Monitoreo de la calidad del aire ambiente en los accesos a cuatros escuelas del casco urbano del cantón Cuenca referente a intervenciones de urbanismo táctico

Abstract

This work presents the evaluation of ambient air quality in four educational institutions: "Nicolas Sojos," "Abelardo Tamariz," "Panamá" and "Luis Cordero" in the canton of Cuenca in the context of tactical urbanism interventions. For this purpose, the concentrations of sedimentable particles, sound pressure levels, and concentrations of metals such as Al, Mn, Zn, Fe, Co, and Cr in transplanted bryophytes of the genus Bryum. The monitoring of sedimentable particles was carried out in three stages, exceeding the standard (> 0,50 mg/cm2*30 days) in the Luis Cordero and Abelardo Tamariz schools in stage 1, and the Panama, Luis Cordero, and Abelardo Tamariz schools in stage 2. In stage 3, only the Abelardo Tamariz school exceeded the national standard (> 1,00 mg/cm2*30 days). The sound pressure levels recorded varied between 56 - 86 dB(A) and were higher than national, and local regulations. After the interventions, there were no significant differences with the levels initially recorded. Regarding the concentrations of metals in the mosses, the highest concentration was for Al (1 475,50 mg/kg) and the lowest for Co (0,15 mg/kg). In addition, the Abelardo Tamariz school had the highest concentration of metals, and Zn was most related to road traffic (r = 0,98). The conclusions state that the schools present contamination by settleable material and exceeded sound pressure levels, and the results did not vary significantly by the tactical urban planning interventions.