The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970 authorized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct research on the effects of air pollutants on the service life of materials. Information from the materials effects research program will be used by the Agency to conduct cost-benefit studies and to establish criteria for developing secondary air quality standards. The report provides an overview of the materials effects research program that EPA conducts for the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP) and the testing facilities and technological procedures that are being developed for characterizing environmental degradation of materials, especially coatings. As such it is in the national interest to share this knowledge and these new capabilities with industry. Because the NAPAP research is to be completed by 1990, the testing facilities at EPA will be available for use and funding support by organizations outside the Agency. In 1986, Congress passed the Federal Technology Act, Public Law No. 99-502, that permits EPA to enter into Cooperative Research and Development Agreements with private industry and other organizations, thereby utilizing their facilities for environmental testing and development of materials.