Community Labor Refinery Tracking Committee - Bucket Brigade


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What is the Bucket Brigade? The "Bucket Brigade" is a simple, but effective, tool that dozens of communities are using to find out for themselves what chemicals are in the air. Armed with their own data and information about the health effects of chemicals, these communities are winning impressive reductions of pollution, safety improvements and increasing enforcement of environmental laws. How does it work? The bucket takes an air sample using a "grab" sampling technique. The bucket traps a few liters of air in a teflon-type bag which you can then send to a lab for analysis. It's that simple! Why Community Based Air Sampling? You can use bucket so measure everyday pollution levels. You can watchdog industry. You can pressure government agencies to take more measurements. You can use data to make connections between health concerns and pollution. Because knowledge is power! How can the Bucket Brigade help my community? By using a bucket, you can help make people aware of the pollution levels that effect your community and then work to reduce your exposure. There are many sources of air pollutants in the urban environment that can impact your health:
cars and trucks dry cleaners oil refineries incinerators auto body shops	chemical plants waste dumps construction sites waste water facilities
Is there any cost? No--Clean Water Fund has a grant in order to run this program at no cost to the community. We will give you a bucket and pay for the lab sampling. All you have to do is attend a training seminar and agree to be on call to take a sample when necessary. How do I get involved? Call (215) 640-8800 today. One of our staff members will come train you on how to use a bucket or let you know of other ways to assist the Bucket Brigade program. "What's In Our Air?" In 2003, CLRTC and Clean Water Fund released their report summarizing data collected in 9 air samples that year. The samples detected 54 chemicals, including volatile organic compounds, herbicides and solvents. 7 are known or suspected carcinogens 12 are known or suspected to cause reproductive or developmental disorders 16 are respiratory irritants 21 have neurotoxic effects Five chemicals exceeded the EPA Region III Risk Based Concentration. Two chemicals exceeded the Texas Effects Screening Level. 78% of the time, the buckets detected air that was potentially unhealthy to breathe according to at least one air standard. To view full report, click here. Five more samples were taken in South and Southwest Phialdelphia since the release of the 2003 "What's in Our Air?" report: Sample 12- Taken on 6/26/03 at 24th and Hartranft St No Volatile Organic Compounds detected 14 Tentatively Identified Compounds detected No air quality standard exceedances Sample 13- Taken 7/16/03 at Passyunk Ave Bridge Toluene detected at 5.1 ug/m3 3 Tentatively Identified Compounds detected No air quality standard exceedances Sample 14- Taken 10.29/03 at 61st and Lindbergh Toluene detected at 6.0 ug/m3 and Xylenes detected at 15 ug/m3 2 Tentatively Identified Compounds detected No air quality standard exceedances Sample 15- Taken 11/24/03 at 24th and Ellsworth Toluene detected at 7.3 ug/m3 12 Tentatively Identified Compounds detected No air quality standard exceedances Sample 16- Taken 12/29/03 at 63rd and Eastwick Toluene detected at 11 ug/m3 and trichlorofluoromethane detected at 52 ug/m3 10 Tentatively Identified Compounds detected 2 air quality standard exceedances for Isobutane detected at 1000 ug/m3 and Ethanol at 2000 ug/m3 Back to PABucketBrigade.Org
Community Labor Refinery Tracking Committee A Project of Clean Water Action/Clean Water Fund 100 N. 17th Street, 9th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-640-8800 * webmaster@pabucketbrigade.org