A one-health approach to safety instruction: A framework for livestock housing environment monitoring using arduino-based sensors

Most gases in the air we breathe do not have properties that allow you to detect, either by sight or smell, their presence. Many toxic gases can be found in agricultural confined spaces such as barns, silos, or manure pits. These can create hazards for animals as well as humans. Human workers occasionally must enter manure pits or silos for equipment maintenance. Ventilation and gas detection are important to ensure the safety of human workers and livestock within environmentally controlled barns. It is important to detect the concentration of gases present in an enclosed building or space to limit the risk of injury, illness, or death. This One-Health Approach presentation will provide insights to designing a hands-on Arduino-based carbon dioxide (CO2) gas sensor workshop that can be used as a stand-alone activity or as part of a related extension curriculum to educate individuals on safety pertinent to animal and human health. This activity uses a metallic oxide gas sensor to detect levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas in the air. Participants will connect the gas sensor to an Arduino Uno microcontroller board to measure the concentration of CO2 gas in the air, and a small OLED display to show the measured CO2 gas concentration in parts per million (ppm). Arduino is an open-source electronics platform that allows users to connect a wide variety of inexpensive sensors and other hardware with a microprocessor that can be easily programmed to perform many useful functions.