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Monitoring
- Biosensors for Environmental Monitoring (BEIS)
- Environmental Monitoring Assessment Program (EMAP)
The Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) is a research program to develop the tools necessary to monitor and assess the status and trends of national ecological resources. EMAP's goal is to develop the scientific understanding for translating environmental monitoring data from multiple spatial and temporal scales into assessments of current ecological condition and forecasts of future risks to our natural resources. - Mid-Atlantic Integrated Assessment (MAIA)
The Mid-Atlantic Integrated Assessment (MAIA) is a research, monitoring, and assessment initiative. Its main goal is to develop high-quality scientific information on the condition of the natural resources of the Mid-Atlantic region of the eastern United States, including the watersheds of the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays, Albemarle-Pamlico Sound, and the Delmarva Coastal Bays. The goal of this web site is to highlight the successes of the MAIA program and provide the public with MAIA Team products. - Remote Sensing and Geographic Data
Remote sensing is the art, science, and technology of obtaining reliable information about physical objects and the environment, through the process of recording, measuring, and interpreting imagery and digital representations of energy patterns derived from non-contact sensor systems.
- STAR Grants Research on Children's Health
Over the past few years, much attention has been given to the potential adverse health effects from children's exposure to toxic chemicals in their environments. There has also been a growing interest in the increased incidence of asthma in children, with many believing there is a link to environmental exposures. For these reasons, ORD's National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) is funding research on children's health issues which deal with asthma, lead exposure, and indoor air quality. - STAR Grants Research on Dioxin
Dioxin is a toxic industrial pollutant that is ubiquitous and persistent in the environment. It accumulates in the fat tissue of animals and humans and has been linked to adverse human health effects, including cancer and toxicity to reproductive, immunologic, and endocrine systems. - STAR Grants Research on Drinking Water
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was originally passed by Congress in 1974 to protect public health by regulating the nation's public drinking water supply. SDWA authorizes the U.S. EPA to set national health-based standards for drinking water to protect against both naturally-occurring and man-made contaminants that may be found in drinking water. - STAR Grants Research on Ecological Assessment and Indicators
Ecological indicators are markers of overall ecosystem integrity and sustainability. Research to develop indicators, or suites of indicators, is essential for assessing ecosystem health. Ecological indicators are any expression of the environment that quantitatively estimates the condition of the ecological resource, the magnitude of the stress, the exposure of the biological components to stress, or the amount of change in the condition. - STAR Grants Research on Fisheries
Many of our Nation=s native fish populations are declining or are at historically low levels because a combination of habitat degradation, inadequate fish passage, overfishing, introductions of nonindigenous species, poor land management practices, or urbanization. - STAR Grants Research on the Great Lakes
Over time, the Great Lakes have been faced with many environmental threats. These problems range from contaminated fish to invasive species to airborne toxics. - STAR Grants Research on Mercury
Mercury is present in the environment at levels estimated to be two to five times greater than pre-industrial levels. The consequences of airborne and waterborne mercury on human and ecological health can be severe. NCER=s research activities are studying the risks created by mercury in our environment so that we can better understand how to eliminate them. - STAR Grants Research on Mining Impact
Mining operations can have adverse environmental effects on surface water and ground water as well as fish and wildlife. Depending on the type of mining, wastes can include acid mine drainage, waste rock, slurries, spent ore, and mill tailings that can be the sources of suspended solids and heavy metals. - STAR Grants Research on Pesticide Removal and Agricultural Impact
The effects of pesticides and agricultural practices on water quality have been a concern for many years. Beginning in the early 1990s, widespread environmental and public-health concerns resulted in a Federal water-quality initiative to work with farmers to protect the Nation's surface water and ground water from nutrient and pesticide contamination. - STAR Grants Research on Remediation
Basic and applied remediation research is conducted in both EPA Laboratories and Centers. In addition, through the National Center for Environmental Research (NCER), EPA competitively funds extramural research in environmental remediation. The purpose of this research is to protect human health and the environment; to prevent exposure of potential human and ecological receptors to hazardous or deleterious substances that have been released to soil, sediment, surface water, or groundwater. - STAR Grants Research on Sediments
EPA estimates that about 10 percent of the sediment underlying U.S. surface waters is sufficiently contaminated with toxic pollutants to pose risks to fish and fish consumers. In addition, many dredging operations involve contaminated sediments that create difficult remediation problems. - STAR Grants Research on Urban Sprawl
Across the U.S., there is a growing concern that current development patterns are no longer in the long-term interest of our cities, existing suburbs, small towns, rural communities or wilderness areas. Communities are also questioning the economic costs of abandoning infrastructure in the city, only to rebuild it further out. - STAR Grants Research on NOx
Scientists have confirmed that sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) are the primary causes of acid rain. In the U.S., about 1/4 of all NOx comes from electric power generation that relies on burning fossil fuels like coal. Acid deposition has a variety of effects, including damage to forests and soils, fish and other living things, materials, and human health. In addition, NOx react with other chemicals in the atmosphere to form ozone, the primary component of smog. NOx can travel large distances before reacting to form ozone and, therefore, creates regional pollution problems, rather than simply affecting the local area where it is emitted. - STAR Grants Research on PCB
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were used in hundreds of industrial and commercial applications before production ceased in1977. These chemicals have been shown to cause cancer in animals; they have also been shown to have serious noncancer health effects in animals, including adverse effects on immune, reproductive, nervous, and endocrine systems. Because they are highly persistent and bioaccumulate in the environment, PCBs are still of concern. - STAR Grants Research on Pesticide Bio- and Phytoremediation
Microorganisms and plants have the potential to remediate a variety of contaminants. Recently, scientists have investigated the possibility of exploiting this potential to clean up pesticide-contaminated soil and water. Bioremediation of pesticides is particularly challenging since these compounds can be highly toxic. It is generally agreed that a better understanding of biological mechanisms is needed to effectively apply bioremediation for environmental cleanup of pesticide waste. - STAR Grants Research on Pesticides and Human Health
Exposure to environmental pollutants, including pesticides, has the potential to adversely effect human health. In addition, children may be more vulnerable than adults to the effects of environmental contaminants. NCER and its partners are working to improve the data on human and childhood exposure and susceptibilities to pesticide residues.
Other links
- Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking (EMPACT)
Having met the program's goals, the Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking (EMPACT) Program ended in 2001. EMPACT grants are no longer available. Many of the valuable lessons learned from EMPACT are accessible at this link through the EMPACT Technology Transfer Handbooks and resource documents, as well as from the EMPACT projects that are continuing to provide their communities with valuable local environmental information. Many of the EMPACT projects are working with other communities with similar local environmental monitoring needs.