Lauren Gennarelli and Nadeera Ali have been researching the effect of activated carbon on the amount of contaminants in Long Island’s aquifers. The two Huntington freshmen have been pursuing their study in the high school’s science research program.
“Water contamination has been an enduring problem throughout the world,” states an abstract of the freshmen’s project. “By finding a way to reduce the amount of contaminants in the water, people will have healthier drinking water and will be less susceptible to illnesses.”
Ms. Gennarelli enjoys playing volleyball and soccer, painting and participating in the high school’s environmental club.
Ms. Ali is also in the environmental club as well as the Key Club, student government and the Blue Devil marching band.
The research partners have been testing in water the three most common contaminants: fluoride, nitrates and pesticides. “80 mL of water will be placed in 4 beakers with beaker No. 1 being the control and beakers No. 2-4 with different amounts of activated carbon,” states the abstract. “Beaker No. 2 will have 1g of activated carbon, beaker No. 3 will have 2g of activated carbon, and beaker No. 4 will have 3g of activated carbon.”
Ms. Gennarelli and Ms. Ali hypothesize that each type of contaminant will decrease each time activated carbon is added. “Future experiments that can be derived from this one includes testing different types of contaminants against activated carbon or testing contaminants against different cleaning agents,” the abstract concludes.
