- Filtering Map Features
- Reports
- Map Features
- Description of Features
- Define Report Area
- Identify Tool
- Using the Search Tool
- Printing
- About EJView
Filtering Map Features
- Several Map Features can be filtered within a threshold that you specify. Features with this function will have a filter symbol
(
) next to their label in the Map Contents box on the right side of the map. Start by clicking the symbol. - View national statistics or those specific to the map window by clicking (
) or (
) respectively. When you filter the data for an area using national statistics, you may find that the local variability in an area is lost. For example, the national mean for Percent Under Age 18 may be 40% but for your area, which is a retirement destination, you may need to use a filter lower than 40% to identify pockets of younger populations. To highlight the local variability, use statistics generated just for the map window. - You can filter the nation’s census tracts (
) to show only those tracts that report greater than 50% of the population is Below Poverty Level. You can then overlay that result with another filtered feature, such as cancer risk (
) to air toxics greater than 100 ppm. As a result of this screening analysis, you will be able to see which communities have both the highest poverty rate and are most at risk to cancer from air toxics. - Features that have filtering capability include: Community-based EPA Grants, Cancer Risk, Respiratory Risk, Neurological Risk, Infant Mortality Rate (by county and by state), Low Birth Weight Rate (by county and by state), and all Demographic features (by blockgroup, census tract, county and state). In addition, Population Density and Percent Minority may also be filtered by block.
You may also zoom out to the approximate city or town boundary and then apply those map window statistics to your area of concern. For example, you may find that the mean Percent Minority for a town is 50%. You can then apply that average as your standard for what constitutes a predominantly minority area in a sub-area of that town. The statistics available are Minimum, Maximum, Mean, and Standard Deviation.
Running Reports
EJView can generate or link to many different reports throughout EPA's databases. Listed below are several examples and how to generate the reports.
- To view a facility report for any facility reporting to the EPA, first turn on the appropriate data feature for the type of facility (e.g., TRI, PCS). When you mouse-over the facility, it will tell you the type of facility and provide a link to the EnviroFacts report for the specific category. From here, you can find information about permitting, inspections and violations, cleanup history for Superfund sites, demographics, compliance history and watershed for this site. Mousing over a site on the map also provides a link to the Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) report for the facility.
- To view quick information for an area with respect to a single map feature, click (
) to open the identify tool.
- Select the check box (
) for the desired data feature listed in the Select Map Contents box on the right side of the page. (e.g., Pop. Density by Census Tract). - Use the first option and click somewhere on the map. This will generate a summary report for the area. All Identify reports will contain the State, Counties, Zip Codes, and Congressional Districts. Additional contents of the report will depend on which map feature was selected. For example, if Pop. Density by Census Tract is selected, the report will also contain demographic statistics at the tract level.
- Select the check box (
For more information, see Using the Identify Tool.
- To view detailed demographic, environmental, and health reports, first click (
) to open the Define report Area tool. To start with a point, click the (
) button.
- Next, click a point on the map that you want to define. Give it a name and a description, then click Save.
- You can specify a radius around the point you want to include in the reports by mousing over the point and entering a value where it asks for the buffer. The default is 0.5 miles for a point or line and 0.0 miles for a polygon or rectangle.
- When you mouse-over a defined report area, you will see two more options in addition to the buffer setting: a list of buttons to generate reports and Delete. Delete will remove the digitized point from the map. Clicking one of the report buttons will generate a report.
- After generating a report with a certain radius, you may need to generate another report around the same point with a different radius. When you mouse over the point on the map again, you will notice the buffer has returned to the default setting. You can simply enter a new radius and generate a new report.
For more information, see Define Report Area.
Viewing Map Features
To view map features, first expand the category under the “Map Contents” box, then select the feature you wish to be applied to the map. Several features may be selected at once. You may need to expand the menu further to see the legend for that feature. Several features can be filtered within a certain threshold. For more information, see Filtering Map Features.
