Black carbon (BC), which is mainly contained in fine particulate matters, is one of the typical anthropogenic air pollutants that are generated from the incomplete combustion process and discharged into the atmosphere, and its various health effects particularly on children have been a growing concern. In this study, BC and particulate matters were closely analyzed in an elementary school adjacent to a high- traffic road in a large metropolitan city. The investigation showed that black carbon behaved similarly to ultrafine dust of 0.3 μm or less in the air, accounting for 20%-40% of it. The occurrence of high concentration outdoor pollution influences the BC content in indoor particulate matters. The average I/O value was 0.7 during the class-hours, and 0.8 without students. However, when students played in the classroom, the range of BC concentrations varied from 0.25 to 1.15, wider than 0.41-1.13 without students. Although this study was conducted with regard to just one elementary school, it can be considered to represent the typical air quality status of domestic schools, and it is believed to present valuable data which can be utilized to assist with preparing measures to enhance the air quality management of schools.

It is known that air pollutants such as fine dust and exhaust gas from vehicles are harmful to human health. In particular, the black carbon emitted by vehicles is known to cause a large number of premature deaths. This study analyzed the effect of a noise barrier on the inflow amount of black carbon from a nearby high traffic road to a school area, using numerical analysis performed at two elementary schools. Also, the correlation between the noise barrier’s shape, height and the inflow amount of black carbon was assessed. As a result, it was found that the higher the noise barrier, the lower the inflow amount of black carbon observed at the school A. However, the inflow amount of black carbon at school B was not greatly influenced by the height of the noise barrier. The inflow amount of black carbon at the schools could be changed not only by the height of the noise barrier, but also by the shape, height and position of the noise barrier and the school building.