Children's exposure to indoor air pollution in schools in Kigali City, Rwanda

Abstract

Children are particularly vulnerable to indoor air pollution, which leads to high premature death rates. This is particularly true in Africa, where school air pollution emissions are high and data is lacking. In Africa, Schoolchildren spend more than 6 hours in the classroom; thus, understanding classroom air quality is vital for their health, academic performance, and well-being. The present thesis has examined children's exposure to indoor air pollution in both rural and urban schools in Rwanda. Particulate matter air pollution with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5µm (PM2.5) and less than 10µm (PM10) was collected over two months from four schools in Rwanda using real-time Purple Air low-cost air quality sensors. The results showed that the mean concentrations of PM2.5 in rural and urban schools were varying between 52.99 ± 23.09 µg/m³ and 53.64 ±22.76 µg/m³, respectively. The mean concentration of PM10 levels in rural and urban areas were varying between 57.89±24 µg/m³ and 59.01±24.22 µg/m³, respectively. The PM2.5 and PM10 concentration levels in urban and rural schools in Rwanda exceeded the 24-hour mean of the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality standards of 15 µg/m³ and 45µg/m³, respectively. Although the concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 were higher in urban than rural schools, the Wilcoxon test showed no significant difference in PM2.5 and PM10 concentration levels. It was also found that there is no significant association between meteorological conditions and air pollution. This study underscores the urgent need for interventions to improve indoor air quality in Rwandan schools. Despite the short duration of the study and the limited sensor sample size; the findings provide preliminary results for future research to improve children's health in educational settings.