EPA Method 4010A

To respond to frequent requests for agency test methods, Region 1 Library staff developed this methods index as a tool to help locate copies of them. Confirming that there was no one volume containing all agency methods and no comprehensive list of them, the project commenced and in 1988 the first printed Index to EPA Test Methods was published as EPA 901/3-88-001. It has been updated periodically to reflect new procedures and revoked methods and the current edition includes about 1600 method references.

The index includes only EPA methods and its primary goal remains as a reference tool to identify a source from which the actual method can be obtained, either free or for a fee. Originally sources were primarily print documents, but in the mid 1990's electronic versions of EPA air methods began to appear on bulletin board systems (BBS) and then some water methods on floppy disks.

In the late 1990's, EPA issued two compendium of methods on CD ROM for waste and for water. Internet access was more recent and commenced with the air methods and in 1998 the entire SW-846 compendium was placed on the web. In 1999 the EPA New England Region 1 Library website first offered the Index in Adobe Acrobat format for easy distribution. In 2002, the revamped web version of EMMI appeared as National Environmental Methods Index (NEMI) offering summary information about water methods from EPA and other organizations, with links to full text of those from EPA.