Biomonitoring of indoor air genotoxic properties in ten schools using Scindapsus aureus

Abstract

School is the most important indoor environment for children besides their home. Indoor air quality in school is a critical parameter that needs to be considered for children's health. Atmospheric measurements provide concentrations of pollutants which are used for risk assessments. However, those data are limited to study complex interactions between pollutants, and the genotoxic potential of air pollution is still often misunderstood. The aim of this study was to assess the genotoxic potential of indoor air pollutants in ten schools in France. For this purpose, we have used the comet assay in Scindapsus aureus (pothos) which is a very common indoor plant. For all classrooms, data obtained with exposed plants were significantly higher than those obtained with control. This study shows that plants can be used in indoor environments as well as outdoor for air monitoring, and can participate in health risk assessment.