PM 2.5 Personal Exposure to the Breathing Zone of Public Middle School Students in Jambi City (Case Study: SMP Negeri 1, 2, 11, and 18 Jambi City)

The increase in the number of vehicles in a city has an impact on the occurrence of Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM 2.5). Junior high school students aged 12 to 15 years old are a vulnerable population to the negative impacts of PM 2.5. Public Junior High Schools 1, 2, 11, and 18 in Jambi City are four Public Junior High Schools located on main roads and in proximity to public places. The exposure of PM 2.5 to individual students can be determined by calculating the exposure in the students' breathing zones. This study aims to determine the concentration of personal exposure to PM 2.5 in the breathing zones of students using the Personal Nanoparticle Sampler (PNS) device and to examine the relationship between PM 2.5 concentration and students' activities. Based on the calculation results of the concentration of personal exposure to PM 2.5 in students from the four Public Junior High Schools in Jambi City, concentrations ranging from 18 – 222  were obtained, with the highest personal exposure concentration of PM 2.5 found in participant 1, with a concentration of 222.56 . The lowest concentration of personal exposure to PM 2.5 in students from the public junior high schools in Jambi City was found in participant 22 with a PM 2.5 concentration of 18.26 . The high concentration value in participant 1 can be attributed to their activities in proximity to pollution sources, such as cooking. Based on the correlation test results, the correlation coefficient between PM 2.5 concentration and participant activities was found to be 0.198, indicating a very weak relationship between the variables of PM 2.5 concentration and participant activities. Kata Kunci: Personal Exposure, Air Pollution, PM 2.5, Breathing Zone, Junior High Schools. &nbsp