{"id":11119,"date":"2021-11-05T12:01:06","date_gmt":"2021-11-05T01:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/auststem.com.au\/?p=11119"},"modified":"2021-11-05T12:01:06","modified_gmt":"2021-11-05T01:01:06","slug":"how-safe-is-the-air-we-breathe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/auststem.com.au\/how-safe-is-the-air-we-breathe\/","title":{"rendered":"How Safe is the Air We Breathe?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The quality of the air we breathe is a major determinant of our health, over both the long and short terms.<\/p>\n

The catastrophic Australian bushfires filled our air with harmful particulates.<\/p>\n

Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide is warming our planet leading to potentially harmful climate change.<\/p>\n

In indoor spaces, a high carbon dioxide level indicates insufficient ventilation, and a higher risk of respiratory viral infection. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, our schools are auditing classroom ventilation.\u00a0 Where necessary schools are installing air purification units to reduce the risk of air-borne infection.<\/p>\n

The presence of volatile organic compounds in the air indicates the presence of potentially harmful petrochemical fumes.<\/p>\n

So, measuring air quality can be a very useful safeguard for our health, and warns us when the air we breathe is becoming hazardous.\u00a0 A system that monitors the key indicators of air quality is therefore very useful and educationally valuable.<\/p>\n

During 2020 a team of third-year engineering students at the University of Wollongong, sponsored and mentored by AustSTEM, developed a prototype air quality monitoring system that can be placed in remote or urban locations and sends air-quality data via the Things Network to a dashboard on and easily accessible website.\u00a0 The Things Network is a global Internet of Things (IoT) network.<\/p>\n

The video was produced by these students and explains they work they have achieved using AustSTEM’s Kookaberry STEM micro-computer and inexpensive environmental sensors.<\/p>\n