Some things to note:
- As you zoom in or out, some features, particularly demographics, become unavailable (
) because they depend on the scale of the current map window. For example, when you zoom in on a single intersection, Pop. Density by State becomes unavailable. Likewise, when you zoom out to see the whole United States, Pop. Density by block, blockgroup, and census tract all become unavailable. When this happens, the option under “Map Contents” will be disabled and the feature will not be displayed on the map, even if it was selected before you zoomed in or out. - Also, as you zoom out, facilities that are close together become clustered. When you mouse over them, you will see a list of sites in the bunch and as you zoom in, the sites will begin to separate.
- The order in which the layers are shown on the map will depend on the order in which they are added. Turn layers on/off to change the order in which they display on the map. If you zoom in or out the order shown may change depending on the order in which the data is retrieved.
Description of Map Features
Please note that clicking on the feature name in the legend will give you feature definitions and in some cases, links to their sources.Community-based EPA Grants:
- EJ Grants(
) - Environmental Justice Grants, Cooperative Agreements and Programs, as well as place of performance locations. - CARE Grants(
) - Community Action for Renewed Environment (CARE) Grants, as well as place of performance locations. - Brownfields Grants(
) - Brownfields Grants, as well as place of performance locations.
Sites Reporting to the EPA:
- Hazardous Waste (RCRAInfo)(
) - Hazardous waste is waste that is dangerous or potentially harmful to our health or the environment. Hazardous wastes can be liquids, solids, gases, or sludges. They can be discarded commercial products, like cleaning fluids or pesticides, or the by-products of manufacturing processes. - Air Emissions (AFS)(
) - The Air Facility System (AFS) contains compliance and permit data for stationary sources regulated by EPA, state, and local air pollution agencies. States use AFS information to prepare State Implementation Plans (SIP) and track the compliance status of point sources with various regulatory programs under the Clean Air Act. - Water Dischargers (PCS/ICIS)(
) - As authorized by the Clean Water Act, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program controls water pollution by regulating sources, such as municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities, that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States. EPA tracks water discharge permits through the Permit Compliance System (PCS) and Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS), which includes information on when a permit was issued and when it expires, how much the company is permitted to discharge, and the actual monitoring data showing what the company has discharged. - Toxic Releases (TRI) (
) - The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) is a publicly available EPA database that contains information on toxic chemical releases and waste management activities reported annually by certain industries as well as federal facilities. The database also contains links to compliance and enforcement information. - Superfund (CERCLIS)(
) - Superfund is the Federal Government's program to clean up the nation's uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. The National Priorities List (NPL) is the list of national priorities among the known or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants throughout the United States and its territories. - Brownfields (ACRES)(
) - The Assessment, Cleanup, and Redevelopment Exchange System (ACRES) captures grantee reported data on environmental activities and accomplishments (assessment, cleanup and redevelopment), funding, job training, and details on cooperative partners and leveraging efforts - a central objective of the Brownfields Program. The information in ACRES is provided at the property and grant level.
Water Monitoring Stations:
- USGS Water Monitors (NWIS)(
)The United States Geological Survey (USGS) water monitors layer is retrieved in real-time from the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) website. The NWIS service provides current conditions from selected surface water, ground water, and water quality sites. - EPA Water Monitors (STORET) (
)Water quality monitoring information comes from EPA's Storage and Retrieval (STORET) System, a repository of physical, chemical, and biological monitoring data from State and Federal agencies, watershed organizations, volunteer groups, and others. Surface water, Ground water, and Others are general categories for more specific STORET Station Types.
Places (GNIS)
Places are obtained from The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) database. GNIS is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout the United States and its territories. GNIS points in EJView include:
- Schools (
) Building or group of buildings used as an institution for study, teaching, and learning (e.g., academy, college, high school, university). - Hospitals (
) Building where the sick or injured may receive medical or surgical attention (e.g., infirmary, clinic). - Worship Places (
)
Building used for religious worship (e.g., chapel, mosque, synagogue, tabernacle, temple).
Health Service Areas (HRSA) Data
- Medically Underserved Areas/Populations - Shows underserved populations and areas.
- Primary Care - Health Professional Shortage Areas - Shows underserved geographical areas, populations and counties.
