What is ETV?
The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA)
established the Environ-
mental Technology
Verification (ETV) Program
in 1995 to verify the
performance of innovative
technical solutions to
problems that threaten
human health or the
environment.
ETVs mission is to
accelerate the use of new
environmental technologies in
the domestic and inter-
national marketplace.
ETV provides third-party,
quality-assured performance
data so buyers and users of
environmental technologies
can make informed purchase
and application decisions.
ETV operates through public/
private testing partnerships
(called Centers) to evaluate
the performance of environ-
mental technologies for
monitoring, pollution control,
and pollution prevention.
Various groups are actively
involved in ETV, including
stakeholders, technology
buyers and users, vendors,
permitters, technology
experts, consulting engineers,
and investment companies.
All test protocols, test plans,
verification reports and
statements are on the ETV
Web Site at http://
vwwv.epa.gov/etv.
U.S. EPA's Environmental Technology Verification Program
Advanced Monitoring Systems Center
Battelle, a nonprofit technology research and development organization with
headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, manages the Advanced Monitoring Systems
(AMS) Center for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA). The
AMS Center, which began in October 1997, verifies the performance of
commercially available technologies that monitor contaminants and natural
species in air, water, and soil.
The AMS Center develops test plans, conducts independent tests of
technologies, and prepares verification reports and statements for the
technologies tested. Vendors of these technologies can use the verification
reports and statements for marketing purposes. Regulators, permitters, and
users of the verified technologies can refer to the verification reports and
statements to help make permitting and purchasing decisions.
To date, the AMS Center has completed verification tests of over 125
technologies, including continuous emission monitors for mercury, dioxin,
and ammonia; ambient monitors for fine particulate, ammonia, hydrogen
sulfide and ozone; test kits for arsenic, cyanide, atrazine, and other water
contaminants; and multi-parameter water probes. Nearly 20 additional
technologies are currently in the verification testing process.
How the AMS Center Works
Assisting Battelle are stakeholder committees whose members are drawn from
diverse backgrounds, such as state and local regulatory agencies, professional
and trade associations, industry, academia, environmental groups, investment
companies, and the federal government. The stakeholders help Battelle
prioritize environmental monitoring needs, identify commercially available
technologies that meet those needs, develop test plans, serve as test
collaborators, and review verification reports.
Once a technology category has been prioritized for verification, a call for
vendors is announced and vendor applications are received (see
http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/std/etv/howtoapply.html). The test plan is drafted by
Battelle, with input from stakeholders and vendors, and reviewed by
participating vendors, stakeholders, and EPA representatives. The test
location is selected, with input from vendors participating in the test and the
AMS Center Stakeholders. (See Works on page 2)
The AMS Center's technology verifications aid efforts to monitor and
resolve environmental problems throughout the nation.
Baneiie
The Business of Innovation
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\
Four multi-parameter
water probes (above) were
tested in collaboration with
NOAA's research center in
Charleston, SC. Technology
vendors can use ETV
verification reports and
statements (at left) in
marketing their
technologies.
(frompage 1)
The AMS Center seeks test collaborators that can
provide the test site, testing equipment, technical
support personnel, funding, or other contributions.
Battelle conducts the test and drafts a verification
report and statement for each technology verified.
The draft is reviewed by the vendor's representative,
stakeholder volunteers, and EPA officials. After
reports and statements are approved, they are signed
by an EPA laboratory director.
Useful Marketing Tool
Vendors have realized the value of having
independent verification data for use in marketing
their technologies. In a survey of vendors who
participated in ETV verification tests, nearly all
reported that ETV's verification statements were
useful in marketing and that they would consider
submitting another technology for verification.
Two vendors who participated in the AMS Center's
verification test for portable nitric oxide/nitrogen
dioxide (NO/NO2) emission analyzers said customers
waited to buy until the analyzers had been verified by
ETV. Other vendors said the process was valuable
because of the credibility of independent testing
under EPA oversight, the assurance of verification
statements and reports given to potential customers,
and the marketing visibility of the ETV logo.
Potential Benefits of ETV
For technology developers and
vendors:
* Increased credibility due to independent, third-
party testing, providing high-quality, consistent,
and widely accepted data
* Access to expertise in developing, verifying, and
applying environmental monitoring technologies
* Reduced technology verifications required for the
technology's acceptance by multiple states and
localities
* Enhanced acceptance of environmental
technologies by regulators and permitters
* A sound, science-based marketing tool
* Increased public awareness due to ETV's
outreach efforts, e.g., publications, Web site,
conferences
* Increased markets and business opportunities
* Added confidence for investors, stockholders, and
lenders
For technology users and purchasers:
* Aid in evaluating a variety of environmental
monitoring technologies
* Access to credible performance data
* Assurance that the technology's performance is
independently verified
* Increased availability of technologies that meet
users' needs
For regulators and permitters:
* Confidence that the technology's performance has
been verified by an independent third party
* Validation by colleagues who are ETV stakeholder
committee members
* Test data addressing realistic requirements but
not limited to any single state's regulations
* Technological basis for streamlining the regulatory
process and/or simplifying and revising
regulations
* Increased ability to make informed decisions
*More rapid deployment of technologies to meet an
agency's requirements
For everyone:
* Cost-effective and efficient solutions to
environmental challenges
* Growth of the environmental technology sector.
Contacts: For additional information or to receive the
AMS Center's newsletter, The Monitor, please contact Amy
Dindal at Battelle, phone: 561-422-0113; fax 614-458-6697;
e-mail: dindalafgibattelle.org. Information is also available on
the ETV Web Site at http://www.epa.gov/ety. 7/08
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