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Decision Support Tools: Healthy Communities and Ecosystems
A [Metadata] link on any item leads to that item's entry in the Registry of EPA Applications and Databases (READ). READ is an authoritative source of information about EPA application systems and other information sources.
Global Earth Observation
System of Systems Tools
System of Systems Tools
Green Chemistry Expert System (GCES) - Allows users to build a green chemical process, design a green chemical, or survey the field of green chemistry. The system is equally useful for new and existing chemicals and their synthetic processes. It includes extensive documentation.
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Draft Report on the Environment - Describes current national environmental conditions and trends using existing data and indicators.
Identifies data gaps and research needs. Discusses the challenges government and our partners face in filling those gaps.
Evaluation Guidelines for Ecological Indicators - This document describes a process for the technical evaluation of ecological indicators.
Emergencies, Accidents and Spills - An environmental emergency is a sudden threat to the public health, or the well-being of the environment, arising from the release or potential release of oil, radioactive materials, or hazardous chemicals into the air, land, or water. These emergencies may occur from transportation accidents, events at chemical or other facilities using or manufacturing chemicals, or as a result of natural or man-made disaster events. While there are many other serious environmental problems with which EPA is concerned, these activities are focused generally on sudden, immediate threats.
Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) - A database of human health effects that may result from exposure to various substances found in the environment. IRIS was initially developed for EPA staff in response to a growing demand for consistent information on chemical substances for use in risk assessments, decision-making and regulatory activities. The information in IRIS is intended for those without extensive training in toxicology, but with some knowledge of health sciences.
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Pesticide Inert Risk Assessment Tool (PIRAT) - Provides screening level estimates of exposure and risk to pesticide inert ingredients that are used in a residential setting. This includes assessing both indoor and outdoor residential uses of pesticide products. PIRAT will assess acute and chronic risks and will be able to assess adults and children separately.
Midwest Partnership for Watershed Management Decision Support Systems (MSDSS) - The goal of the Midwest Partnership for Watershed Management Decision Support Systems is to develop, promote, and disseminate web-based spatial decision support systems to help manage watersheds in the Midwest. The aim is to make these systems freely available via the Internet to local officials, natural resource managers, and the general public.
Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) -
The data are used to develop input parameter files for two watershed runoff and
erosion models: KINEROS and SWAT. A GIS tool to facilitate the
process of creating extensive data requirements and the difficult task of building
input parameter files for distributed models that can compute
runoff and erosion at different spatial and temporal scales. A geographic information
system (GIS) provides the framework within which spatially-distributed data are collected and used to prepare model
input files and evaluate model results. 
Risk Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) - A screening tool that compares toxic chemicals released to the environment from industrial sources. You can examine rankings and trends, and set priorities for further action. Information can be sorted in numerous ways such as by chemical, media, geographic areas, etc.
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FIeld EnvironmentaL Decision Support (FIELDS) - The FIELDS software forms the foundation for a system that provides data analysis and interpretation for environmental decision-making. The results allow project managers to evaluate the extent of contamination and hot spot sizes, estimate health risks, prioritize site goals, and weigh potential actions.
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Partners
Dashboard of Sustainability -
Web site from Consultative Group on Sustainable Development Indicators on International Institute for Sustainable Development' (IISD) in Winnipeg, Canada.
A free, non-commercial software which allows presentation of complex relationships between economic, social and environmental issues in a highly communicative format aimed at decision-makers and citizens interested in Sustainable Development. Recently, the Dashboard was made functional by using forty-six indicators to compose the three main clusters for over one hundred countries. Aggregation algorithms and graphic presentation software have been developed. Data on each component indicator, as well as on the three cluster indices and the overall sustainability index, are presented in an animated version of the Dashboard. Data of any one country and any one indicator and index can be compared to that of any other country. The specification has a built in flexibility and the clusters can be modified according to the end-users' specific needs, without changing the functioning of the Dashboard.
State Soil Geographic Database (STATSGO) - Soil maps for the State Soil Geographic database are produced by generalizing the detailed soil survey data. The mapping scale for STATSGO is 1:250,000 (with the exception of Alaska, which is 1:1,000,000). The level of mapping is designed to be used for broad planning and management uses covering state, regional, and multi-state areas.