Publication Items

EPA Releases Reports on Toxics at Selected Schools [1]

Following a December 2008 USA Today report on outdoor air pollution at hundreds of schools, EPA began a monitoring process. Final reports for 21 (of the small number of schools selected) have now been released; the results are mixed.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Pollution [3]
People & Population [4]
Health [5]
Chemicals [6]
Air [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about EPA Releases Reports on Toxics at Selected Schools [1]
More Cool Data Tools from EPA [9]

TRI-CHIP assembles a great deal of toxicity and hazard information from many sources and makes it easy to search. TRI.NET allows you to construct complex queries into the Toxics Release Inventory database, and to map the results in ways that can be used for publishable graphics or layered on maps with other environmental and demographic information.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Technology [11]
Government [12]
Chemicals [6]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about More Cool Data Tools from EPA [9]
Pavement Sealcoat Contaminates Lakes and Streams [13]

A soon-to-be-published study has found elevated levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, probable human carcinogens toxic to fish and other aquatic life, in waterways are originating from coal tar-based pavement sealcoats.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [14]
Pollution [3]
Health [5]
Chemicals [6]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Pavement Sealcoat Contaminates Lakes and Streams [13]
Got TMDLs? Sneak Peek of New Pollutant Loading Tool Could Raise Ruckus [15]

EPA in-house tool may be released to public within months. It will give reporters themselves the ability to estimate the cumulative impacts of pollution on water bodies.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [14]
Technology [11]
Pollution [3]
Government [12]
Chemicals [6]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Got TMDLs? Sneak Peek of New Pollutant Loading Tool Could Raise Ruckus [15]
MY-RTK Lets Users Probe Toxic Emissions from Their Smartphones [16]

myRTK lets you thumb in an address or ZIP code and get back a map or list of Toxics Release Inventory facilities on your feature phone or smart phone.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Technology [11]
Pollution [3]
Government [12]
Chemicals [6]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about MY-RTK Lets Users Probe Toxic Emissions from Their Smartphones [16]
EPA Gives Public an Environmental Justice Mapping Tool: EJView [17]

This new tool allows any user online to create custom study areas based on a wide range of variables: address, ZIP code, county, city, township, facility, watershed, or geographic coordinates. Other environmental data can then be mapped onto that study area.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Technology [11]
Pollution [3]
People & Population [4]
Health [5]
Government [12]
Environmental Health [18]
Chemicals [6]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about EPA Gives Public an Environmental Justice Mapping Tool: EJView [17]
TRI Offers New "Comparative Query" Tool [19]

The beta tool allows anyone to compare TRI information from a facility to air pollution data from the same facility or a related one. For example, an investigator could find inconsistencies in the amount of pollution reported by a facility under the two separate laws.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Technology [11]
Pollution [3]
Government [12]
Chemicals [6]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about TRI Offers New "Comparative Query" Tool [19]
Envirofacts Warehouse Gets Geographic Makeover, Update [20]

This newly powerful, easy-to-use mapping tool can help environmental journalists find and report great local and regional stories.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Technology [11]
Pollution [3]
Government [12]
Chemicals [6]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Envirofacts Warehouse Gets Geographic Makeover, Update [20]
As TRI Goes Electronic, Speed Records Fall [21]

The new record for getting raw data reported by industry to the general public: 28 days. Nearly 95 percent of reporting companies filed their reports electronically.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Technology [11]
Pollution [3]
Government [12]
Chemicals [6]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about As TRI Goes Electronic, Speed Records Fall [21]
Cool Tools for Reporters Showcased at 2010 TRI Meeting [22]

The WatchDog attended EPA's annual training conference for government workers on the Toxics Release Inventory, Nov. 1-3, 2010. See a preview of the showcased offerings, which have extra emphasis on environmental justice and EPA data tools ranging far beyond TRI.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Technology [11]
Government [12]
Chemicals [6]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Cool Tools for Reporters Showcased at 2010 TRI Meeting [22]

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