Should You Drink or Soak?
by Madison Brandt
6th Grade, Barranca

Abstract

My project is about going to three different natural hot springs and testing their water for bacteria and their soil for natural radiation levels. Really, the entire project was to see if drinking natural hot spring water is healthy for your body or not. This project had five main steps to find the levels of bacteria and radiation levels in the hot springs. The first step was to collect the samples where there I went to different areas in the Jemez Mountains for hot springs samples. Second, I sent the soil samples to scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, who then tested the soil samples for natural radiation levels. Third, I tested the water through four different types of tests (pH, bacteria with meter, bacteria with chemicals, and alkalinity). The fourth step I learned how to understand my results and last, but not least, I understood how to understand my projects results.

The conclusion I came up with at the end was that no matter how the natural hot spring is formed, or where it is, it will always somehow be unhealthy (unsafe) to drink. For example, Spence is high in human activity compared to McCauley and as a result Spence was higher in bacteria than McCauley. Through the long processes, I have realized one thing, it’s all worth it.