The following is an abstract for the research of another colleague of mine.Allegheny College
Department of Biology, Department of Environmental Science
A Comparison of Immune System Function of Rats Exposed to Green Building Materials and Traditional Building Materials
By: D.M. Cass
Major: Biology
Americans spend 89 percent of their time indoors, which makes indoor environment quality a key issue of concern for human health. The green building movement addresses the issue through certification programs for building materials that are free of chemical off-gassing. In this study a comparison was performed on the levels of Interleukin 6(IL-6) in Sprague Dawley rats exposed to "green" building materials and "traditional" building materials. IL-6 is a cytokine in the immune system whose levels are indicative of immune system health. Twenty four juvenile male and female rates were reared in cages containing either "green", "traditional", or no additional building materials form 3 weeks of age to 12 weeks of age. Body mass data and serum samples were taken four times at three week intervals. At 12 weeks the animals were sacrificed and wet masses were taken of their spleen, gonads, and thyroid glands. The serum samples were analyzed using an IL-6 Immunoassay Kit. IL-6 levels were quantified and analyzed as well as body and organ mass data. Levels of IL-6 for the "traditional" building group decreased far more drastically in the first three weeks when compared to the "green" and "control" groups, and that the total decrease in IL-6 for the "traditional" group was much larger than the other two groups. These results suggest that traditional building materials suppressed the immune system while green materials did not.
*This research was supported in part by the Class of 1939 Senior Research Fund and the Dextra Baldwin McGonagle Fund*Linkback:
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