Combat Air Pollution!

With Bucket Brigades

Train teams of community volunteers to seek out and eliminate local sources of poisonous air emissions

Teams of fire fighters once extinguished house fires with teams carrying buckets of water.  In a similar fashion, Bucket Brigade air pollution teams extinguish toxic pollution with a home made air sampling device which also uses a bucket.

The Program

Our patented and EPA-approved grab sampling Bucket device is a reliable yet economical way to measure air toxins. Air pollutants detected by the device include dichloromethane, hydrogen sulfide, perchloroethylene, vinyl chloride, and toluene. These are common industrial pollutants emitted by chemical plants, dry cleaners, asphalt plants, paper mills, incinerators, etc. Some of these compounds trigger asthma, some are carcinogens, all are toxic.

The Bucket Brigade gives citizens’ groups a tool to check out the air wherever you live. It's like an environmental community watch program. The device captures a sample for laboratory analysis. The program allows residents living near emission sources to take samples whenever pollution occurs, even at night or on weekends when state agencies typically cannot respond.

The Method

Residents living near air pollution sources form a neighborhood team, do neighborhood surveillance, record information about wind direction and odors, learn to operate the patented Bucket sampling equipment, take a sample of toxic air pollution, and send the sample to an EPA-certified laboratory.

The Price Tag

The equipment costs for the test bucket are about $250 each, and the bucket can be re-used many, many times if properly cared for. The laboratory costs are the largest recurring expense; each test can cost from $200-$450 each depending on the number of toxic compounds analyzed. A biannual calibration test also costs about $400. Overnight shipping to send the sample to the lab usually costs about $15. To reduce costs organize your group to gather as much information as possible before taking your first sample.

BLUE RIDGE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE LEAGUE

www.BREDL.org ~ PO Box 88  Glendale Springs, NC 28629 USA ~ Phone 01 (336) 982-2691  ~ Email BREDL@skybest.com