This report provides an overview of progress made by nine compacts and the remaining unaffiliated States in developing disposal facilities. Disposal costs have more than tripled while LLW volumes have dropped by more than half over the last decade. Since many costs associated with developing and operating a disposal facility are fixed, unit disposal costs will increase substantially as new facilities open. This may lead States to consider the economics of cooperative arrangements, which would permit them to trade waste services and construct fewer full-service disposal facilities.

This report reviews U.S. patent law as it relates to the patentability of micro-organisms, cells, plants, and animals; as well as specific areas of concern, including deposit requirements and international considerations. The report includes a range of options for congressional action related to the patenting of animals, intellectual property protection for plants, and enablement of patents involving biological material.

This report identifies U.S. interests in Antarctica and evaluates the Minerals Convention relative to these interests. It examines the status of knowledge about the resources of Antarctica, the potential impacts of minerals development, and the technical, economic, environmental, geological, and political constraints to development in Antarctica.

This special report examines a wide range of potential improvements to the Space Shuttle, explores the future of space transportation for humans, and presents policy options for congressional consideration. It is one of a series of products from abroad assessment of space transportation technologies undertaken by OTA, requested by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

This report finds that many State EMS systems are fragmented and lacking resources to remedy EMS problems in rural areas. Many rural EMS programs lack specialized EMS providers, have inadequate EMS transportation and communications equipment, and are not part of a planned regional EMS system. The report describes the availability and distribution of emergency medical service (EMS) resources (e.g., personnel, transportation, facilities) and examines how limited Federal resources can be used to improve rural EMS. In addition, the report discusses how Federal EMS resources might be targeted to States’ rural areas.

As analytical technology improves, we are discovering dioxins associated with many products commonly found in the home and workplace. This report provides an assessment of these technologies; it does not address the policy issues related to regulating dioxin in paper products and controlling environmental release.

On September 13, 1988, the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Japan Science and Technology Program (JSTP) held a one-day workshop to discuss MIT’s Japan Science and Technology Program’s internship program and its technical language workshop. This document gives a brief description the MIT-Japan Science and Technology of Program. It then reports the principal themes and issues raised at the workshop.

This paper reviews both new and previously published data on the proportions of elderly currently receiving a variety of preventive health services; we examine factors associated with whether the elderly receive these services; and we analyze the likely implications for Medicare if preventive health services were offered as covered benefits.

This report is an assessment of health care for American Indians and Alaska Natives who are eligible for medical and health-related services from the Federal Government. The Federal agency that is responsible for providing these services is the Indian Health Service (IHS), a component of the Public Health Service (PHS) in the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

This report examines the impact of recent and anticipated advances in communication and information technologies on the intellectual property system. It focuses primarily on the Federal copyright system, and on the continuing effectiveness of copyright law as a policy tool in the light of technologies such as audioand videorecorders, computer programs, electronic databases, and telecommunications networks.

The report addresses five major areas: 1) management of information technology, including strategic planning, innovation, procurement, and the information resources management (IRM) concept; 2) information systems security and computer crime; 3) information technology and decision support; 4) management of government information dissemination; and 5) opportunities for using information technology in conducting congressional oversight.

A report on fuel cell technology is one of the most promising of the new electric power technologies currently undergoing development. Fuel cell power systems have attracted attention because of their potential for high efficiency, low emissions, flexible use of fuels, and quietness. The Federal Government and the private sector have been funding fuel cell R&D for more than 20 years. The state-of-the-art has advanced to the point that fuel cell manufacturers hope to begin marketing fuel cells in just a few years. Full-scale demonstration plants are currently being designed.

This background paper describes the current state of research and development in microelectronics by examining the range of R&D efforts and the sources of Federal and private support for R&D. It also presents potential policy concerns that stem from existing arrangements for direct Federal support and from changes underway in microelectronics R&D.

This memorandum is part of a larger assessment which will address the impact of advanced structural materials on the competitiveness of the U.S. manufacturing sector, and offer policy options for accelerating the commercial utilization of these materials.

A report on the primary purpose of this report is to provide OTA with specific information that can be used in forming general conclusions regarding broader policy issues.

This assessment of ocean incineration includes consideration of the adequacy of regulations; risks to human health and the marine environment relative to the risks of comparable activities; existing and emerging alternatives; the capabilities and limitations of ocean incineration in managing hazardous wastes; and how its use might affect efforts to develop superior waste treatment and reduction practices. Particular attention is addressed to areas of intense public concern over the use of this technology.

Three major areas are covered in this Staff Paper: 1) a review of the studies of health effects related to passive smoking; 2) a review of current Federal, State and local, and private sector workplace smoking policies; and 3) a discussion of factors to consider in an analysis of the costs and benefits of implementing a workplace smoking policy.

A report on medicare coverage of physician services for elderly and disabled. The report also discusses the payment methods that have also fueled increases in expenditures for physician services, which are now one of the most rapidly growing parts of the Federal budget.

The report on renewable resource development can help foster self-sufficiency, but certain approaches are not compatible with sustained development (e. g., harvesting resources until long-term productivity is lost, resources are depleted, or the environment is degraded). Similarly, policies, programs, and projects that seriously conflict with local cultures and customs are likely to be counterproductive.

The international competitiveness of American firms in most manufacturing industries has been in decline, in large part because of growing competence in other parts of the world. As this assessment shows, the United States remains highly competitive in many service industries, But trade in services will remain small compared to trade in goods, and many of the benefits from foreign investments by American service firms accrue to the host nations where U.S.-based banks, insurance companies, accounting firms, and other suppliers of services do business, Services cannot right the Nation’s trade balance, even granting the many ways in which a strongly competitive service sector benefits the competitiveness of American manufacturing firms.

A report on OTA has conducted a study of a wide range of topics, some of which have recently been receiving a great deal of scrutiny inside and outside the government. In order to derive information specific enough to guide possible congressional action and to be responsive to the requesting Committees, this examination of the issues is specifically tied to particular life-sustaining technologies and their use with patients who are elderly. At the same time, much of this information is applicable to life-sustaining technology in general and to citizens of all ages.

This report involves collection of more than 10)000 pages of existing documents and preparation of more than 40 papers by outside experts under contract to OTA. Many of the OTA contract reports have been released to the National Technical Information Service or published elsewhere.

This report concentrates on the problems of displaced blue-collar and nonprofessional white-collar workers. This report gives an overview of Federal programs that provide such services, and evaluates the extent to which both private and public programs are meeting the needs of displaced workers.

This report addresses the longer run issues that technology and certain other factors will have on American agriculture during the remainder of this century. It focuses on the relationship of technology to: agricultural production, structural change, rural communities, environment and natural resource base, finance and credit, research and extension, and public policy. This report is a first step toward understanding these interrelated problems and identifying policies to ameliorate them.