Students play it safe with the help of science

THE science of safety was on the minds of Colin Dineen and Jennifer Falvey, third-year students from Causeway Comprehensive School in Co Kerry, in the BT Young Scientist and Technology competition.

They were struck by the death from carbon monoxide poisoning of a guest in a hotel in Kinsale, Co Cork, in 2010 and got to thinking about how it might have been prevented.

The result is a three-in-one safety gadget they say could be easily installed in the exterior wall of any room. It uses a standard carbon monoxide detector alarm, but connects it to a ventilation system — a simple fan that draws air from outside and blows it into the affected room to dilute the poisonous gas.

But, as a third step, it also activates a SIM card inside the unit that sends an urgent message to a designated person or emergency services, identifying the location of the carbon monoxide leak, in case the occupant is overcome by fumes.

While their unit is about the size of a large cigar box, Jennifer says it could be streamlined. “It cost us about €100 to make, but you could get the price down if you produced them commercially. But then, what price do you put on life?”

Similar thoughts put Ben Jacob from De La Salle College, Waterford, on course for his project which has found an alternative to the traditional credit card-style organ donor card.

“People always say they’re happy to carry a card but in practice, they don’t.” Ben’s alternative is a thumbnail sized 2D barcode sticker that can be stuck on to helmets, sportswear, watches, even glasses. Scanned with a smartphone or traditional scanner, it reveals the individual’s name, organ donation wishes and next of kin contact details.

“It’s worth putting the idea out there because my research shows we’re 12th worst out of 32 European countries when it comes to organ transplants, yet we’re fourth highest for the numbers on the kidney transplant waiting list. Anything that helped reverse those statistics would be great.”

The exhibition continues in the RDS in Dublin today — with the winners announced tonight — and tomorrow.