Fire Up for Fighting Poor Air Quality Hannah Gulbrandson, Miranda Jackson, & Joshua Touya Whitefish High School Mr. Spangler

Research Question Does the dust created by clay in pottery rooms adversely affect the health of the potters?

Background Information What is the reason for your interest in this area? Miranda and I are both in pottery, and as it is a subject that we both enjoy, we would feel comforted in knowing that we aren't causing permanent damage to our health.

What is meant by PM 2.5? Particulate matter that is less than 2.5 microns in width

vehicle exhaust burning fuels some road dust acids from aerosols tobacco smoke cooking What is in the air that causes PM 2.5? What are the sources of PM 2.5? burning incense or candles fuel burning space heaters natural sources such as wildfires or volcanic activity

Describe the size of a PM 2.5 particle. Very, very small - so small that several thousand of them could fit onto the period at the end of this sentence. The width is thirty times smaller than that of a human hair.

What is the EPA limit for PM 2.5? Outdoor air is mg/m^3 What are the health concerns related to PM 2.5? Asthma and respiratory tract complications, increased risk of heart disease or bronchitis What percent of time do we spend indoors? 85%

Hypothesis If the particulate matter from silicon based clay is less than 2.5 microns in diameter and is released into the air by working with clay, then the air quality in the pottery room will be lower during periods where there is more activity and more dust is being created.

Method We used the DustTrak to collect air quality data. We sampled the air in the Whitefish Independent School’s basement pottery room on Tuesday, February 5, Wednesday, February 6, and Thursday, February 7 putting the DustTrak near the teacher - Mr. Timothy Bonds - desk, located near a computer alcove situated next to the wall of a walk in closet.

Method Cont. The independent variable in our project was Mr. Bonds firing greenware in the kiln in the pottery room - the control was the way Mr. Bonds and the cleaning lady went about their days the same as every day. We ran the DustTrak for 48 consecutive hours, leaving it undisturbed while it ran.

Results Avg0.012 mg/m^3 Max0.083 mg/m^3 Min0.005 mg/m^3 Start Date02/05/2013 Start Time11:58:59 End Time11:58:59 Avg0.015 mg/m^3 Max0.252 mg/m^3 Min0.004 mg/m^3 Start Date02/06/2013 Start Time11:59:09 End Time11:59:09 First TestSecond Test

Conclusions Our results showed that firing greenware or glazed pots in the kiln was a significant source of PM 2.5, as the PM 2.5 levels spiked around 4 PM when Mr. Bonds began firing. The next highest significant levels of PM 2.5 were present when the cleaning lady was there. Both of these events, however, occurred after the students and rest of the staff had gone home for the night, so as long as she wears a mask, the cleaning lady is not in great danger of damaging her lungs.

This also goes to prove that the air filters the school has installed are doing their jobs and preventing very high numbers of PM 2.5. The results did support our hypothesis - when the floors were being swept and the most dust being raised, the PM 2.5 levels did increase. When the students were there and being active, however, the PM 2.5 levels did not show the dramatic spike shown during firing or deep cleaning. The fact that the levels of PM 2.5 did increase during the activity of the students during the class period, however much, does support our hypothesis. Conclusion Cont.

Improvements If we had more time, we would run more tests - while the pottery room had been undisturbed for, say, three days, or see how the pottery room is affecting the students upstairs in the Independent High School.

Improvements Cont. We would also like to see how the PM 2.5 levels would be affected if we were to turn off the ventilation and the air filters, to see how much of a difference they are making in the long run to protect the students health.

References "Digitalfire Hazards Database." Hazard:. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr amics_372.html "Hazards in Ceramic." Hazards in Ceramic. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr "Pottery Studio Air Quality: Jeff Zamek and Anthony Volpe Discuss Respiratory Safety in the Ceramics Studio." - Free Online Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr Anthony+Volpe+discuss...-a