UMD To Receive $100K Contract To Upgrade EPA's Environmental Justice Tool
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (WJZ) -- The University of Maryland's School of Public Health is set to receive a $100,000 federal grant to upgrade an Environmental Protection Agency mapping tool that tracks issues such as the concentration of homes with lead paint, proximity to traffic, the ozone level in the air and other hazards.
Researchers with the university will upgrade the federal agency's Environmental Justice Mapping Tool to include data on issues that impact children and rural areas, such as exposure to pesticides and large-scale animal feeding operations, blood lead levels, maternal and infant mortality, and socioeconomic factors such as the percentage of the population receiving social service benefits, the EPA said.
Officials with the EPA, the Maryland Department of the Environment and the university are scheduled to hold a press briefing about the contract on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.