Sample for Us
Help us by mobilizing your community, school, or social networks to raise the money it takes to analyze 20 liters (about 5 gallons) of seawater for signs of radioactive elements from nuclear power plants. We'll send you everything you need to take a sample and return it to us.
How does it work?
Propose a location:
We are looking for samples all across the Pacific Ocean or any location you are interested in. The only catch is that the further they are from the United States, the more shipping will cost. If you want to sample a location near you please send an email to jdrysdale@whoi.edu but FUNDRAISING IS REQUIRED so please see the following section.
Raise money:
We unfortunately do not have funding to ship and analyze samples and need your help to cover these costs. For shipments in the lower 48 States this cost is $550 per sample. In Canada, Alaska and Hawaii cost is $600 per sample. Cost for all other locations is determined based on shipping. Since we generally require a 20L sample, the cost of shipping 50+lb of water adds up. Remaining costs go towards equipment maintenance and processing.
You can raise your funds however you’d like. We will create a fundraising page specific to your location and link it on our webpage and you can share it with all your friends. You can also collect the money through various activities and have one person make the payment by credit or debit card, or we can accept a check by mail. Please talk to us about specifics. All funds donated are Tax Deductible in the U.S.
Receive the kit & take a sample:
Once you have raised your funds we will ship you a sampling box within the week. All that is required is you fill the cubitainer (plastic 20 liter container) with seawater from the location of your choice.
Send it back:
Take your sample back to the nearest UPS/FedEx location or schedule a pick-up and return the sample to us in Woods Hole using the pre-paid shipping label.
What happens to my sample?
Once we receive your sample we will process it to analyze for cesium-134 and cesium-137. To learn more about our methods please see our Results page!
Where are my Results?
We will send you your results within a month of receiving your sample. We will also post the results on the public Results page of Our Radioactive Ocean. There you will also find results of cruises and other citizen scientist samples taken.
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
