Abstract
Carbon dioxide (CO2) has been conventionally regarded as a global problem, due to the well-known effects of fossil fuel combustion to the climate of our planet. However, this paper aims at highlighting the role of CO2 from another perspective, i.e. by considering the effects of CO2 on the health and well-being of the occupants of indoor spaces. The exposure to CO2 air concentrations > 1,000 ppm causes symptoms like headache, dizziness, sleepiness and loss of attention, which may negatively influence the learning capability and the productivity of students and workers. In this sense, schools and universities are particularly vulnerable, due to the high density of occupants in classrooms and to the importance of the role of education in training the future members of the society. In the light of this issue, the present paper will provide examples of the incorrect design of indoor environments and, meanwhile, will propose simple solutions to monitor the problem of indoor CO2 concentration and improve the indoor environmental quality of public places.
Highlights
In the last decade, indoor air quality (IAQ) has become an issue of increasing concern in the everyday life, in parallel with the growing attention to the general topic of air pollution
CO2 concentrations may reach critical levels in indoor environments characterised by high density of occupants
The typical CO2 concentrations reported in the literature for such contexts are far from causing serious health outcomes, CO2 concentrations may achieve values that can negatively affect the performance of students in terms of learning capability
Summary
Indoor air quality (IAQ) has become an issue of increasing concern in the everyday life, in parallel with the growing attention to the general topic of air pollution. Many of them focussed on the socalled sick-building syndrome, intended as a group of symptoms that may occur following the stay of an individual in indoor environments with emission sources of air pollutants or weak ventilation and exchange of air [8]. The quality of life in indoor environments can be significantly affected by another compound that is usually neglected when dealing with IAQ: carbon dioxide (CO2) The emission of such compound from the combustion of fossil fuels is universally known as the major cause of global warming. The CO2 concentration is typically in the range 300–400 ppm, in megalopolises high traffic density may cause local substantial increase in CO2 and corresponding decrease in oxygen concentration in the breath zone (down to 18.4% and even less) This makes sense to improve the economic mechanism for stimulating CO2 emission reduction by vehicles [20]. The paper will present proposals for improving the current criticalities, for controlling and managing the exposure to CO2 in indoor environments
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