Air / water / soil quality

News and Updates

Someone wearing a safety vest holds up a handful of black plastic pellets.

Spotlight: Paving the Way With Recycled Plastics in the State of Hawai‘i

October 3, 2023

In the state of Hawai‘i, our collaborators are building asphalt roads with recycled plastics. It’s part of a sustainable transportation initiative. NIST is

A woman in safety glasses stands between rows of metal cylinders.

Spotlight: Physical Scientist Christina Cecelski Goes From In-Flight to In-the-Lab Experiences

April 20, 2023

Coming from flights of fancy (instruments), physical scientist Christina Cecelski has landed at a place that matches her personality: NIST.

Sneezes, Rain Clouds and Ink Jets: NIST Improves the Ability of Optical Microscopes to Measure the Volume of Microdroplets

December 20, 2021

Sneezes, rain clouds, and ink jet printers: They all produce or contain liquid droplets so tiny it would take several billion of them to fill a liter bottle

Projects and Programs

Microplastic and Nanoplastic Metrology

Ongoing

The mission of the Micro and Nanoplastic (MNP) Metrology Project is to assist regulators in assessing the human health and environmental risks associated with

DNA Plasmid containing 13 PCR targets for water quality testing

Standards for Assessing the Safety of Recreational Waters from Fecal Contamination

Completed

Contamination of waterways with fecal material leads to the dissemination of pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can have serious impacts on human

Photo montage showing fill the airplane with fire-fighting foam, a spilled glass of wine on the tablecloth. Cleaning clothes and furniture from stains, Discarded Fast Food Wrappers Littered on Ground, wateproof jacket with water droplets on it. Jacket using the gore-tex technology.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)

Ongoing

NIST works to improve confidence in measurements and conducts research on PFAS for better human health and the environment.

Photograph of the NIST Standard Reference Photometer showing the component modules consisting of optical bench with sample and reference tubes, ozone generator module with controls and tubing, and control module with numeric LED displays.

The NIST Standard Reference Photometer for Ozone Measurement Traceability

Ongoing

The NIST Standard Reference Photometer (SRP), developed jointly with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), has provided an infrastructure for the

Publications

Standards to Support an Enduring Capability in Wastewater Surveillance for Public Health: Where Are We?

December 1, 2022

Author(s)

Stephanie Servetas, Kirsten Parratt, NIchole Brinkman, Orin Shanks, Ted Smith, Philip Mattson, Nancy Lin

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted a wide range of public health system challenges for infectious disease surveillance. The discovery that the SARS-CoV-2 virus

Potential artifacts and control experiments in toxicity tests of nanoplastic and microplastic particles

October 14, 2022

Author(s)

Elijah Petersen, Ana Barrios, Theodore Henry, Monique Johnson, Albert Koelmans, Antonio Montoro Bustos, Joanna Matheson, Matthias Roesslein, Jian Zhao, Baoshan Xing

To fully understand the potential ecological and human health risks from nanoplastics and microplastics (NMPs) in the environment, it is critical to make

Common Single-use Consumer Plastic Products Release Trillions of Nanoparticles per Liter into Water During Normal Use

April 20, 2022

Author(s)

Christopher D. Zangmeister, James Radney, Kurt D. Benkstein, Berc Kalanyan

This study demonstrates that commonly used consumer products such as single use food grade nylon bags and hot beverage cups lined with low-density polyethylene

Impact of disaster research on the development of early career researchers: Lessons learned from the wastewater monitoring community pandemic response

April 7, 2022

Author(s)

Jeseth Delgado Vela, Jill McClary-Gutierrez, Mitham Al-faliti, Peter Arts, Robert Barbero, Cristalyne Bell, Mira Chaplin, Nishita D'Souza, Janet Baffoe, Kevin Bakker, Devrim Kaya, Raul Gonzalez, Kate Harrison, Sherin Kannoly, Ishi Keenum, Lin Li, Zachary Marsh, Brian Pecson, Sarah Philo, Hema P. Ravindran, Jatuwat Sangsanont, Rebecca Schneider, Melissa Schussman, Emily Segelhurst, Abhilasha Shrestha, Lauren Stadler, Allan Vajra, Krista R. Wigginton, Alexandria Boehm, Rolf Halden, Kyle Bibby

Software

Quick Indoor CO2 (QICO2) Tool

April 8, 2022

This tool is used for implementing the CO 2 concentration calculations. After providing the relevant inputs, or selecting from a number of predefined cases, the

ViPER - Virus Particle Exposure in Residences

November 22, 2021

The web-based tool Virus Particle Exposure in Residences (ViPER) allows users to compare an individual scenario against multiple “what-if” scenarios related to

Tools and Instruments

Ozone Standard Reference Photometer

DESCRIPTION The Standard Reference Photometer (SRP) Program began in the early 1980s as collaboration between NIST and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Awards

Lisa Ng Receives IBPSA-USA Emerging Contributor Award

For demonstrating potential for significant contributions to the field of building simulation and prospects for continued contributions.