Air / water / soil quality

News and Updates

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

A woman (Alix Rodowa) wearing a mask and a lab coat works with scientific equipment.

Spotlight: Alix Rodowa and PFAS in Groundwater

January 15, 2021

Water has fascinated postdoctoral researcher Alix Rodowa since her days in a high school environmental science club. Now, she takes a sample of life at NIST in

Projects and Programs

Certification of Three Soil SRMs for Inorganic Environmental Measurements

Ongoing

Analysis of soils for metals and other elements is essential in assessing environmental compliance and the impacts of potentially toxic elements on human

Activated Carbon and FGD Gypsum Standard Reference Materials

Ongoing

New Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) consisting of activated carbon sorbent materials and flue gas desulfurization (FGD) gypsum are being developed to

Assessing the Internal Structure and Composition of Climatically-Relevant Atmospheric Particles

Ongoing

Atmospheric particles with long atmospheric lifetimes affect Earth's radiative balance. These particles typically consist of multiple chemical species. The

Standards for Assessing the Safety of Recreational Waters from Fecal Contamination

Ongoing

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

Publications

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

September 29, 2021

Author(s)

Elijah Petersen, Greg Goss, Alan Kennedy

Optical feedback linear cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy

August 4, 2021

Author(s)

Jianfei Tian, Gang Zhao, Adam Fleisher, Weiguang Ma, Suotang Jia

Environmental Source Tracking of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances within a Forensic Context: Current and Future Techniques

May 13, 2021

Author(s)

Alix E. Robel, Joseph A. Charbonnet, Jennifer L. Guelfo, Jennifer A. Field, Gerrad D. Jones, Christopher P. Higgins, Damian E. Helbling, Erika F. Houtz

The source tracking of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) is a new and increasingly important field within environmental forensics. We define PFAS

Endothermic reaction at room temperature enabled by deep-ultraviolet plasmons

November 2, 2020

Author(s)

Canhui Wang, Wei-Chang Yang, David Raciti, Alina Bruma, Ronald Marx, Amit Agrawal, Renu Sharma

Sequestration and conversion of CO2 is a promising method for remedying climate change. However, current technologies remain limited due to infeasible system

Tools and Instruments

Ozone Standard Reference Photometer

DESCRIPTIONThe 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.