Comparing the Lead Content of Drinking Water in Various Schools



 PURPOSE

The purpose of this experiment was to compare the amount of lead in school drinking water at different schools within the Selah School District.

I became interested in this idea when I read online that lead was very harmful to human health. I felt this was a very important issue to study.

The information gained from this experiment could affect future school district decisions greatly. It could also help increase our water purity and decrease harm to students and staff.


Lead Content of Drinking Water

HYPOTHESIS

My hypothesis was the older the school, the more lead in the drinking water.

I based my hypothesis on a statement made by Norm Hepner, a Washington State Department of Ecology Engineer. He said, “I think the older a school is, the more lead there will be in the drinking water.”


EXPERIMENT DESIGN

The constants in this study were: 
  • Amount of water tested in each sample
  • Containers used to collect and store samples
  • Method of measuring lead
  • Equipment used
  • Week day of sample
  • Time of day
The manipulated variable was the school location where samples were taken.

The responding variable was amount of lead in the drinking water. 

To measure the responding variable the samples were analyzed in a professional laboratory using Standard Method 200.9 technique. I took the results and averaged the data for each school.


MATERIALS

QUANTITY
ITEM DESCRIPTION
40
sample containers
1
permanent marker
4
school maps (2 for each school)
1
watch


PROCEDURES

1. Travel to the school

 2. Flush the pipes the evening before samples are taken

 a) Note: the water cannot sit less 8 hours and no more than 18 hours in the pipes             
                                      
           b) The water must run for 30 seconds

3. Go to a drinking fountain

     a) Make sure the water is not taken from a water cooler or filter
4. On the container put the following on the sample blank spaces:

     a) In the I.D. space: The location and school initials

     b) In the client space: The school district

     c) Time

     d) Date

5. Take the container and collect water from the water fountain

6. Repeat steps 2-5 many times using all water fountains

7. Repeat steps 1-6 at the next school

8. Send the samples to a professional laboratory

9. Samples will be handed back with the results

10. Average all samples for each school

11. Analyze the results

RESULTS


The original purpose of this experiment was to compare the amount of lead in school drinking water at different schools within the Selah School District.

The results of the experiment were, Sunset, the oldest building, had the least amount of lead, 0.002 parts per million (ppm). The newest school, Selah Intermediate School, had 0.006 ppm, the most amount of lead. Lince had 0.003 ppm, and John Campbell had 0.005 ppm.

 
CONCLUSION

My hypothesis was the older the school, the more lead in the drinking water.

The results indicate that this hypothesis should be rejected because the amount of lead varied at different schools.

Because of the results of this experiment, I wonder if the amount of lead in soil affects the amount of lead in the runoff water. Also, does the amount of lead in irrigation water affect the amount of lead in the soil. Does the water temperature affect the amount of lead dissolved in domestic water?

If I were to conduct this project again, I would have taken more samples per school. I would have compared the lead in all the different schools. Maybe I would have compared Selah school district to another school district.


Researched by --- Rainan V.


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