Research Overview
Numerous Environmental Laws Keep Manufacturers Busy with Developing Products and Techniques
Implementation of various environmental regulation acts in developed countries has compelled manufacturers of environmental sensors to sit up and
take notice of compliance issues. To meet market requirements, manufacturers have created novel devices including a remote sensor for on-board
monitoring of vehicular emissions such as total hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and CO that will check for conformity with every vehicular operating
condition. New techniques have been developed to detect volatile organic compounds and pesticides in water. Smart sensors have been validated by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to aid in spotting carcinogens in groundwater.
This Technical Insights study examines the environmental sensors and monitors market. It covers the development and commercialization of sensors
that detect and monitor causes of vehicular emissions, burning of fossil fuels, agricultural runoff, industrial and mine waste disposal, ocean spills
and dumping, as well as climate change. It also includes specific information on the development and prospects of innovative technologies for
ultra-small wireless sensor networks.
Industries Clean up Their Acts Due to EPA Regulations on Air and Water Pollutants
Water and air pollution are largely the legacies of industrialization. With the passing of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, to control
hazardous emissions into the environment, the development of environmental sensors and monitors became imperative. "The Clean Air Act has
commissioned the EPA to regulate emissions of 188 toxic air pollutants from a published list of industrial sources referred to as 'source
categories'," states the analyst. The EPA has to draw up guidelines for any industry that releases one or more of the pollutants in unsafe
quantities but it gives them the flexibility to choose their pollutant-reducing technology.
The Clean Water Act aims to provide uncontaminated drinking water by regulating nitrate and nitrites levels. These soluble compounds can percolate
into groundwater supplies and continued consumption of even low levels of nitrates through water could cause cancer. Test kits for analyzing nitrate
levels in crops before harvest, nitrogen content in fertilizers, and water quality of agricultural runoffs are being evolved. Monitors for checking
soil and factory farm wastes are also under development.
Is the Coast Clear?: Sensors Fundamental to Weather Analyses
"Weather forecasting and analysis is an industry almost entirely dominated by specialized environmental sensors and is one of the major
markets for them," notes the analyst. Destruction caused by hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, and other natural catastrophes cost the United
States $11 billion every year. Sensors can alert meteorologists, and thereby help curb the impact of such events on property and life. NASA's
satellite sensors provide daily updates on marine environments and their influence on the weather. Climatic changes can greatly affect economic,
ecological, and human health in the long term.
Sensors smoothen air traffic by providing critical data to authorities, who issue wind shear warnings to pilots during touchdown and take-off.
Sensors are also being employed in research on the structural response to potential seismic events. As a follow-up, dense monitoring is being
conducted to provide data for construction of safer buildings. The weather forecasting market does not have to sort out many compliance issues.
"Instead, it has more to do with climate studies that include R&D on the human factor and the issues of atmospheric pollution, and the
sensors used to monitor it," observes the analyst.
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