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EPA awards $210,000 to three So. Calif. small businesses

Release Date: 02/28/2007
Contact Information: Francisco Arcaute, Desk (213) 244-1815, Cell: (213) 798-1404, Main press line: (415) 947-8700, arcaute.francisco@epa.gov

LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded three grants totaling $210,000 to three Southern Calif. small businesses to support the development of innovative technologies that protect human health and the environment.

The Southern Calif. companies are NaSource Company of Newbury Park, Intelligent Optical Systems, Inc. of Torrance and Seacoast Science, Inc. of Carlsbad. Each business was awarded $70,000 to develop innovative techniques for green buildings, nanotechnology, and water protection, respectively.

“Through this program, new technologies are being developed that will improve our environment and quality of life,” said Wayne Nastri, regional administrator for the EPA’s Pacific Southwest region. “Developing innovative technologies that reduce waste and protect our resources are creating jobs, increasing productivity and economic growth and improving the international competitiveness of the country’s technology industry.”
The small businesses will:
· NaSource Company will develop a low-cost and biodegradable composite material made of plant fibers for use in building materials, furniture, packaging and casing for consumer products and containers.
· Intelligent Optical Systems, Inc. will develop a technology that uses the properties of nanoparticles to detect waterborne pathogens. The proposed system will be used in water treatment facilities, food testing and medical applications and allow the detection of several different pathogens simultaneously.
· Seacoast Science will refine a technology that can identify and measure, in close to real time, toxins indicative of harmful algal blooms in drinking water.

The EPA is one of 11 federal agencies that participate in the Small Business Innovation Research Program, which awarded $2.5 million to 36 small businesses nationwide, through the Office of Research and Development’s National Center for Environmental Research.

There are approximately 22 million small businesses in the United States that employ more than 50 percent of the private work force and develop most of the country's new technologies. To participate in the program, a small business must have fewer than 500 employees, and at least 51 percent of the business must be owned by U.S. citizens.

The EPA will begin accepting new proposals for Small Business Innovation Research Program projects from March 15 through May 23 2007, and anticipates the award of approximately $2.5 million in firm, fixed-price contracts of approximately $70,000 each.

For more information on the EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research Program, go to: www.epa.gov/ncer/sbir