The Trump administration has shut down a federal database that tracks pollution.
"Toxmap, an interactive map hosted by the National Library of Medicine and accessible to the public, allowed users to track pollution-producing factories and other environmental concerns such as superfund cleanup sites," John Bowden reports for The Hill. "However, on Dec. 16, all links to the application on the NLM's website were deprecated, following an announcement from the agency in September notifying users that the site would be 'retired.'"
The NLM's statement at the time said most content would still be available through other NLM databases and from other agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, but said some databases would no longer be available, Bowden reports.
However, Toxmap presented all that data in one interactive site and allowed users to toggle and overlay data. Those capabilities "earned Toxmap a devoted following among researchers, students, activists, and other people keen to identify sources of pollution in their communities," Michael Schulson reports for Popular Science. "Those capabilities appear to no longer be available to the public."
Claudia Persico, an an assistant professor at American University who studies the impact of pollution on children's health, told Schulson she used Toxmap in her research, and that she was stunned that NLM retired "this pretty essential tool for our environmental right-to-know."
"Toxmap, an interactive map hosted by the National Library of Medicine and accessible to the public, allowed users to track pollution-producing factories and other environmental concerns such as superfund cleanup sites," John Bowden reports for The Hill. "However, on Dec. 16, all links to the application on the NLM's website were deprecated, following an announcement from the agency in September notifying users that the site would be 'retired.'"
The NLM's statement at the time said most content would still be available through other NLM databases and from other agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, but said some databases would no longer be available, Bowden reports.
However, Toxmap presented all that data in one interactive site and allowed users to toggle and overlay data. Those capabilities "earned Toxmap a devoted following among researchers, students, activists, and other people keen to identify sources of pollution in their communities," Michael Schulson reports for Popular Science. "Those capabilities appear to no longer be available to the public."
Claudia Persico, an an assistant professor at American University who studies the impact of pollution on children's health, told Schulson she used Toxmap in her research, and that she was stunned that NLM retired "this pretty essential tool for our environmental right-to-know."
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