- Dental Care - Health Professional Shortage Areas - Shows underserved geographical areas, populations and counties.
- Mental Health - Health Professional Shortage Areas - Shows underserved geographical areas, populations and counties.
- Primary Care (Point) - Health Professional Shortage Areas - Shows Alaskan Native Tribal Populations, Comprehensive Health Centers, Federally Qualified Health Center “Look-a-likes,” Indian Health Services Facilities, Native American Tribal Populations, and Rural Health Clinics.
- Mental Health (Point) - Health Professional Shortage Areas - Shows Alaskan Native Tribal Populations, Comprehensive Health Centers, Federally Qualified Health Center “Look-a-likes,” Indian Health Services Facilities, Native American Tribal Populations, and Rural Health Clinics.
- Dental Care (Point) - Health Professional Shortage Areas - Shows Alaskan Native Tribal Populations, Comprehensive Health Centers, Federally Qualified Health Center “Look-a-likes,” Indian Health Services Facilities, Native American Tribal Populations, and Rural Health Clinics.
- Primary Care Service Areas - Shows clusters of people receiving primary care within a ZIP code.
Nonattainment Areas
In United States environmental law, a nonattainment area is an area considered to have air quality worse than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards as defined in the Clean Air Act. Nonattainment areas must have and implement a plan to meet the standard. An area may be a nonattainment area for one pollutant and an attainment area for others, meaning that the area satisfies the standards. EJView includes nonattainment areas for Ozone 8-hour and Particulate Matter (PM2.5).
- Ozone 8-hour (1997 standard) (
) - Ozone (O3) is a gas composed of three oxygen atoms. Ground-level or "bad" ozone is not emitted directly into the air, but is created by chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the presence of sunlight. Emissions from industrial facilities and electric utilities, motor vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, and chemical solvents are some of the major sources of NOx and VOC. - Lead (2008 standard) (
)Lead (Pb) is a metal found naturally in the environment as well as in manufactured products. The major sources of lead emissions have historically been from fuels in on-road motor vehicles (such as cars and trucks) and industrial sources. As a result of EPA's regulatory efforts to remove lead from on-road motor vehicle gasoline, emissions of lead from the transportation sector dramatically declined by 95 percent between 1980 and 1999, and levels of lead in the air decreased by 94 percent between 1980 and 1999. Today, the highest levels of lead in air are usually found near lead smelters. The major sources of lead emissions to the air today are ore and metals processing and piston-engine aircraft operating on leaded aviation gasoline.
- Particulate Matter (PM2.5) Annual (1997 standard) (
)These areas exceed the 1997 annual design value for PM 2.5.
"Particulate matter," also known as particle pollution or PM, is a complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets. Particle pollution is made up of a number of components, including acids (such as nitrates and sulfates), organic chemicals, metals, and soil or dust particles.
"Fine particles," such as those found in smoke and haze, are 2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller. These particles known as PM 2.5 can be directly emitted from sources such as forest fires, or they can form when gases emitted from power plants, industries and automobiles react in the air.
- PM2.5 24-hour (by 2006 standard) (
)These areas exceed the 2006 24-hour design value for PM 2.5.
"Particulate matter," also known as particle pollution or PM, is a complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets. Particle pollution is made up of a number of components, including acids (such as nitrates and sulfates), organic chemicals, metals, and soil or dust particles.
"Fine particles," such as those found in smoke and haze, are 2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller. These particles known as PM 2.5 can be directly emitted from sources such as forest fires, or they can form when gases emitted from power plants, industries and automobiles react in the air.
Health
The National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) is EPA's ongoing comprehensive evaluation of air toxics in the U.S. NATA assessments do not incorporate refined information about emission sources, but rather use general information about sources to develop estimates of risks which are more likely to overestimate impacts than underestimate them. NATA provides estimates of the risk of cancer and other serious health effects from breathing (inhaling) air toxics. EJView displays risks for:
- Cancer and Noncancer (2005)
- Cancer Risk by Tract (
) - Total cancer risk per million, by tract as determined by the 2005 National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA). - Cancer Risk by County () - Total cancer risk per million, by County as determined by the 2005 National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA).
