SALISBURY — Pollution Detectives are on the case in local schools. Launched by Dr. Francis Koster, of Kannapolis, the program will lend sophisticated electronic tools to students so they can investigate potential pollution in and around their schools.

So far the program has been offered at Knox Middle School, in Salisbury, and Shady Brook Elementary School, in Kannapolis.

It requires students, working with science faculty, design a series of exercises about where pollution might exist in their school, and why they suspect it. Is there mold in the building? Classrooms where everyone has trouble staying awake? Does the water taste funny? These are clues that might indicate the presence of pollutants in schools.

After designing their “hands on” research, students must get a commitment from school administration, school nurses and Parent Teacher Association representatives to receive a briefing of their findings. Once that meeting is scheduled, students submit their research plan to tThe Pollution Detectives, are loaned testing equipment and given about two weeks to do their research.

“Scientists have long known that even low levels of pollution in schools can seriously impact learning” said Koster. “It used to be that the cost of the equipment needed to do investigations was quite high, and using the equipment required special training. Modern pollution detection equipment that plug into computers or cell phones is now much less expensive, and can be used easily by fifth graders after a brief amount of training.”

Koster set up a not-for-profit organization to acquire the equipment, produce the training manuals and run what amounts to a free tool lending library for students. The studies are an academic exercise, and can be integrated into the science curriculum. If concerning results surface, professionals can be brought in to conduct more thorough studies. His goal is to have students test 100 schools in western North Carolina in 2017-2018 school year.

“We learned a lot during spring of 2017, when we did two pilot projects, one at Knox Middle School, in Salisbury, and one at Shady Brook Elementary School in Kannapolis. The students tested the water fountains for lead in the water, some classrooms and offices for radon gas, and classroom air for five kinds of pollution. The students found that the drinking fountains had no lead in the water, and there was no harmful amounts of radon in the air – but at both schools they found CO2 levels more than twice as high as the levels that have been proven to slow down the students’ (and teachers’) brains, and lead to lower standardized test scores.”

Each kit of pollution detection equipment contains four electronic devices, and costs around $5,000. Because the student-led studies take about two weeks, students can study about 15 buildings in a school year with a single kit. Private donors have contributed money and equipment needed during the pilot phase, and fund raising activity has been launched to expand the program.

Both Rowan-Salisbury and Kannapolis City schools students are expanding the program during school year 2017-2018.

More information can be found at www.thepollutiondetectives.org, which contains more information on the equipment loaned out, low cost solutions to problems if discovered, and further reading for both faculty and students, as well as facilities maintenance staff.