What is the NEET Clean Air Technologies Database?

The NEET Clean Air Technologies Database is an on-line, easy-to-use information resource that you can use to find useful information and data about new and emerging technologies that will prevent, remove, destroy, sample, monitor, or model air pollutant emissions from stationary, mobile, and indoor sources for improving environmental quality. NEET includes not only listings of technologies that are commercially available but also to include listings for technologies still in research and development, technologies commercially offered but have not been widely adopted, and existing technologies that have significant new improvements or new applications. While not all of the technologies listed in NEET are ready for commercial application, the database provides a resource you can use to learn about innovative new concepts and approaches for improving air quality that may be available in the future.

Who is responsible for air technology information presented in NEET?

Air technology information in the NEET database is entered by technology owners, manufacturers, developers, and research sponsors (referred to collectively on this website as technology providers). While the information entered by a technology provider is checked to ensure it meets the website listing criteria, there is no independent technical assessment, certification, or verification of the accuracy or legal adequacy of any information, claims, and disclosures entered by the technoloy provider.

How is the air technology information presented in NEET?

For each technology listed in NEET, you can access its technology profile using the website search features or a technology provider directory. Each technology profile consists of multiple-tabbed sections addressing topics related to the development status and implementation of the technology. To navigate to the tabbed topic of interest to you, click on the applicable tab. You may also obtain a hard copy of the technology profile by clicking on the print button.

Doesn't NEET duplicate other air technology information website sites?

There are a number of other websites that provide information on environmental technologies. One of these websites frequently referred to by air permit applicants and permitting agencies is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) RACT/BACT/LAER Clearinghouse (RBLC). The RBLC includes an on-line, searchable database of information received from state and local air pollution control agencies about the air technologies used to meet federal, state, and local air permit requirements at facilities in the United States. The Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (CAAAC) recommended that the EPA complement the RBLC with a publicly-available reference resource that provides information about new and emerging air technologies that are available but may not be widely known for consideration by air permit applicants and permitting agencies.

Why is NEET operated by RTI International?

The EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) selected RTI International (RTI) as its cooperative agreement partner for developing a web-enabled database for new and emerging air technologies to meet the CAAAC recommendation for a database to complement the RBLC. RTI is an independent, not-for-profit research institute headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. For more than 30 years RTI has conducted a wide variety of air quality studies and air pollution engineering projects for the EPA and other government and private clients. In developing NEET, RTI expanded the capabilities of the database to provide information on new and emerging air technologies for not only those sources subject to federal, state, and local air permitting requirements, but also to include technologies applicable to all types of air pollution sources and related applications.

What is the relationship of NEET to EPA's RACT/BACT/LEAR Clearinghouse?

While NEET is designed to complement the EPA's RACT/BACT/LEAR Clearinghouse (RBLC), the databases in these two websites differ in scope and purpose as highlighted in the following table.

Why are no direct links between technologies listed in both NEET and the RBLC?

Database formatting and design differences between the NEET and the RBLC databases preclude the ability at this time to provide direct linking of the specific technology listings that are included in both databases. RTI and EPA currently are investigating possible database modifications that would allow the direct link of the NEET and RBLC databases and could be implemented in future versions of the databases.

ADDING TECHNOLOGIES TO NEET

Why should I add my technology to NEET?

Listing your technology in NEET provides you a forum before a targeted, worldwide audience to publicize and inform potential users and other interested parties about your technology. There is no fee charged to you to list your technology in NEET. Adding your technology to NEET is an easy on-line procedure that you perform at this website.

Who can add technologies to NEET?

All owners, manufacturers, developers, and research sponsors of technologies for improving air quality are invited to list their technologies in NEET. Even if your technology is not yet commercially available, you can list your technology in NEET and periodically update the information about the technology as your research and development progresses.

How do I add my technology to NEET?

Adding your technology to NEET is an easy on-line procedure that you perform at this website by completing following steps.

1. Create your personal provider account.
2. Enter information for your technology following the on-screen instructions.
3. Review your completed technology profile.
4. Edit your technology profile as needed.
5. Submit your new technology profile for addition into NEET.

Click the following ling to add your technology now: Add/Update Technology.

When will my technology profile be available in NEET?

Your submitted technology profile will not be immediately available on the publically-accessible on the NEET website. The profile is held in a review database so that it can first be checked by RTI (see answer below to "How is the information entered in a technology profile checked?"). Once the profile is approved by RTI, it is added into the publically-accessible NEET database.

How do I update my existing technology profile in NEET?

Once you have created a personal provider account and a technology profile, you may at any time edit and update the information in your technology profile by clicking on the Add/Update Technology button, accessing your technology profile using your user ID and password, and entering your new information in the appropriate data entry forms to revise your technology profile. Your revised technology profile is not publically-accessible on the NEET website until the revisions are checked and approved by RTI.

Can I add more than one technology in NEET?

Yes. Once you have created your NEET provider account, you are able to create separate technology profiles under your provider account for as many technologies as you would like to list in NEET

FINDING TECHNOLOGIES IN NEET

How do I find a technology in NEET for my application?

