Oil and Gas Accountability Toolkit
oil

The Public Lab non-profit hosts the **Oil and Gas Accountability Toolkit**, a collection of resources and a coalition of people working around the world on oil and gas issues. This toolkit goes beyond just "tools" to include: * peer support networks * [stories](/blog) of change and of challenges * ways to [build a community of practice](/facilitation) for sustained collaboration on a problem To see a full list of monitoring methods related to oil and gas, [click here](https://publiclab.org/methods#oil-and-gas). ### Coalitions What follows are a range of different topic-specific coalitions we've helped to bring together around a range of oil and gas related issues. We’ve learned more than ever to rely on the creativity and diverse skill-sets of contributors to develop new and unexpected ways of achieving goals. The thousands of people around the world who make up the Public Lab network **bring incredible expertise and a willingness to plug in and tackle problems** and continue to inspire us in their power and capacity. It’s our continuing responsibility to help them recognize and form alliances, and to solve problems together. ### Frac sand mining These resources are built around work supported by the [11th Hour Project](https://11thhourproject.org) which [focused on the issue of frac sand mining](/frac-sand). Since then, a range of projects have evolved to address different aspects of the issue. **** ## Air Monitoring ![microscope](https://publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/022/880/large/OI000139_2.jpg) ### Microscope The Basic Microscope project on Public Lab was born from people’s interest in being able to visualize particulate matter that is known to be harmful for human and livestock health. Several local community members recognized the challenges in advocating with purely numerical data; when people can’t visualize and directly see threats, it can be easier to ignore. [wikis:microscopes] ### Air sampling Building on work by the Bucket Brigade, we've documented and collected several different techniques for collecting air samples for processing at a lab. [wikis:air-sampling] ### Measuring particles There are many different ways to measure particulate pollution. Read below to find out more. [wikis:particulate-sensing-overview] ### Visual emission monitoring Using your eyes or a camera to monitor emissions is a powerful type of monitoring which has several EPA methods associated with it. [wikis:visual-monitoring] ![Screen_Shot_2018-04-16_at_2.57.43_PM.png](https://publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/024/620/large/Screen_Shot_2018-04-16_at_2.57.43_PM.png) ### Hydrogen Sulfide (above image by @ErikHanley11) [wikis:h2s-overview] ### Odor Reporting [wikis:odor] **** ![stormwater](/system/images/photos/000/024/626/large/Screen_Shot_2018-04-16_at_3.42.04_PM.png) ## Water Monitoring A wide range of sample-based, electronic, and other methods of monitoring water quality have been compiled on Public Lab, reflecting a range of efforts across our community. [wikis:water-monitoring] ![timelapse](/system/images/photos/000/018/073/large/Screenshot_2016-09-19_at_2.32.15_PM.png) ### Photo documentation Public Lab work began with photographic monitoring using [balloons and kites](/balloon-mapping). We've grown our coalition around a number of other ways that powerful visual evidence can be produced through photography. [wikis:photo-monitoring] ### Turbidity A range of techniques has been compiled around turbidity monitoring: [wikis:turbidity] ![datalogger](/system/images/photos/000/020/770/large/Screenshot_2017-06-12_at_3.06.25_PM.png) ### Datalogging A surprisingly broad coalition of projects has developed around Public Lab for logging data from different sources. See the main [Data Logging page](/data-logging) for more. [wikis:datalogger] **** ![soil sampling](/system/images/photos/000/024/627/large/Screen_Shot_2018-04-16_at_3.44.24_PM.png) ## Soil Monitoring We're developing initial soil sampling and monitoring techniques and resources under the "soil testing" topic: [wikis:soil-testing] **** ## Questions [questions:oil-and-gas]...


Author Comment Last activity Moderation
joychai "Nutritional supplement Protetox is marketed as an aid to weight loss. According to the manufacturer, the combination of natural ingredients in this..." | Read more » over 2 years ago
Ag8n "If you are using Gc/ms, there are two common type detectors, quad detectors and ion trap detectors. I'm partial to quads. But I've had salesman t..." | Read more » about 3 years ago
laurel_mire "Thanks to all who have contributed to this question! I didn't know about the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method but found a good overview ..." | Read more » about 3 years ago
Ag8n "Of you go to a commercial lab...quite expensive. There is one commercial instrument maker that is very good at donating ( or at least dramatically..." | Read more » about 3 years ago
liz "This note doesn't fully capture the information shared by Randall Auston, Chief of the Spill Response Program, Region 2 (NY City), Division of Envi..." | Read more » about 3 years ago
jjcreedon "Yes, you are correct that a GC could answer your question.. you could send it to a lab, not sure how expensive that would be. " | Read more » about 3 years ago
Ag8n "My purpose is strictly to measure. The cleanup part is not my strong point, so it must be left to someone else. But to go on with the testing. T..." | Read more » over 3 years ago
jjcreedon "Do you want to test the oil first and then figure out how to clean it up? what are your objectives? " | Read more » over 3 years ago
Ag8n "Others are better trained on how to soak up absorb the oil than me. Yes, I had some training. But only on a lab scale. It wouldn't work for the ..." | Read more » over 3 years ago
liz "Do you think you want to try to identify the weight of the oil and maybe find the likely sources in order to try to reduce how much is leaking, or ..." | Read more » over 3 years ago
superslot89 "You must have been practicing " | Read more » over 3 years ago
Ag8n "Ok. The last time I did this test was quite a few years ago. So there is probably something better, now. The quick test was called "oil and greas..." | Read more » over 3 years ago
Ag8n "You have to be careful on how different methods work. The answers can vary dramatically from method to method. For example, if atomic absorption(..." | Read more » almost 4 years ago
EllenHarri "It is a very Useful post. " | Read more » about 4 years ago
theodoreeugene779 "Dear Madam / Sir. We, OOO "KULIGINSKOE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY As a Re-Seller company and a representative to a major refinery in Russian Federat..." | Read more » over 4 years ago
liz "thanks for explaining this application Scott, i understand it better now. Thank you for all your work! " | Read more » almost 5 years ago
farhanbinkhalid50 "Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Scottish Great Highland bagp..." | Read more » almost 5 years ago
stevie "@stevie awards a barnstar to eustatic for their awesome contribution! " | Read more » almost 5 years ago
eustatic "Update from Naomi. This was a rush build, and crews were still out re-burying the pipeline in late September 2019. The pipeline has been pumping o..." | Read more » almost 5 years ago
eustatic "Update from Naomi. This was a rush build, and crews were still out re-burying the pipeline in late September 2019. The pipeline has been pumping o..." | Read more » almost 5 years ago
stevie "Update: the Emery Board has also been used to measure water depth around pipeline sites " | Read more » almost 5 years ago
atlaslab_marketing "Nice Aricle!! ATLAS lube oil testing research centre gives quality and condition evaluation of oils utilised in motors and other equipment. We inc..." | Read more » about 5 years ago
charlotte_clarke "This page from Penn State has a great summary of natural gas activity indicators, their expected levels in areas with natural gas drilling, and rel..." | Read more » about 5 years ago
Markos "Hi wmacfarl, Just some information about 3 analytical parameters that indicate the "organic load" in water. By "organic load" I mean the "sum" of ..." | Read more » about 5 years ago