Physical Agents Quality Index (PAQI): application in a University Campus

Abstract

Among the most common techniques and methodologies for the analysis of the exposure to polluting agents, the definition of environmental indexes represents a very useful tool able to describe the status of the environment quantitatively and qualitatively. In this perspective a general Physical Agents Quality Index (PAQI) describing the status of an environment in terms of presence of different physical pollutants was developed by authors in a previous work. In this paper the PAQI concept is extended from a punctual idea to a spatial analysis and a practical application in order to evaluate the potentiality of the index on a visual map is discussed. In particular, the PAQI visual map of the Campus of the University of Salerno (Italy) was redacted. The results are presented and lay down the basis for further improvements in the visual mapping and also in the calibration of the calculation of the index.