- Respiratory Risk by Tract (
) - Sum of hazard quotients that affect the same target organ (respiratory), by tract as determined by the 2005 National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA). - Respiratory Risk by County () - Sum of hazard quotients that affect the same target organ (respiratory), by county as determined by the 2005 National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA).
- Neurological Risk by Tract(
) - Sum of hazard quotients that affect the same target organ (neurological), by tract as determined by the 2005 National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA). - Neurological Risk by County () - Sum of hazard quotients that affect the same target organ (neurological), by county as determined by the 2005 National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA).
- Cancer Risk by Tract (
- Infant Mortality Rate (2004) (
) - The number of infant deaths (one year of age or younger) per 1000 live births by County.
- Low Birth Weight Rate (2004)
(
) - Babies born at weights below healthful levels. Birth weight between 1500 grams (3 lbs, 5 oz) and 2500 grams (5 lbs, 8 oz) by County.
These features can be filtered. See Filtering Map Features for more information. Note that Mortality and Low Birth Weight Rate by State are not available when zoomed in very close. You may need to zoom out in order to see them.
Demographics (SF1) 2010
Based on data from the 2010 U.S. Census of Population and Housing 100% count database-Summary File 1 (SF1). The demographic elements are mapped using boundary layers (block, blockgroup, tract, county and state) derived from the U.S. Census Bureau's TIGER/Line 2010. The fields available are:
- Population Density 2010 - Persons Per Square Mile is computed by dividing the total population count by the land area in square miles. Available by Block, by Blockgroup, by Tract, by County, and by State.
- Minority (%) 2010 - Percent Minority includes all races except non-Hispanic white persons.
- Age < 18 years (%) 2010 - The percentage of population under 18 years old.
- Female (%) 2010 - Percent Female is computed by dividing the female population by the total population.
- Rental Units(%) 2010 - Percent Rental Units is computed by dividing the number of rented housing units by the total number of occupied housing units.
All the above features are available by Block, by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County. These features can be filtered. See Filtering Map Features for more information. Note that these features are dependant on the map scale. You may need to zoom in or out in order to see them.
Demographics (ACS) 2010
Based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-year Summary (ACS). The fields available are:
- Population Density (People/sq mi) - Persons Per Square Mile is computed by dividing the total population count by the land area in square miles. Available , by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County.
- Per Capita Income - Per Capita Income is computed by dividing the collective income for all persons 15 years and over by the total population count within the area. Available by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County.
- Below Poverty (%) - Percent Below Poverty is computed by dividing the sum of persons living below the poverty level by the number of persons for whom poverty status is determined. Available by Tract, or by County.
- Education < 12G (%) - The percentage of adults (25 years and older) who have not completed high school. Available by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County..
- HS Diploma Only (%) - The percentage of adults (25 years and older) who have a high school diploma only. Available by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County.
- College Degree (%) - The percentage of adults (25 years and older) who have a Bachelors degree or above. Available by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County.
- Age < 18 years (%) - The percentage of population under 18 years old. Available by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County.
- Homes pre-1950 (%) - The percentage of homes built before 1950. Available by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County..
- Speak English < Well (%) - Percent Speak English Less Than Well is computed by dividing the sum of population speaking English less than well with the sum of population. Available by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County.
- Female (%) - Percent Female is computed by dividing the female population by the total population. Available by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County.
- Rental Units(%) - Percent Rental Units is computed by dividing the number of rented housing units by the total number of occupied housing units. Available by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County.
- Minority (%) - Percent Minority includes all races except non-Hispanic white persons. Available by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County.
These features can be filtered. See Filtering Map Features for more information. Note that these features are dependant on the map scale. You may need to zoom in or out in order to see them.
Demographics 2000
Based on data from the 2000 U.S. Census of Population and Housing. The demographic elements are mapped using boundary layers (block, blockgroup, tract, county and state) derived from the U.S. Census Bureau's TIGER/Line 2000. The fields available are:
- Population Density (People/sq mi) - Persons Per Square Mile is computed by dividing the total population count by the land area in square miles. Available by Block, by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County.
