# Effect of PVA/PVAc Based Polymer Coating on Dust Reduction in Playground
## 1 Introduction  
The global population is increasing at a rapid rate and people are relocating to urban areas causing an increase in population density. According to a report, it has been predicted that 66% of the population will live in urban areas by 2050 [1]. Human activities may contribute to environmental changes leading to several irreversible environmental impacts [2]. Therefore, urbanization and its consequences are perceived as scientific problems which need to be addressed [3]. Among various problems affiliated with urbanization, air pollution is the most concerning.  
Dust refers to a combination of natural and anthropogenic particles obtained from multiple sources. It is considered a critical pollutant for humans due to its inhalation, dermal contact, and ingestion [4]. Although finer particles (less than hundreds of microns) make up a major portion of the dust, particles of size range less than 10 \(\upmu\)m are commonly referred to as hazardous atmospheric particulate matter (PM\({}_{10}\)). Several studies have been conducted to investigate the impact of PM\({}_{10}\) on human health [5; 6; 7]. [PERSON] et al. [8] found that inhaled PM\({}_{10}\) may penetrate the respiratory tract and precipitate on the alveolar and trachebronchial regions. Apart from this, the researchers [9; 10; 11] have described PM\({}_{10}\) dust as the main cause of respiratory problems such as pneumonia, chronic pneumonia lung disease (COPD), and asthma.  
Children are more vulnerable to the effects of dust than adults due to unintentional, or deliberate, ingestion and/or inhalation [12; 13; 14; 15]. USEPA-2011 [16] reported that children aged between 1 to 6 years intake dust within a range of 39 to 271 mg day\({}^{-1}\). The ingestion and/or inhalation of dust can cause serious health problems among children. For instance, [PERSON] et al. [17] mentioned that the inhalation of dust can affect neurodevelopment and cause increased perilous respiratory diseases among children. In a similar way,Amato et al. [18] found that soil resuspension in sandy playgrounds in a school environment can increase the content of PM\({}_{10}\). Playgrounds are normally unpaved and children are exposed to dust during play activities [19]. It is for this reason that dust reduction in playgrounds is mandatory. However, previous researchers [20; 21; 22; 23; 24] have focused on assessing the health risks affiliated with heavy metal ingestion. For example, [PERSON] and [PERSON] [25] found that playground soil and dust contained a considerable amount of heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) which may pose a serious threat to human health. For instance, [PERSON] et al. [26] examined soil samples of 20 municipal playgrounds in Spain and found that As concentration demonstrated the highest health risk.  
It is certain that dust in playgrounds is a serious threat to children's health. Therefore, measures should be taken to reduce the generation of dust in playgrounds. However, to the best of the authors' knowledge, few studies were found which focused on reduction of dust via direct particle coating. In this study, an attempt has been made to develop low dust producing playground soil by coating the particles with polymer.