The “bucket” is a low-cost, community-friendly air sampler that helps people measure toxic chemicals such as benzene and hydrogen sulfide in their air. Developed in the late 1990s, it was one of the first (if not the very first) do-it-together environmental monitors. Communities living near oil refineries and petrochemical plants gathered to build their own buckets. They established phone trees to make sure that, when noxious fumes enveloped their neighborhood, someone would take a sample.
  • Read more: Shannon Dosemagen and Gwen Ottinger, “Updating and Open Sourcing a Community Based Tool” Buckets are still relevant for many communities, especially those in close proximity to oil refineries, fracking sites, and other kinds of petrochemical operations. They test for chemicals like benzene, hydrogen sulfide, perchloroethylene, and vinyl chloride, as well as other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and sulfur compounds that are gases in the ambient air. They cannot be used to test particulate matter (PM), heavy metals, soot, dust, or solids. Think a bucket could be the right tool for you? This page includes links to everything you need (we hope) to learn how to use the bucket to achieve your goals. The resources here were developed in a collaboration that included Public Lab, the Fair Tech Collective, the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance, and Groundwork. ##In this series we will introduce you to: ###How to build a bucket monitor Learn about the materials you will need to build a bucket monitor and where you can find them. We will also take you step-by-step through the building process and ways to troubleshoot your bucket. If crafting is not for you, follow this link to buy a pre-made bucket monitor. ###How to take a sample with a bucket monitor Find out how to use your bucket monitor to get the most accurate and relevant data for you. We will take you through how to pick a location, how to manually take a sample, and how to get the sample ready for lab analysis. ###How to interpret your bucket data Learn more about the variety of VOC's that buckets monitor for as well as what the concentration of each substance could mean for your health. ###Uses of bucket monitoring data Bucket monitoring data can serve a variety of purposes ranging from informing community members about their exposure risk to helping push for new legislation to regulate refineries emissions levels. Learn more here about what others have been able to do as a result of monitoring data as well as options you have to best meet your monitoring goals. ###History of the bucket monitor Learn more about the invention of the bucket monitor as well as various bucket monitoring networks currently in use. **** ##Activities [activities:bucket-monitor] ## Questions [questions:bucket-monitor] **** ### Have you used the bucket? If you have used buckets in your own work and want to be part of this project, please email Community Technology Fellow Katie Gradowski [here](mailto:katie.gradowski@gmail.com). We view this as a living document and are eager to collaborate with past and present users. ### Updates Are you interested in following along in the project? Subscribe to the tag below to get updates when we post new material. Subscribe to updates on this project