| Abstract |
The U.S. Environmental Agency (EPA), academic institutions, and private industry are developing new, cost-effective technologies to prevent, monitor, and control pollution. These technologies eventually lead to commercial monitoring services that focus on sampling, analysis, data interpretation, field and laboratory methods development, and analytical quality assurance, to name a few. Media tested range from soil, air, and water to plant and animal tissues. Accurate monitoring is essential to the prevention and control of pollution. In 1986, the Federal Technology Transfer Act (FTTA) removed many of the legal and institutional barriers that earlier had prevented government and the private sector from collaborating to develop and market new environmental technologies. Under FTTA, government scientists can enter into cooperative research and development agreements (CRDAs) with industrial or academic partners. These agreements will, according to the Act, foster the technological and industrial innovation that is 'central to the economic, environmental, and social well-being of citizens of the United States.' |
