Government Concentrates

Army considers shipping chemical arms to Utah for disposal

To meet the chemical weapons treaty's extended deadline of 2012 to destroy all chemical weapons, the Army is considering transporting weapons now stored at Pueblo, Colo., and Blue Grass, Ky., to the operating disposal facility at Tooele, Utah. Such a move would require an act of Congress because current law requires that weapons be destroyed at their present storage sites. Construction of facilities to neutralize the bulk chemical agents stored at Pueblo and Blue Grass is reportedly to be delayed by five years. And, according to Pentagon spokeswoman Cheryl Irwin, the Defense Department has directed the Army and its Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives Program "to develop alternatives that achieve the extended [chemical weapons treaty] 100% destruction deadline of April 2012 and to also develop options for relocation along with other alternatives." According to Craig Williams, executive director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group--a coalition of citizens' groups opposed to chemical weapons incineration--the 3,134 tons of bulk agents stored at Pueblo and Blue Grass represent about 15% of the remaining U.S. stockpile. Internal Pentagon documents estimate that disposal of these agents would cost $2 billion between 2006 and 2011, but the Pentagon plans to reduce funding to about $300 million for that same time period.

Safety board backs new oil-field waste practices

Changes in oil-field waste-handling practices made by three companies to mitigate potentially lethal situations were applauded by the Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board. The changes were in response to a critical report by the board of the companies' actions that led to the deaths of three workers and serious injuries to four others. The accident occurred in January 2003 when a vapor-cloud fire erupted at the BLSR Operating Ltd. disposal facility near Rosharon, Texas, south of Houston. The fire resulted when two vacuum trucks were unloading a common but highly flammable liquid waste from gas production wells for disposal at the facility. The board found that the natural gas well operator, Noble Energy, did not recognize the flammability of the liquid waste and did not provide safety information to the waste-handling companies. Noble has now provided material safety data sheets on the waste, and the haulers and disposal facilities have developed new handling procedures, the board said. It also urged the Department of Transportation, OSHA, and the Texas Railroad Commission to modify their regulations to ensure that proper information is provided to all waste handlers.

HHS report targets medical innovations

Agencies within the Department of Health & Human Services should improve communications and work together to move new medical innovations more quickly from lab bench to bedside, according to a report released by the department on Jan. 13. The report, "Moving Medical Innovations Forward--New Initiatives from HHS," was completed by an HHS task force assembled last May to "weigh new ideas and promote new solutions to encourage innovation in health care and to speed the development of effective medical technologies," said HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson at a news briefing. Among the report's recommendations are that HHS improve coordination with other federal agencies that play a role in medical technology development; that HHS create a forum for investigators and manufacturers to communicate with HHS agencies; and that interagency scientific education and cross-training efforts be supported to identify gaps in knowledge among technology-transfer staff within HHS.

Easing the federal research grant process

The Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Office of Management & Budget (OMB) have released a proposal to establish a uniform and streamlined set of terms and conditions for government research awards. This set of terms can then be used as guidance for all federal research agencies. The proposal is just one of three measures announced by the Executive Office of the President to "promote multidisciplinary and collaborative research and to streamline the business process for managing federal research grant awards." In another measure, put forth in a memorandum by OSTP Director John H. Marburger III, the government recommends policies for recognizing the contributions of multiple principal investigators on federally funded research grants where more than one collaborating investigator is included in the published paper. The third measure is another memorandum from OSTP and OMB to the National Science & Technology Council endorsing the effectiveness of the Federal Demonstration Partnership research subagreement model for use when scientists collaborate on research projects at different institutions.

GOVERNMENT & POLICY ROUNDUP

The CIA-directed Iraq Survey Group, led by Charles A. Duelfer, quietly folded its tent after a nearly two-year search for weapons of mass destruction. Duelfer's September 2004 interim report, which found no weapons, will stand as the survey group's final report and will be published later this year.

The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications reports that global production of genetically engineered crops increased 20% from 167 million acres in 2003 to 200 million acres in 2004. The largest growth occurred in developing countries where farmers added 18 million acres of engineered crops.

The Commerce Department has a new website with resources to encourage technology-based economic growth. The website (http://www.tbedresourcecenter.org) contains links to 1,300 research reports, strategic plans, best practices, and impact analyses from state and federal government, researchers, and foundations.