Students help clear the air.Byline: Naomi Hirsch For The Register-Guard Students in Kaye Martin's environmental science classroom at Gateways Learning Center in the Springfield School District made some real-life discoveries about air quality. After spending four weeks studying the Hydroville Indoor Air Quality Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) deals with the content of interior air that could affect health and comfort of building occupants. The IAQ may be compromised by microbial contaminants (mold, bacteria), chemicals (such as carbon monoxide, radon), allergens, or any mass or energy stressor curriculum, they used data collection and analysis techniques to investigate their own classrooms. The Hydroville curricula is an integrated environmental health curriculum developed at Oregon State University Oregon State University, at Corvallis; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1858 as Corvallis College, opened 1865. In 1868 it was designated Oregon's land-grant agricultural college and was taken over completely by the state in 1885. , which uses teamwork, science inquiry, hands-on activities and real data to successfully engage students in environmental health issues and problem-solving. In the Hydroville scenario, teachers and students in the fictional town of Hydroville report illnesses and complain of odors Odors anosmia Medicine. the absence of the sense of smell; olfactory anesthesia. Also called anosphrasia. — anosmic, adj. halitosis bad breath; an unpleasant odor emanating from the mouth. in a remodeled school. The students in Martin's class took on roles of experts in this hypothetical problem to determine if there really is an indoor air problem in the school. After learning about the impact air quality had on the health and behavior of the students at Hydroville Middle School, the students at Gateways were curious about their own classrooms' air quality. For a full day, they monitored and graphed temperature, carbon dioxide carbon dioxide, chemical compound, CO2, a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is about one and one-half times as dense as air under ordinary conditions of temperature and pressure. and humidity levels in three classrooms. Afterward af·ter·ward also af·ter·wards adv. At a later time; subsequently. Adv. 1. afterward - happening at a time subsequent to a reference time; "he apologized subsequently"; "he's going to the store but he'll be back here , they presented their findings to the Springfield School District's facilities staff. Using the data collected, the students explained that the temperature, relative humidity relative humidity n. The ratio of the amount of water vapor in the air at a specific temperature to the maximum amount that the air could hold at that temperature, expressed as a percentage. and carbon dioxide levels in these classrooms were above standard guidelines guidelines, n.pl a set of standards, criteria, or specifications to be used or followed in the performance of certain tasks. . Upon further investigation, facilities staff discovered that no air was coming out of one of the ventilators on top of the building. `The students learned that sometimes air quality problems can be easy to fix. Sometimes it just takes making sure the HVAC (Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning) In the home or small office with a handful of computers, HVAC is more for human comfort than the machines. In large datacenters, a humidity-free room with a steady, cool temperature is essential for the trouble-free system is on and working,' Martin said. Poor indoor air quality can affect the comfort and health of students and staff, which, in turn, can affect students' concentration, attendance and performance. In addition, if schools fail to respond promptly to poor air quality, students and staff are at an increased risk of short-term health problems, such as fatigue and nausea, as well as long-term problems such as asthma. Through the use of curricula such as the Hydroville Indoor Air Quality Scenario, high school students can learn about the impact of indoor air quality on human health, ways to measure and evaluate air quality, and actions to take to improve air quality in their schools and homes. For more information about the Hydroville Curriculum Project, visit the Web site at www.hydroville.org. May is Asthma Awareness Month. Asthma is among the most common chronic conditions in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , affecting some 14.9 million people in 1995 and causing more than 1.5 million emergency department visits, 500,000 hospitalizations and more than 5,500 deaths, says the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. To learn more about asthma in Oregon, go to www .oregon.gov/DHS/ph/asthma/ index.shtml. Naomi Hirsch is an Oregon State University student who worked on the Hydroville Indoor Air Quality curriculum. |
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