Revisions for Bucket Monitor
| 1 CURRENT | kgradow1 |
October 21, 2020 19:58
| almost 4 years ago
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. Shannon Dosemagen and Gwen Ottinger, “Updating and Open Sourcing a Community Based Tool” VisionWe believe the bucket is a critical part of the air quality toolkit. Over the next eight months we will be collecting documentation to create an open source, digitized manual and kit for the bucket monitor. We will be documenting bucket brigades as an organizing model, highlighting cases where groups have used buckets successfully to make change. We will be putting an open source version of the bucket in the Public Lab store and sharing design documents and part lists for anyone who wants to source materials and build it themselves. Lastly, through our OpenHour calls, Q&A, and this project page, we will create a space for bucket users — past, present, and future — to connect with each other and share knowledge and best practices about this tool. How it WorksHow do I build one? The bucket is a “grab sample” tool that you can build using parts from your local hardware store. The original version used a Home Depot bucket, a Tedlar bag, a small vacuum, and a simple valve. There have been different versions over the years but they all work the same way:
Image courtesy of Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), which published the original bucket brigade manual in 1999 and was one of the earliest groups to use this tool. Click here to read the full manual, reposted with permission: What does the bucket test for? Buckets test for chemicals (gases) in the air, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and sulfur compounds: for instance, hydrogen sulfide, perchloroethylene, vinyl chloride, toluene, and benzene. They cannot be used to test particulate matter (PM), heavy metals, soot, dust, or solids. What is a bucket brigade? A group of people who are “on deck” to take an air sample in case of a suspected pollution event. The original bucket brigades used “sniffers” and “samplers” and envisioned a network of buckets supported by smell logs and complaint forms. Project HistoryThe bucket brigade model was developed by Denny Larson, by organizers at Louisiana Bucket Brigade and Communities for a Better Environment, and by Global Community Monitor, which stewarded the bucket project from 2001-2016 and until recently was the primary repository for this information. Over the course of its fifteen year history, GCM worked with over 40 organizations worldwide to train people on the bucket brigade organizing model. Organizations that have successfully used buckets include:
More resources and groups who have experience with the Bucket: http://www.pbs.org/pov/fenceline/the-bucket-brigade/ http://www.labucketbrigade.org/content/bucket Is Public Lab creating a bucket brigade? No. We are collecting documentation and best practices for how the bucket has been used in successful campaigns. If you are starting a bucket brigade and want to learn from past models, we hope this will be a useful resource in helping you get started. Who is Involved?This project is a collaboration between Public Lab and the Fair Tech Collective at Drexel University, and is funded by a grant from the 11th Hour Foundation. We are indebted to the work of Global Community Monitor, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, Communities for a Better Environment, and self-organizing and regional bucket brigades around the world and are largely working within the frame that they have created, including decades of work building buckets, refining their design, and developing a model for integrating buckets into organizing. If you have questions about this project, please email Katie Gradowski, Community Tech Fellow for Public Lab and Fair Tech Collective. You can connect with her on Public Lab at @kgradow1 or by email. What are we working on now
Project OutlineThis project consists of four parts:
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. We view this as a living document and are eager to collaborate with past and present users. UpdatesAre you interested in following along in the project? Subscribe to the tag below to get updates when we post new material. |
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| 0 | kgradow1 |
October 21, 2020 19:58
| almost 4 years ago
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. Shannon Dosemagen and Gwen Ottinger, “Updating and Open Sourcing a Community Based Tool” VisionWe believe the bucket is a critical part of the air quality toolkit. Over the next eight months we will be collecting documentation to create an open source, digitized manual and kit for the bucket monitor. We will be documenting bucket brigades as an organizing model, highlighting cases where groups have used buckets successfully to make change. We will be putting an open source version of the bucket in the Public Lab store and sharing design documents and part lists for anyone who wants to source materials and build it themselves. Lastly, through our OpenHour calls, Q&A, and this project page, we will create a space for bucket users — past, present, and future — to connect with each other and share knowledge and best practices about this tool. How it WorksHow do I build one? The bucket is a “grab sample” tool that you can build using parts from your local hardware store. The original version used a Home Depot bucket, a Tedlar bag, a small vacuum, and a simple valve. There have been different versions over the years but they all work the same way:
Image courtesy of Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), which published the original bucket brigade manual in 1999 and was one of the earliest groups to use this tool. Click here to read the full manual, reposted with permission: What does the bucket test for? Buckets test for chemicals (gases) in the air, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and sulfur compounds: for instance, hydrogen sulfide, perchloroethylene, vinyl chloride, toluene, and benzene. They cannot be used to test particulate matter (PM), heavy metals, soot, dust, or solids. What is a bucket brigade? A group of people who are “on deck” to take an air sample in case of a suspected pollution event. The original bucket brigades used “sniffers” and “samplers” and envisioned a network of buckets supported by smell logs and complaint forms. Project HistoryThe bucket brigade model was developed by Denny Larson, by organizers at Louisiana Bucket Brigade and Communities for a Better Environment, and by Global Community Monitor, which stewarded the bucket project from 2001-2016 and until recently was the primary repository for this information. Over the course of its fifteen year history, GCM worked with over 40 organizations worldwide to train people on the bucket brigade organizing model. Organizations that have successfully used buckets include:
More resources and groups who have experience with the Bucket: http://www.pbs.org/pov/fenceline/the-bucket-brigade/ http://www.labucketbrigade.org/content/bucket Is Public Lab creating a bucket brigade? No. We are collecting documentation and best practices for how the bucket has been used in successful campaigns. If you are starting a bucket brigade and want to learn from past models, we hope this will be a useful resource in helping you get started. Who is Involved?This project is a collaboration between Public Lab and the Fair Tech Collective at Drexel University, and is funded by a grant from the 11th Hour Foundation. We are indebted to the work of Global Community Monitor, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, Communities for a Better Environment, and self-organizing and regional bucket brigades around the world and are largely working within the frame that they have created, including decades of work building buckets, refining their design, and developing a model for integrating buckets into organizing. If you have questions about this project, please email Katie Gradowski, Community Tech Fellow for Public Lab and Fair Tech Collective. You can connect with her on Public Lab at @kgradow1 or by email. What are we working on now
Project OutlineThis project consists of four parts:
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. We view this as a living document and are eager to collaborate with past and present users. UpdatesAre you interested in following along in the project? Subscribe to the tag below to get updates when we post new material. |
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