Research Areas - Archived

For our new areas of focus please read our Program and Project descriptions under Programs in the main menu.

Toxic Chemicals and Human Health

INFORM's research has led to important changes in industry policy and practice, shifting the focus from expensive efforts to treat and dispose of toxic pollutants to preventing them at the source. We demonstrated that companies could dramatically reduce emissions and save money at the same time. Our work led to the nation's first pollution prevention law and the creation of the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory database. Our community manual, Preventing Industrial Toxic Hazards, is widely used in the United States and Russia, and we have been honored with two Regional EPA awards and the prestigious EPA Administrator's Award.

Toxic Chemicals and Human Health Research Projects

Promoting Waste Prevention and the Design of Less Wasteful Products

Waste represents a needless squandering of resources. INFORM's research shows that the best way to manage waste is to prevent it, and through our manuals and outreach projects we help businesses and government agencies develop more waste-free, cost-effective operations. We were the first to call attention in the US to "extended producer responsibility" (EPR), a policy initiated in Germany that makes manufacturers responsible for their products after consumers discard them. INFORM's continuing studies of EPR have been used by the OECD, the EPA, state governments, and the President's Council on Sustainable Development to debate similar policies in the US and abroad.

Waste Prevention and EPR Research Projects

Advancing the Shift to Sustainable Transportation

INFORM has been a leader in promoting the use of cleaner, safer alternatives to gasoline- and diesel-fueled vehicles -- the major contributors to global climate change and to health-threatening urban air pollution. Our 1989 report, Drive for Clean Air, uncovered the benefits of natural gas as an inexpensive and domestically plentiful option. There are now 750,000 vehicles powered by natural gas worldwide. Our 1996 report, Harnessing Hydrogen, showed the potential of fuel cells to provide pollution-free transportation in the longer term and proposed using natural gas as a bridge to the hydrogen era. Our 1998 study, China at the Crossroads, documented the urgent need for China to use cleaner fuels to safeguard public health and promote economic growth.

Sustainable Transportation Research Projects