Air / water / soil quality

News and Updates

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

Spotlight: Tracking Methylmercury, a Toxic Substance in Natural Waters

August 16, 2021

Mercury — the only metal that exists in liquid form at room temperature — may move like water, but its effect on the environment certainly isn’t replenishing

Landscape view of buildings and lasers scanning the atmosphere

NIST Laser ‘Comb’ Systems Now Measure All Primary Greenhouse Gases in the Air

June 30, 2021

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have upgraded their laser frequency-comb instrument to simultaneously measure three

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

Seabird Tissue Archival and Monitoring Project (STAMP)

Ongoing

In 1999, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (USFWS-AMNWR), the U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resources Division

Standard Reference Materials for Hexavalent Chromium in Contaminated Soil

Ongoing

Significant environmental remediation efforts are being conducted to address the hazards posed by the long-term terrestrial disposal of hexavalent chromium in

Measurements and Standards for Contaminants in Biological (Human) Materials

Ongoing

For the past 25 years NIST has developed a number of biological fluid and tissue Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) primarily for clinically important analytes

Publications

Models for an Ultraviolet-C Research and Development Consortium

March 25, 2022

Author(s)

Dianne L. Poster, C Cameron Miller, Yaw S. Obeng, John J. Kasianowicz, Michael T. Postek, Norman Horn, Troy Cowan, Richard Martinello

The development of an international, precompetitive, collaborative, ultraviolet (UV) research consortium is discussed as an opportunity to lay the groundwork

Performance of NIST SRM® 2917 with 13 Recreational Water Quality Monitoring qPCR Assays

February 10, 2022

Author(s)

Jessica Willis, Mano Sivaganesan, Richard Haugland, Jason Kralj, Stephanie Servetas, Monique Hunter, Scott Jackson, Orin Shanks

Fecal pollution remains a significant challenge for recreational water quality management worldwide. In response, there is a growing interest in the use of real

Sub-picoliter Traceability of Microdroplet Gravimetry and Microscopy

December 20, 2021

Author(s)

Lindsay C. C. Elliott, Adam L. Pintar, Craig R. Copeland, Thomas B. Renegar, Ronald G. Dixson, B. Robert Ilic, R. Michael Verkouteren, Samuel M. Stavis

Volumetric analysis of single microdroplets is difficult to perform by ensemble gravimetry, whereas optical microscopy is often inaccurate beyond the resolution

New guidance brings clarity to environmental hazard and behaviour testing of nanomaterials

September 29, 2021

Author(s)

Elijah Petersen, Greg Goss, Alan Kennedy

Software

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

Quick Indoor CO2 (QICO2) Tool

This tool is used for implementing the CO2 concentration calculations. After providing the relevant inputs, or selecting from a number of predefined cases, the

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.