Bucket Monitor
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.
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.
For this project Public labs teamed up with the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance, Groundwork, and Fair Tech Collective to take you through all the information you need to monitor your own air quality, or establish your own bucket network
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 premade 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 case studies about its implementation in Tonawanda and South Durban.
Activities
Activities should include a materials list, costs and a step-by-step guide to construction with photos. Learn what makes a good activity here.
Questions
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.
Updates
Are you interested in following along in the project? Subscribe to the tag below to get updates when we post new material.