Booth Id:
ENEV026
Category:
Environmental Engineering
Year:
2023
Finalist Names:
Sridhar, Shrinithi (School: Pensacola High School)
Abstract:
Benzene, a pollutant found in air is a carcinogenic agent. This is mainly found in gasoline. The chemical can spread out as it is released through the car’s emissions. Residents who live in high traffic areas are prone to have higher chances of lung cancer or other respiratory problems. The purpose of this experiment was to determine if there is a higher chance of health risks to those who live in high traffic areas as opposed to those who live in low traffic areas. The hypothesis of this experiment was: A residential area filled with elevated automobile traffic, will have high carbon dioxide emissions, causing residents who live in those areas to have elevated rates of health problems. The prediction of this experiment was if a residential area is filled with higher automobile traffic, then carbon dioxide emissions will increase, causing residents who live in those areas to have more severe health problems. The experimental design consists of a device that has a micro controller board and data logger module. These are attached together, and the jumper wires connect this setup to the gas sensor. A USB cable is used to connect this device to the computer to measure the readings. The data collected does support my hypothesis because the graph shows higher level of benzene and carbon dioxide in the high traffic area. The reason behind this is simple, there are more cars in a high traffic area, meaning more gas emissions. Higher the gas emissions, higher are the pollutants in air.