Danielle Hogan

Using Lichen to test air quality and metal content around a wood boiler epicenter in Hudson Falls, NY

Lichen are leafy plants that grow of trees and rocks that absorb all of their needed nutrients out of the air. While doing so, the lichen absorb the emissions from multiple sources; such as cars, factories and wood boilers. The wood boilers are known for giving off many heavy metals and particulates. Many of these pollutants are not monitored, so there is not much information about the air quality of the areas surrounding stationary epicenters. Lichen can be used, through analyzation, to detect heavy metals in these emissions. Using the data from the analyzation, an air quality heat map was created showing the concentration levels of a specific area in Hudson Falls, NY. The purpose of this experiment was to use a lichen assay kit to analyze lichen samples around a wood boiler epicenter. This experiment dyed lichen samples and tested for the intensity of certain metals through a leaching process. Metals such as manganese, lead, and zinc were tested for and are also very prominent in wood smoke. The intensity of the leaching was recorded, as well as the Air Quality Index (AQI) and particulate matter using an air quality sensor. The data was transferred to an online map to show the gradient air quality of that area. The importance of this study is to show how well lichen can bio-monitor the area around a wood boiler and to show the effects of the wood smoke on one specific location.