Investigation of indoor air quality in the ventilated ice rink arena

Abstract

The indoor air quality (IAQ) of an ice rink, located in the Upper Silesia Region of Southern Poland, was assessed during the winter holidays. Ice rinks are characterized by unusual conditions and multiple sources of pollution. This study evaluated the relative importance of the ventilation system (VS) for maintaining the indoor microenvironment in the ice rink. A preliminary investigation of the concentration levels and characteristics of the indoor and outdoor bacterial aerosol was conducted. Bacterial concentration levels were obtained using a six-stage Andersen cascade impactor. Bioaerosol particles, captured on nutrient media on Petri dishes, were quantitatively evaluated and qualitatively identified using a GEN III Biolog system. Concentration levels of airborne bacteria were above 103 CFU/m³, both when the VS system was turned off (990 CFU/m3) and when it was operational (740 CFU/m3). Results show that the mean concentration of bacteria aerosol was lower when the VS was active. There was a dominance of Gram-positive cocci identified in the indoor environment, which indicates that most of the bacteria present in the studied building were relatively fresh and mostly of human-origin. These data were used to estimate the ice rink exposure dose (IRED) of bioaerosols for building personnel and for children. The highest value of IRED over the study period was obtained for children (220 CFU kg−1).