- Per Capita Income - Per Capita Income is computed by dividing the collective income for all persons 15 years and over by the total population count within the area. Available by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County.
- Below Poverty (%) - Percent Below Poverty is computed by dividing the sum of persons living below the poverty level by the number of persons for whom poverty status is determined. Available by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County.
- Education < 12G (%) - The percentage of adults (25 years and older) who have not completed high school. Available by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County.
- HS Diploma Only (%) - The percentage of adults (25 years and older) who have a high school diploma only. Available by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County.
- College Degree (%) - The percentage of adults (25 years and older) who have a Bachelors degree or above. Available by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County. Available by Blockgroup, by Tract, by County, and by State.
- Age < 18 years (%) - The percentage of population under 18 years old. Available by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County.
- Homes pre-1950 (%) - The percentage of homes built before 1950. Available by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by Countye.
- Speak English < Well (%) - Percent Speak English Less Than Well is computed by dividing the sum of population speaking English less than well with the sum of population. Available by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County.
- Female (%) - Percent Female is computed by dividing the female population by the total population. Available by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County.
- Rental Units(%) - Percent Rental Units is computed by dividing the number of rented housing units by the total number of occupied housing units. Available by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County.
- Minority (%) - Percent Minority includes all races except non-Hispanic white persons. Available by Block, by Blockgroup, by Tract, and by County.
These features can be filtered. See Filtering Map Features for more information. Note that these features are dependant on the map scale. You may need to zoom in or out in order to see them.
Boundaries and Water Features
- Neighborhood Points (
) - Neighborhood centroids in 393 U.S. cities. Neighborhoods are defined based on information collected from official city websites, maps and background imagery, city officials, residents and real estate agents.
- Neighborhood Boundaries (
) - Neighborhood boundaries in 393 U.S. cities. Neighborhoods are defined based on information collected from official city websites, maps and background imagery, city officials, residents and real estate agents.
- Impaired Streams (
) - Streams that have excess pollutants and are not clean enough to support recreational uses. - Impaired Water Bodies (
) - Water Bodies that have excess pollutants and are not clean enough to support recreational uses. - Streams (
) - Streams are linear surface water features. The streams layer is based on the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) 1:100,000 scale streams network. - Water Bodies (
) - Water bodies are area surface features such as ponds, lakes and wide rivers. The water bodies layer is from U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2000. - Watershed (HUC12) (
) - Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUC) are used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to catalog bodies of water. Selecting this feature will highlight the boundaries of each watershed. - Railroads (
) - Railroads are linear features representing the nation's railway system at a 1:100,000 scale. The railroads layer is produced by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and distributed as part of the National Transportation Atlas (NTAD). Note that, due to source differences and the inclusion of historical rail lines and rights of way, there may be differences in location and coverage between this layer and the railroads depicted in the Virtual Earth basemap layer. - 2002 Freight (kilotons) (
)- The 2002 Freight layer is derived from the 2002 Freight Analysis Framework Version 2.2 (FAF2.2) Commodity Origin-Destination Database. It includes subtotal values for 7 transportation modes plus totals, both in kilotons and millions of dollars. The transportation modes are: Truck, Rail, Water, Air (including truck and air), Truck-Rail Intermodal (any combination of truck and rail), Other Intermodal, Pipeline and Unknown. The FAF2.2 commondity flow and geographic zones layer are published by the Federal Highway Administration. - Health Service Areas (
) - Health Service Areas (HSA) were originally defined by the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to be a single county or cluster of contiguous counties which are relatively self-contained with respect to hospital care. For further information about their initial use, please visit the Atlas of United State Mortality. - Congressional Districts (
)- A congressional district is an electoral constituency that elects a single member of a congress. A congressional district is based on population, which in the United States is determined by taking a census every ten years. - Urban Areas (
)-The Urban Areas feature includes core census block groups or blocks that have a population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile and surrounding census blocks that have an overall density of at least 500 people per square mile. The Urban Areas feature is downloaded from the US Census Bureau. - City Boundaries (
) - City boundaries are derived from the 2000 Census TIGER/Line data. These boundaries include incorporated cities and Census Designated Places. - Federal Lands (
) - Federal Lands are any land other than tribal lands that are controlled or owned by the United States, including lands selected by but not yet conveyed to Alaska Native Corporations and groups organized pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. This feature is downloaded from the USGS. - Zip Codes (
) – Zip Codes are numbers that identify each postal delivery area in the United States. The Zip Code boundaries feature is provided by Tele Atlas, 2008. - Counties (
) - The Counties feature portrays the county boundaries of the United States. A county is the largest territorial division for local government within a state in the United States. This map feature is downloaded from the US Census Bureau. - States (
) - State boundaries are derived from 2000 Census TIGER/Line generalized boundaries for state and state equivalent areas.
