For Pollution Monitors, Some Cash Incentives March 2, 2012, 3:00 pm For New Yorkers wondering how dirty the air in their neighborhood really is or how polluted a local beach might be, the federal Environmental Protection Agency is offering money, a mission and a title: citizen scientist. The agency is offering grants ranging from $12,500 to $25,000 apiece for people or organizations, including schools, hospitals and nonprofit community groups, willing to collect information on air and water pollution and identify solutions to the problem. Volunteer monitors in the past have included a school in the Bronx that equipped students" backpacks students with air sampling devices to test for levels of air pollutants like soot on their way to and from school. Such research can help communities lobby government officials for action, more extensive testing or specific remedies like a beach cleanup. The agency is awarding volunteer monitors a total of $125,000 for five to 10 New York City projects. Applications are due on April 20, and Information on eligibility and application procedures can be found here. "By providing citizen scientists with the funding needed to advance their knowledge about local air and water pollution, the E.P.A. is expanding its own scientific base and building collaborations with communities that will lead to effective and innovative solutions," Judith A. Enck, the agency's administrator for the New York region, said in a statement.