$250 Gadget Sniffs Out Methane Leaks from Abandoned Wells

Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) built a $250 gadget that sits over an old, abandoned oil or gas well and sniffs for methane leaks around the clock, reporting its findings online. The research paper behind it leans on a well-known 2014 Princeton study of abandoned wells in Pennsylvania. That study is worth a second look, because its "average" leaking well isn't so average. Read the fine print, and you'll find most old wells leak a tiny amount, or nothing at all, while a handful of bad actors drive the headline numbers. That's why a cheap tool that can tell the difference could save taxpayers a lot of money.

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