Friday, 7 Mar 97 Washington, DC
1.**BROOKHAVEN LABORATORY DIRECTOR RESIGNS UNDER FIRE.**
According to a story in Newsday, Nick Samios was forced to
step down over his handling of a tritium leak that has shut down
the lab's nuclear reactor for more than a year. Discovered just
two months ago, the radioactive plume has been growing for six
years.
2. BUDGET: MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ENDORSE JOINT
STATEMENT.
Tuesday, representatives of 23 scientific,
mathematical and engineering societies met with reporters to
release their call for an across- the-board increase of 7% in
research (WN 28 Feb 97). They were
lauded by Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX), who urged scientists to
contact their own senators on behalf of his bill, S.124, which
aims at doubling the federal investment in basic research in 10
years (WN 24 Jan 97). Senator Joseph
Lieberman (D-CT) praised Gramm's bill, but said it should include
applied research. Rep. George Brown (D-CA) also praised
scientists for speaking out and announced his intention to
introduce legislation calling for an increase of 5% per year in
non-defense R&D. APS President Allan Bromley pointed out on C-
Span that money for the increase would come from economic growth.
His argument was buttressed by a survey of economists in
yesterday's Wall Street Journal. They were asked what goverment
could do to spur growth; the top choice was education and
research -- nothing else even came close.
3. COMMISSION FINDS TOO MUCH GOVERNMENT SECRECY. THIS
IS NEWS?
A bipartisan commission headed by Sen. Daniel
Moynihan (D-NY) and Rep. Larry Combest (R-TX) discovered that
some $5.6B per year is spent to conceal information, most of
which should be public. Solution? Declassify automatically
after 10 years--30 years if it's important--never if it's REALLY
important. It's been tried; President Clinton signed an
executive order in 1995 automatically releasing information after
25 years--except when you shouldn't (WN
21 Jan 94). Who decides whether you should? The agency that
classified it. What bureaucrat will admit to having classified
information that shouldn't have been? The Commission wants a
National Declassification Center to oversee the process.
4. DOE TAKES DECISIVE ACTION ON AN EXPLOSIVE WASTE
PROBLEM.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
yesterday voted 19-0 to confirm Francisco Pena as Secretary of
Energy. In an effort to force the White House to support an
interim waste storage site in Nevada, action had been held up
more than a month, leaving DOE without a leader. Leaderless or
not, DOE officials acted swiftly on another waste problem. They
closed all restrooms in DOE's Forrestal Building "due to
overpressurization in the water holding tank." A notice warned
employees that "THE PORCELAIN FIXTURES COULD EXPLODE!" So could
the employees! Interim waste facilities were made available in
nearby government buildings. "You can show your badge," the
notice said, "to expedite access."
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