It's the Small Things That Matter! | A Research on Indoor Air Pollution and the Particles We Breathe

Shreya Halbe

Overview

Indoor Air Pollution, an overlooked aspect of Air Pollution, causes 1.6 million premature deaths annually. COVID-19 pandemic has augmented concerns about this issue, as many people are indoors and more cleaning chemicals are being used. This research focused on investigating correlations between Particulate Matter (PM) content in response to exposure to common aerosols and Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in an indoor setting. It was hypothesized that PM content will increase in presence of aerosols and VOCs in an exponential manner. A Raspberry Pi and PM monitor was combined and coded to form the technology used in the project. This monitor was used to measure PM concentration in micrograms per meter cube. The data collected proved the hypothesis and depicted correlations and trends. Certain chemicals were more potent than the others, especially one VOC called Sodium Hypochlorite. Analysis of data collected during the exposure of Sodium Hypochlorite as a VOC versus as an aerosol spray depicted that VOCs were much more potent than Aerosols in increasing PM content. Particulate Matter increased exponentially, although PM10 specifically increased the most. When compared against the USEPA Indoor Air quality guidelines, a range of such exposures over the course of days can very well surpass safe limits of PM content in indoor settings like homes. The findings from this project can be applied to improving product designing and formulations, designing indoor spaces, and in developing affordable air quality monitoring systems as an inbuilt feature to all homes. Such data can help advance innovation in the field of public health in indoor environments. The project is an attempt to offer insight into this less recognized yet highly crucial aspect of Particulate Matter and its interaction with the environment.

My Story

I started this project about indoor air pollution after reading a lot about it. It happened to be the year of the COVID-19 pandemic too, and that was also a time of concern when it came to indoor air pollution. After doing some research and getting more into measuring air pollution in general, I wanted to do a research project on indoor air pollution. There were also a lot of health issues in my family connected to air pollution, and so the topic of clean air was constantly brought up in my house.

The research I did revolves mainly around learning about indoor air pollution, and in the images (1,2,3) you can see multiple pictures of the Particulate Matter monitor that I built using Raspberry Pi technology. Picture 4 shows the beaker which I used to contain my chemical- which I hypothesized would worsen the indoor air quality by increasing the concentration of Particulate Matter (microscopic harmful particles). After that I presented the project at my school's fair.

I moved on to district and regionals and learned a lot there as well. After that, I got nominated for TJAS (Texas Junior Academy of Science) at Texas A&M, College Station. I got to visit the campus with my friends. It was extremely fun and a great experience! To add to the excitement, I also won first place in my category and got to advance to AJAS, which is a complete and immersive experience!