 "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.Denny Larson promoted the use of the buckets in other communities, including outside of California, and helped found the Louisiana Bucket Brigade.