Assessment of Personal Exposure to Nitrogen Dioxide in Primary Schoolchildren

This study was designed to assess the level of nitrogen dioxide from several microenvironments including inside the home, outdoors near the home, inside the school, outdoors near the school, and on the road for 42 primary schoolchildren during the month of December 2002 in Seoul, Korea. The average personal, indoor, outdoor NO2 levels, and indoor/outdoor ratio were 45.08 ppb, 27.89 ppb, 30.96 ppb, and 0.89, respectively. The indoor NO2 concentrations were significantly associated with the presence of a smoker with a gas stove. The estimated personal NO2 exposure using time-weighted average equation of 34.645.29 ppb was significantly lower than the measured personal exposure of 45.085.50 ppb.Our results indicate that indoor NO2 levels were associated with the presence of a smoker and a gas stove. Moreover, personal NO2 exposure with a gas stove in the house was significantly higher than those without a gas stove.