The current version of NEMI is the initial public release of this Internet-searchable database. This version contains over 600 method summaries, most of which are methods for water analysis, and its purpose is to provide a mechanism to compare and contrast the performance and relative cost of analytical and field methods for environmental monitoring. The water methods include both radionuclide and non-radionuclide target analytes. However, there are also some chemical preparation methods and some biological methods.
Although most of the current methods are fixed laboratory methods, there also are some field analytical methods (primarily immunoassay methods). The current method summaries include all of the EPA wastewater and drinking water regulatory methods and most of the commonly used methods for nutrients and (Total Maximum Daily Load) TMDL measurements.
Future
NEMI will continue to grow in numbers of method summaries and in breadth of method and analyte types. More field analytical methods and biological methods will be added in the next versions. In addition, more methods for media other than water will be added (for example air, soils and sediments, and wastes). There are already some commonly used methods for multiple media in NEMI (principally EPA SW-846 methods for wastes which may also be used for water samples) and future versions of NEMI also will have increased numbers of these types of methods. New methods, especially those that cover chemical and biological analytes of emerging concern and/or that are rapid and relatively inexpensive, will receive priority consideration for addition of their summaries to NEMI.
Finally, a future version will also include an "expert system" user interface. An expert system is a software program that provides the user with the same advice and information that a human expert in a particular domain would provide if that expert could be queried by the user. Thus, an expert system combines knowledge with data to provide targeted information for a user. A database, on the other hand, only provides selected data to the user. The first advantage of an optional expert system will be to guide users through a systematic planning process using an interactive program so that important considerations are not forgotten and consistently good advice is provided. In addition, the system's advice can be directly input to NEMI and provide searches that are highly specific for a user's needs. Lastly, if no methods are found that meet a user's needs, the expert system will provide advice as to which parameter(s) to change (for example, detection levels, accuracy, precision, instrumentation, etc.) in order to find acceptable methods.
Bookmark NEMI and periodically check back for these enhancements. With time NEMI will become an integral part of most environmental analytical planning processes. It will be an invaluable tool for designing sampling and analysis projects that use the most cost-effective methods available for each user's specific project requirements.
