Government & Policy Roundup

A National Academy of Sciences report urges chemical and other companies to establish comprehensive programs to avoid accidents by better analyzing accident precursors and encouraging employees to report "near misses." The report, "Accident Precursor Analysis & Management," is available at http://www.nap.edu.

 The White House Office of Science & Technology Policy has released a memorandum to agencies updating the Administration's R&D priorities for next year's budget. It warns that agencies must "vigorously evaluate existing programs" and reduce them if warranted. The memo is on the OSTP website at http://www.ostp.gov.