Physicochemical and Bacteriological Qualities of Indoor Air in Selected Public Primary Schools in Benin City, Edo State

Abstract

Indoor air quality of schools is critical in any given society for the
wellbeing of living components. The aim of this study was to
determine the physicochemical and bacteriological qualities of
indoor air in selected Public Primary Schools in Benin City, Oredo
Local Government Area, Edo State. The indoor air samples were
collected from classrooms (Primary 1, 3 and 5) in triplicates from
three (3) public primary schools using the Settle Plate Method. The
physico-chemical parameters of the indoor air were evaluated using
the Portable Hand-held Meterological Instrument respectively. The
airborne bacterial isolates were enumerated and identified using the
cultural and biochemical methods. The results were analysed using
analysis of variance and unpaired Students t-test at 95 % confidence
levels. The results revealed that in the wet season, the temperature
(
0C) readings ranged from 27.72±0.04 to 34.2±0.97 while in the dry
season, it ranged from 28.06±0.14 to 35.38±0.58. The average
relative humidity (%) recorded in the wet season, ranged from
63.34±0.13 to 87.42±0.15 and in the dry season it ranged from
57.62±0.09 to 92.56±0.19. The airborne bacterial counts were
recorded to range between 3.39±0.49 x 102
cfu/m3 and 12.75±1.61 x
102
cfu/m3
. The lowest airborne bacterial counts were recorded in
School B while the highest airborne bacterial counts were recorded
in School C in the wet and dry season respectively. In all the schools
studied, there was no significant difference in the airborne bacteria
loads (p>0.05) obtained across the dry and wet seasons. Though,
some classes recorded high bacterial loads above the permissible
limit approved by World Health Organisation (WHO) (5.00 x102
cfu/m3
). Based on the cultural and biochemical techniques, five (05)
bacterial isolates were identified. They include: Bacillus cereus,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus spp., Corynebacterium
spp. and Enterobacter spp. It is evident that the public school
environments assessed are prone to outbreak of diseases arising from
poor quality of air and other compromised factors that will influence
quality of the wellbeing of the occupants. It is therefore recommended
that adequate public health measures are required to mitigate the
menace of poor air quality.