There are two ways you can find a technology in NEET. You can search the NEET database by clicking on the Find Technology button and by making selections in a search routine using pull down menus for each of the selection categories. You are able to select multiple criteria for a given search. The search result is a listing of all technology profiles in the database that meet your search criteria. You can then click on each of the listed technologies that interest you to view its technology profile. You can also find a technology by clicking on the Directory button and selecting the name of a technology provider. You will see a listing of all technology profiles in NEET entered by the technology provider. You can then click on each of the listed technologies that interest you to view its technology profile.

Why is there no text search option in NEET?

Differences in wording and terminology used by technology providers to describe their technologies can cause your text searches to miss applicable technologies. For example, a search on the word "baghouse" would miss technologies listed as a "fabric filter" even though both terms commonly are used to describe the same type of technology for controlling particulate matter emissions. By using a series of drop-down lists to categorize technologies, we improve the certainty that you will find all of the technologies listed in NEET that potentially could meet your control requirements. This frees you from needing to guess the wording used by technology providers to describe their technologies or for you having to make multiple search queries to identify all of the applicable technology listings in NEET.

How is the information for a NEET technology profile checked?

When a technology provider submits a new or updated technology profile, the profile is not immediately entered into the publically-accessible NEET database. The profile is placed in an internal database until the technology profile has been checked and released by RTI into the public NEET database for viewing on the website. This approach is used to provide security and information integrity for NEET. RTI follows a standardized review protocol that checks the information entered in each submitted profile for required entries completeness and, for apparent or questionable individual data entries considering the technology type. If information omissions or inconsistencies are identified by RTI, the technology provider is contacted to allow needed revisions to the profile to be made before it is added to the public NEET database. However, RTI does not attempt to make any independent technical assessment, certification, or verification of the accuracy or legal adequacy of any information, claims, and disclosures entered by the technoloy provider for a given technology profile. RTI reserves the right not to include any new technology profile or to remove any existing technology profile from the NEET database.

Why is the cost information format for the NEET technology profiles not more specific?

The cost information format used for the NEET technology profiles is somewhat basic by design. We know that costs are an important consideration when evaluating an air technology for a given application. Furthermore, actual total costs to use an air technology for a particular application are the sums of a combination of cost elements that depend on the technology selected and application-specific factors for which the technology is to be implemented. These cost elements can include purchased equipment costs, labor and material costs to install equipment, site preparation costs, engineering costs, and other indirect costs. For many technologies, there are additional costs associated with the operation and maintenance of the technology after it is installed. Having useful and accurate cost information in the NEET technology profiles enhances the usefulness of the profiles in comparing alternative technologies and identifying technologies appropriate for a specific application. However, cost information is not available for all technologies on a consistent and comparable basis. The costs associated with a using given technology can depend on site-specific conditions. Also, the completeness of cost information available to a technology provider can vary depending on the development stage of a given technology. Therefore, we concluded that using a format for the technology profiles with detailed, cost element entry fields is not practical for NEET. Instead, we are providing a format that allows technology providers to indicate in the technology profiles the types of cost information available for the technology and to input any cost information they can, as relevant and appropriate for their technology. Each technology profile includes information that allows you to directly contact the technology provider for more specific cost information.

Why include "cost effectiveness" in the NEET technology profiles?

A cost parameter that often is used to evaluate and compare different air emission control alternatives for stationary sources is cost effectiveness. Typically, this cost effectiveness parameter is expressed as the cost to control a specific amount of an air pollutant (e.g., dollars per ton or kilogram controlled) based on the annualized cost for using the technology in a given application. As discussed in the preceding answer, technology costs tend to be site-specific; that is the same technology can have significantly different costs for marginally different applications. Furthermore, for cost effectiveness to be a useful metric for comparing different technologies it is important that each of the cost effectiveness values be computed using a common protocol (e.g., same cost basis, same site conditions, same source assumptions, etc.). This beginning stated, to meet basic cost information needs expressed by potential users of NEET that were consulted during the website development, cost effectiveness is included in the technology profile formats (where meaningful) as a parameter for which technology providers can enter information. As with all site-sensitive information presented in the technology profiles, cost effectiveness values obtained from NEET should be used for preliminary cost information purposes to be followed up with more detailed investigation when using the cost information for evaluating a technology for a specific application.

How often is a NEET technology profile updated?

Each technology profile is updated when new information is entered by the technology provider. A technology provider may update a technology profile as frequently as he or she would like. Changes to a technology profile submitted by the technology provider are held in the review database and the profile on the public NEET website is not replaced with the updated profile until the revisions are reviewed and approved by RTI (see the answer to the preceding question). To assure that all of the technology profiles in NEET remain current, RTI contacts each technology provider if no changes have been made to the technology profile within the past 12-month period since its initial listing or last modification date. The technology provider is given the opportunity to update the information for the profile or reaffirm the information in the profile is still current. If the technology provider fails to do so, RTI removes the technoloy profile from the public NEET website.

MORE INFORMATION

Who can I contact for more information about NEET?

RTI staff members are available to answer any of your questions regarding the NEET website. Click on the Contact Us button to e-mail your questions, or send your requests to neet@rti.org. Also, we appreciate very much hearing your comments regarding the NEET website and ways we can improve this website to meet your environmental technology information needs.