Project completed
Due to the varied physico-chemical properties and different concentrations of PM in the ambient air, as well as the specificity and structure of its emission, the research concerning PM origin, including (and perhaps above all) its respirable fraction {depending on the type of the PM analyzer and/or the purpose of the study - here the PM1, PM2.5 or fractions), are still carried out throughout the world.
The link between increased morbidity and mortality and increased concentrations of PM, as well as the observed tendency of pollutants accumulation in the indoor environments (including fine PM) has led to increased attention toward physicochemical properties of PM in closed buildings.
These studies are currently very important since people spend much more time indoors than outdoors.
The presence of high concentrations of PM and the unrecognized chemical composition of its finest fractions in closed rooms confirm the necessity to undertake such studies also in Poland.
Mostly unrecognized group of indoor environments in the context of PM levels and its chemical properties are small service facilities.
The aim of the Project was (1) to identify factors which determine the concentrations, chemical composition and sources of PM in the air of selected service facilities : offices, restaurant kitchens, printers and tour beauty salons, and (2) to study the processes of atmospheric aerosol transformation, varying in terms of its chemical characteristic after its entry into indoor environment (both in urbanized and industrialized areas).
Within the framework of the project, the dynamics and direction of changes in the basie physical properties of indoor atmospheric aerosols was clarified.
The most important element was to clarify if the emission of aerosol particles in the non-productive spaces from certain types of processes (cooking, printing, varnishing, hair and nail treatments, etc.) could bring any significant changes in the chemical composition of PM.
The project has allowed to gain a valuable and original research results in the world scale.
Thus, the results obtained here are of great importance for the broadly understood science, especially in the field of environmental engineering, air protection, chemistry and environmental health.
The results of the study , although mainly cognitive, may be used in the future by other research teams in the studies concerning exposure to indoor PM.
They will be also helpful in shaping health policies in the aspect of reducing environmental risk associated with human exposure to PM-bound harmful substances not only in the country but also all around the world.
The research will enable me submit a doctoral dissertation in 2018.
The innovative nature of the research and the uniqueness of the results are confirmed by the fact that the obtained results after their presentation on the international conference on energy and environmental engineering (ASEE17) in Wroclaw (2017), were directed by editors to be published in the prestigious journal " Science of the Total Environment "(IF 5,102, which manuscript will be completed by December 2017).
