Urgent help is needed to fund the BBAG Pollution Watch

Urgent help is needed to complete the payments for professional air and water quality baseline tests (and to raise funds for a professionally and scientifically recognised spectrophotometer, ( Hach DR1900) This will give much more accurate reading of the water quality and detect contaminants related to the oil industry. Regular testing in labs is prohibitively expensive.

Our pollution watch team is currently working around the site of the oil well near Billingshurst, West Sussex where the oil company has been using a controversial acidising technique. This type of stimulation can be done at high pressures using a higher concentration of chemicals than fracking, including biocides (life killing). We understand this to have the potential to leave a toxic legacy in our drinking water aquifers with this risk increased by every new acidised oil well in the locality. The team are sharing their knowledge and helping other local sites who are under the same threat. It is believed the oil companies are negotiating for more new sites within the Weald at the moment.

Funds raised so far: £4,500 which covered the first installment to our industry respected experts. Now, due to a broken promise to match this initial fundraiser, the cost of the balance has fallen on one of the people who put in a lot of the hard work to organise and commission these vital tests. She is still £1,000s in debt.

The final payments are now well overdue. It is vital that these payments are made on time to keep the goodwill of the wonderful professionals, prepared to work with peaceful opposition to this potentially destructive and unnecessary industry.

We know the regulators are unable or unwilling to take responsibility for this type of testing. We hope our continual programme of monitoring and testing will shame those who drew up the guidelines as well as alert us to any emerging problems in air or water quality.

All our results and methodologies will be shared with those opposing Onshore Oil and Gas developments including those peacefully opposed to Hydraulic Fracking for Shale Gas.

Watch this video for a better understanding of our concerns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGxW8K13nd0&t=4s

For more information or donations please contact pollutionwatch.broadfordbridge@gmail.com

Please do what you can to support this appeal and share widely. It will be so appreciated!