1. Cody Brandt, Wyatt Coe, Ryan Brown
Cast Cutting
Cody Brandt, Wyatt Coe, Ryan Brown

2. Research Question
Do the particles released from cutting a cast directly cause an increase in PM2.5 level? =

3. Background
We started on this project with the safety of doctors, nurses, and their patients in mind. We wanted to do something in the medical field and cast cutting seemed like an interesting and relevant topic that we could explore.

4. What is meant by PM2.5?
“The term PM2.5 refers to particulate matter that is less than 2.5 microns in width. PM2.5 are tiny particles in the air that can reduce visibility and cause the air to appear hazy when levels are elevated.”
New York State Department of Health

5. What is in the Air That Causes PM2.5?
exhaust from vehicles
burning wood
heated oil or coal
forest fires
volcanic eruptions

6. The Size of a PM2.5 Particle
-2.5 Microns or smaller
-There are 25,000 microns in an inch
-The largest PM2.5 particles are about one-thirtieth the width of a human hair

7. The EPA Limit for PM2.5
Daily Average Limit: 35 micrograms per cubic meter of air
Yearly Average Limit: 15 micrograms per cubic meter of air
A microgram is one-millionth the size of a gram, and there are about 450 grams in a pound.

8. Health Concerns Related to PM2.5
Eye, Nose, Throat and Lung Irritation
Coughing, Sneezing, Runny Nose
Worsened Asthma or Heart Disease
Increased Rates of Bronchitis
Reduced Lung Function
Lung Cancer

9. What percentage of time is spent indoors?
We spend about 85% of our time indoors

10. Hypothesis
We predict that the recorded PM2.5 level will increase at the points in time when the casts are cut.

11. Method
In order to test the PM2.5 level we set up the Dust Trak two feet from the testing site. At 9:30 a.m., 10:05 a.m., 2:34 p.m., 3:20 p.m., and 3:41 p.m. a strip of cast was cut and the time was recorded. The Dust Trak recorded data for 23 hours and 56 minutes.

12. Pictures

17. Results

18. Discussion
Increases in particulate matter matched dates/times the casts were cut
Supports our hypothesis
One spike unknown
All levels are well below the EPA standard

19. Conclusions
The data we collected from the Dust Trak supports our hypothesis. The increases in PM2.5 levels coincided with the cutting of the cast strips. We could not determine the cause of one isolated spike at 10:00 p.m.

20. Improvements
To improve our experiment we could control the uncontrolled variables such as number of patients, season, and time of week. To increase the sample size we could to mini tests of 10 minutes at a time with and without cutting casts.