Note that Streams, Water Bodies, and Watersheds are dependant on the map scale. You may need to zoom in to see them.
USA Topo Map
Topographic maps render the three-dimensional ups and downs of the terrain on a two-dimensional surface and usually portray both natural and man-made features. The lines on topographic maps show the contours of the landscape. The contour interval on this particular map is 20 feet. That means that every contour line on the map represents an increase or decrease in elevation of 20 feet depending on which direction you go. Therefore, the closer the lines are to each other, the steeper the hill. The actual elevation from sea level is given every 5 contour lines, or every 100 feet.
National Land Cover 2006
Land cover is the physical material at the surface of the earth. Land covers include grass, asphalt, trees, bare ground, water, etc. Land cover is distinct from land use despite the two terms often being used interchangeably. Land use is a description of how people utilize the land and socioeconomic activity - urban and agricultural land uses are two of the most commonly recognized high-level classes of use. The land cover color scheme may seem slightly different in the map versus in the legend because the map feature has been made transparent for easier viewing when overlaying with other datasets.
Define Report Area
You can draw an area and then generate detailed demographic, environmental, and health reports for that area. Using this tool, you can draw a point, line, area, or rectangle. You can also specify a buffer area radius (e.g., go 1 mile out in all directions) for which the reports will be generated. (Note: You need to change the radius before you generate the report, or the default radius will be used.)
- Start by opening the Define report area dialog box by clicking the Draw () button on the left.
- To start with a point, click the (
) button.
- Next, click a point on the map that you want to define. Give it a name and a description, then click “Save”.
- You can specify a radius around the point you want to include in the reports by mousing over the point and entering a value where it asks for the buffer. The default is 0.5 miles for point, line and 0.0 miles for polygon.
- This is good for characterizing populations and conditions around a facility or other source of interest such as a Superfund site.
- To draw a line, click the (
) button.
- For each click on the map, a corner or vertex is added and the line can change direction. Right-click to end drawing. Give it a name and a description, the click "Save".
- You can specify a radius around the line you want to include in the reports by mousing over the line and entering a value where it asks for the buffer. The default is 0.5 miles.
- This is good for characterizing populations and conditions along a path, such as a river or highway. Since it tells you the total distance as you draw the path, it could also be used as a round-about way to measure distance between two points.
- To draw an area, click the (
) button.- For each left-click, a vertex is added. When you are ready, right click to set the last vertex. You must have at least 3 vertices. Give the shape a name and a description, then click "Save".
- You can specify a radius around the area you want to include in the reports by mousing over the area and entering a value where it asks for the buffer. The default is 0.0 miles.
- This is good for characterizing populations and conditions within a region. Alternatively, you could also trace a political or natural boundary, such as a county or watershed and retrieve detailed reports for that region.
- To draw a rectangle, click the (
) button.
- Hold down the left-mouse button and drag in a diagonal direction on the map. Release the button to end drawing. Give the shape a name and a description, then click "Save".
- You can specify a radius around the rectangle you want to include in the reports by mousing over the rectangle and entering a value where it asks for the buffer. The default is 0.0 miles.
- This is good for characterizing populations and conditions within a rectangle.
