school premises. Sanitation facilities were generally satisfactory. Concentrations of formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide, and benzene in classrooms were generally low. Smoking, poor ventilation, and dampness were the environmental risk factors identified in this survey in the two schools.

Link:
NEHA members: Login and download issue for free. All others: Purchase issue online.
Media reps: Contact community@neha.org.
Speaker / Author:
Dario Brdaric?, PhD, Institute of Public Health for the Osijek-Baranya County, Dental Medicine and Health, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek
Alexandra Kulinkina, PhD, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University
Matej S?apina, MD, Clinical Hospital Osijek, School of Medicine, Dental Medicine and Health, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek
Karolina Kramaric?, MA, Clinical Hospital Osijek, School of Medicine, Dental Medicine and Health, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek
Vlatka Gvozdic?, PhD, Department of Chemistry, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek
Bruno Cvetkovic?, MA, Andrija S?tampar Teaching Institute of Public Health
Andrey Egorov, PhD, European Centre for Environment and Health, World Health Organization
Month Year:
March 2020
Volume#:
82.7
Page #:
14-21
Publication Month:
March 2020
Subtopic:
Children's Environmental Health