"Buckets" that sampled air quality were pioneered by attorney Edward L. Masry in 1995 after he and Erin Brockovich fell ill when exposed to fumes from a petroleum refinery in Contra Costa County, California. Unsatisfied with the monitoring conducted by government authorities, Masry hired an environmental engineer to design a low cost device which community activists could use to monitor toxin levels themselves.
Missionedit
The mission of the LABB is to "support communities' use of grassroots action to create informed, sustainable neighborhoods free from industrial pollution."[2] To accomplish this goal, the organization uses the bucket to take air samples in residential areas that are located near oil refineries and chemical plants. The LABB compiles several air samples from different citizens around one area; with this evidence they strive to reduce the levels of pollution.[2]
Bucket technologyedit
Designed to function like the Summa canisters used by government and industry, the buckets used in a Bucket Brigade are far cheaper and have comparable results. Air is drawn into a Tedlar bag housed inside a five gallon bucket. The bag is sealed and sent to a laboratory for analysis. The bag's contents are analyzed using Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and compared to a library of toxic gases. While the buckets cost only $75 each, the GC-MS samples cost $500.
Organizing in Louisianaedit
The community of Mossville is located in between Westlake and Sulphur across the Calcasieu River from the city of Lake Charles in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana. Forty of the fifty-three industrial facilities in Calcasieu Parish are located within 10 miles of Mossville. These facilities represent the largest concentration of vinyl plastic manufacturers in the U.S., a coal-fired power plant, oil refineries, and chemical production facilities.
In September 1998, Mossville residents of "fenceline communities" formed a bucket brigade and began taking samples. The samples revealed violations of Louisiana standards for vinyl chloride, ethylene dichloride, and benzene. One sample found carcinogenic benzene in excess of 220 times the State's standard.
In the following year, after much media attention, the Environmental Protection Agency confirmed pollution levels higher than detected by the bucket brigade. Some facilities were fined and new monitoring devices were installed. By 1999, bucket brigades had spread throughout the cancer alley of Louisiana, leading to the formation of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade. The organization gives grants to community groups to continue bucket monitoring.
^Louisiana Bucket Brigade: Communities 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine
External linksedit
The Louisiana Bucket Brigade
April 10, 2024
louisiana, bucket, brigade, nonprofit, environmental, health, justice, organization, based, orleans, louisiana, founded, 2000, anne, rolfes, organization, works, with, communities, neighboring, state, refineries, chemical, plants, address, quality, issues, off. The Louisiana Bucket Brigade is a 501 c 3 nonprofit environmental health and justice organization based in New Orleans Louisiana Founded in 2000 by Anne Rolfes 1 the organization works with communities neighboring state oil refineries and chemical plants to address air quality issues Louisiana Bucket Brigade official logo Contents 1 Background 2 Mission 3 Bucket technology 4 Organizing in Louisiana 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksBackground edit Buckets that sampled air quality were pioneered by attorney Edward L Masry in 1995 after he and Erin Brockovich fell ill when exposed to fumes from a petroleum refinery in Contra Costa County California Unsatisfied with the monitoring conducted by government authorities Masry hired an environmental engineer to design a low cost device which community activists could use to monitor toxin levels themselves Mission editThe mission of the LABB is to support communities use of grassroots action to create informed sustainable neighborhoods free from industrial pollution 2 To accomplish this goal the organization uses the bucket to take air samples in residential areas that are located near oil refineries and chemical plants The LABB compiles several air samples from different citizens around one area with this evidence they strive to reduce the levels of pollution 2 Bucket technology editDesigned to function like the Summa canisters used by government and industry the buckets used in a Bucket Brigade are far cheaper and have comparable results Air is drawn into a Tedlar bag housed inside a five gallon bucket The bag is sealed and sent to a laboratory for analysis The bag s contents are analyzed using Gas chromatography mass spectrometry GC MS and compared to a library of toxic gases While the buckets cost only 75 each the GC MS samples cost 500 Organizing in Louisiana editThe community of Mossville is located in between Westlake and Sulphur across the Calcasieu River from the city of Lake Charles in Calcasieu Parish Louisiana Forty of the fifty three industrial facilities in Calcasieu Parish are located within 10 miles of Mossville These facilities represent the largest concentration of vinyl plastic manufacturers in the U S a coal fired power plant oil refineries and chemical production facilities In September 1998 Mossville residents of fenceline communities formed a bucket brigade and began taking samples The samples revealed violations of Louisiana standards for vinyl chloride ethylene dichloride and benzene One sample found carcinogenic benzene in excess of 220 times the State s standard In the following year after much media attention the Environmental Protection Agency confirmed pollution levels higher than detected by the bucket brigade Some facilities were fined and new monitoring devices were installed By 1999 bucket brigades had spread throughout the cancer alley of Louisiana leading to the formation of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade The organization gives grants to community groups to continue bucket monitoring Communities currently participating in the Bucket Brigade include Alsen Baton Rouge Chalmette Mossville New Sarpy Norco Louisiana Port Arthur Texas and Durban South Africa 3 The Louisiana Bucket Brigade is featured in the 2002 documentary film Blue Vinyl See also edit nbsp Environment portal nbsp Ecology portal nbsp Earth sciences portalBlue Vinyl Sustainability Biodiversity Global warming Ecology Earth Science Natural environmentReferences edit LA Bucket Brigade Climate Action Network International Retrieved 13 September 2020 a b Louisiana Bucket Brigade LABB Scientific American Louisiana Bucket Brigade Communities Archived 2007 04 15 at the Wayback MachineExternal links editThe Louisiana Bucket Brigade Global Community Monitor Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Louisiana Bucket Brigade amp oldid 1177396404, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
