Identify oil pollutants with the DIY Homebrew Oil Testing Kit by Public Lab

Let’s face it, pollution is rampant. No matter how hard we try to escape from the deathly grip of these man-made hazards, pollutants somehow manage to wind up in our day to day life! To help the wary stay away from hazardous pollutants, the Public Lab recently unveiled this DIY kit called the Homebrew Oil Testing Kit that enables users to keep away from oil pollution. The kit recognizes the types of oil pollution and is also capable of determining sources.

Using an open source spectrometer and ultraviolet laser, the kit matches suspected samples with samples of crude oil, motor oil, heating oil and other petroleum based pollutants. Currently, the kit is on Kickstarter, and Public Lab is looking for crowd-funding for the same. A kit like this could help spot pollutants at home, without the need of seeking the help of a professional laboratory.

[Via – Inhabitat]