Government & Policy Roundup

The Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board completed an investigation last week of an explosion and fire at the Valero St. Charles refinery in Norco, La. There were no injuries in the May 20 accident. The board report did not find the accident's exact cause but said it was likely to have been due to a corrosion-related failure of a pipe in the refinery's diesel hydrotreater unit.

The House last week passed a 2007 appropriation bill that more than halves the Administration's proposed $250 million nuclear energy research program, much of which is directed to study the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. The bill is likely to set up a sharp fight with the Senate, whose leaders strongly support reprocessing.

NSF has opened a research operations office in Beijing. The office will be managed out of NSF's Office of International Science & Engineering and will work to support international partnerships. This office is NSF's third foreign office.