Exposure assessment to atmospheric pollutants in different working conditions: WFO (Working from Office) versus WFH (Working from Home)

Introduction: In the COVID-19 context, the opportunity to work from home (WFH) became of great importance: several studies investigated the WFH phenomenon but, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have yet been performed considering the differences between WFH and WFO (working from office) conditions, in terms of exposure assessment to different air pollutants. The principal aim of this study is therefore to evaluate the personal exposure to selected airborne pollutants during these working conditions. Material and Methods: A long-term campaign involves the measurement of different PM (particulate matter) fractions, using portable direct-reading instrumentation. The measurements will be carried out in two different seasons for two consecutive weeks. The data relating to the exposure concentrations will be acquired at the same time by a subject in WFH conditions for 24 hours per day, and by a second subject in WFO conditions for 8 working hours. In a short-term campaign, at least 50 subjects are expected to be enrolled, who will carry out two consecutive monitoring days (respectively in WFO and WFH conditions). Results and Conclusions: Preliminary results (for both campaigns) indicate that, on average, the levels of exposure to the different PM fractions are higher during the WFH mode. The WFH/WFO ratios calculated on the different PM fractions are on average equal to 2.4 and 1.9 respectively for the short-term and long-term campaign. Differences in terms of median exposure concentrations measured during the two working conditions are statistically significant (p<0.001 for all PM fractions, in both campaigns).