Staples High School students do some very impressive things.
Players’ current production of “Les Misérables” is drawing absolute raves. (If you haven’t seen it yet: Read on!). Hundreds of musicians are preparing for the 85th annual Candlelight Concert. Boys soccer won the state championship; field hockey camethisclose.
All those accomplishments make our entire town proud.
But under the radar, other students pursue their own passions.
And like their classmates who garner more attention, they do it very, very well.
Ignacy Nieweglowski and Sahil Vora are juniors and friends, with an interest in science and technology.
Together, they founded Staples’ Health Tech Initiative Club. The student-led organization tackles public health issues through technology.
Right now, they’re focusing on lead contamination across Connecticut, and the entire US.
Staples’ Health Tech Initiative Club, in action.
The club began as a way for students to get involved in research. The initial goal was to develop an inexpensive solution to detecting PFAS (“forever chemicals”) in water.
After almost 2 months of literature review and a meeting with a Yale professor, they realized that hundreds of researchers are working to do exactly that.
They decided to pivot to something that in recent years has not gotten the attention it deserves, especially as the Environmental Protection Agency has been defunded.
Ignacy, Sahil and their club found that lead contamination continues to be one of the most pervasive but disregarded issues in American healthcare.
They know they can’t fix the problem directly. But they can raise awareness, and push for legislative change and community action.
Exploring the issue in Connecticut, they learned that some public waterways in Westport surpass the federal Lead Copper Rule standard mandated by the EPA of 15 parts per billion.
(Public reports are available on their website; click on the data section, and open source reports.)
Westport’s lead contamination heat map.
They’re working now on better mapping of lead contamination in Westport. They hope to reach out to organizations and community leaders, to bring the issue to the forefront of public health in Connecticut.
Their biggest need right now, Ignacy and Sahil say, is public support.
Over the past year, the pair has developed an open-source platform: leadwatchhti.org.
Anyone can report and view lead test results in their area. So far, they’ve received over 30 reports. Several are above the EPA’s federal action level of 15 ppb.
“These demand immediate action at the local level,” Ignacy and Sahil say.
“We want to reignite passion for this issue. The current Connecticut Department of Public Health action level at 15ppb for lead was last updated in 2004. Two decades later, scientific evidence shows that any detectable levels of lead can be irreversibly harmful.”
The duo will be distributing free lead test kits, and setting up community stations at the Westport Library and Staples High.
They also hope to partner with local leaders, state legislators, and organizations like Lead Free CT to help contribute to our database, prove that this is still an issue — and help solve it.
To learn more, email Ignacy (ignacy.nieweglowski@gmail.com) and/or Sahil Vora (sahilvora828@gmail.com).
(“06880” often highlights the amazing achievements of our town’s young people. If you enjoy stories like these — or anything else on our hyper-local blog — please click here to support us. Thanks!)