- When you mouse-over a defined report area, you will see two more options in addition to the buffer setting: Generate Report and Delete. Delete will remove the digitized feature from the map. Generate Report will generate the reports.
- Note: The buffer zones are not displayed graphically on the map. Only the report area itself is displayed, so it is recommended that you set a good description to help you remember (e.g., 5 mile radius around facility X). After generating a report with a certain radius, you may need to generate another report around the same point with a different radius. When you mouse over the report area on the map again, you will notice the buffer has reverted to the default value. You can re-enter a new radius and re-generate a new report.
Using the Identify Tool
To use the Identify Tool:
- First click the ( ) button to open the Identify Tool.
- Select the check boxes ( ) for the desired data features listed in Map Contents. The following features can be selected for identification: Health Service Areas (HRSA), Nonattainment Areas, Health, Demographics and Boundaries and Water Features. All Identify reports will contain the State, Counties, Zip Codes, and Congressional Districts. Additional contents of the report will depend on which map features were selected.
- In the Identify Tool window, there are three options: point, rectangle and custom area.
- Use the first option, and click somewhere on the map. Doing so will generate a summary report for the area that becomes visible when you mouse-over the highlighted area. The contents of the report will depend on which map features were selected.
- You can draw a rectangle on the map as well. Doing so will produce a report for all of the regions relevant to the selected map features for which at least part of the region lies within the rectangle. In other words, the report will include any selected features that are totally or partially inside the rectangle.
- You can draw a custom shape on the map as well. To do so, left-click at each corner of the shape and right click at the last one. If the shape is not closed, it will automatically connect the first and last corners.
Using the Search Tool
You can use this tool to search for a new location by address, zip code, city, county, state, airport or even Congressional District. For Congressional Districts, enter “cd: ” and then the district code or the name of the representative (Notice there is a space after the “:”). If you don't know either, just enter your states abbreviation, and the program will offer suggestions to help. Similarly, for watersheds, type huc12: and then the name of your water shed. Sometimes there may be several places with the same name, and the search will return a few suggestions to choose from.
Printing
To print your map, click the Print 
button.
This creates a new window with 3 sections:
- A map title at the top. To edit the title, click in the title area and type your own descriptive title.
- The map, including a scale bar.
- A map legend is on the right.
Use your browser’s print function to send the map to a printer.
Usage Note: Some layers may not appear in the printout of your map. Currently there are limitations using the Print tool when sending to a printer. The EJView mapper layers are provided by multiple map services. It uses transparency properties to display layers from multiple services. Browsers can interpret transparency in HTML documents, however printers cannot interpret the transparency properties for display purposes. The result is that only the top layer will be visible on the printed page.
Alternate print method: If the resulting print is insufficient for your use, please press ALT-PrintScreen (for PC users) to capture the image, and CTRL-V to paste it into an editor for presentation.
About EJView
EJView, formerly known as the Environmental Justice Geographic Assessment Tool, is a mapping tool that allows users to create maps and generate detailed reports based on the geographic areas and data sets they choose. EJView includes data from multiple factors that may affect public and environmental health within a community or region, including:
- demographic
- health
- environmental
- facility-level data
EJView uses an area-weighted method of population estimation. Population and housing statistics are created by overlaying the specified study area (buffered point, user-digitized polygon or map window) with the appropriate Census summary level geography (block, block group, tract, or county). For each Census polygon the respective population values are adjusted proportionally (area-weighted) based on the percentage of the polygon that lies within the study area. For example, given 3 block groups intersecting the study area with the following characteristics:
- 100% contained with a population of 15;
- 50% contained with a population of 12;
- 20% contained with a population of 10
The total estimated population is (1 * 15) + (0.5 * 12) + (0.2 * 10) = 23
This method assumes an even distribution of population over each Census geographic unit. The accuracy of the method depends on how even the population distribution actually is and on the size of the geographic units. This is the best population estimation method available without having additional information about the population distribution.
For documentation on available data features, see Description of Features
For help using the tool, please see the EJView help categories, found on the left side of the page. If you still need assistance, please send an email to environmental-justice@epa.gov