Environmental Labs

An $11 million facility, it was the first building in the nation especially constructed for cooperative public and private research in hazardous waste management. With $2.4 million in analytical equipment and sensing equipment as well as bench-scale and pilot-scale reactors for biological, chemical, and thermal treatment of hazardous wastes, the state-of-the-art laboratory facility attracts more than $12 million in research funding annually. The York Center is the largest university-based hazardous waste management research facility in the United States. Among the programs housed at the center are:

Hazardous Substance Management Research Center (HSMRC): 

HSMRC was established in 1984 as a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center. It is a consortium of five universities: Princeton University, Stevens Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, with NJIT as the lead institution. Financial support for center activities comes from a number of corporate sponsors, the U.S. Army, and the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology. The research focus of HSMRC is on treatment of industrial waste streams, site decontamination, factors that influence public policy formulation, and the toxicological impact of environmental pollutants.

Northeast Hazardous Substance Research Center (NHSRC): 

NHSRC was established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1989 as one of five regional university-based research centers authorized by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has joined EPA in supporting the center. NHSRC is a consortium of seven academic institutions in which NJIT is the lead institution. Other participants include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Rutgers University, Stevens Institute of Technology, Tufts University, and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. The research focus of NHSRC is primarily associated with site decontamination, and protection of groundwater supplies.

Emission Reduction Research Center (ERRC): 

ERRC, established in 1992, is also an NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center, dedicated to research on process modification for pollution prevention. Current research is focused on separations, solvent replacement, volatile organic compound containment, equipment cleaning, computer-aided process design, and systems analysis. NJIT serves as the lead institution in the ERRC consortium of four universities which also includes the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ohio State University, and Pennsylvania State University. The center is organized around clusters of companies in specific manufacturing areas, such as the batch chemical processing industry, the ordnance industry and other types of chemical manufacturing facilities. In addition to a number of corporate sponsors, ERRC is supported by the U.S. Army and the EPA. NAT is also a member of the EPA-sponsored Exploratory Research Center in Airborne Organic Emissions, headquartered at MIT, that also includes California Institute of Technology.