Materials from an OTA Senior Management Retreat including memoranda, summaries, and discussion points for previous or upcoming studies and programs. The retreat was held from November 12-14, 1986.

The Senate of the United States Committee and Subcommittee Assignments for the 107th congress.

This is an OTA resource analysis report.

This document describes the activities at the OTA Senior Management Retreat in Rockwood Manor, Maryland, which was held from November 16-17, 1992.

This background paper was requested by the House Government Operations Committee and its Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations and Human Resources. In it, OTA describes policies issued by Federal agencies concerning the identification, assessment, and regulation of carcinogenic chemicals; the chemicals that have been regulated because of carcinogenic risk; the Federal Government’s carcinogenicity testing program; and the results of OTA’s analysis of the extent of agency action on chemicals determined to be carcinogenic.

This report discusses the development of telecommunications technologies and the study of distance learning. OTA was asked to analyze various technological options, examine current development, and identify how Federal, State and local policies could encourage more efficient and effective use.

The report discusses contamination of the hydrogeological system (a primer), technologies to improve nutrient and pest management, farmer decision-making and technical assistance to reduce agrichemical contamination of groundwater, and public influences on agrichemical contamination of groundwater.

This paper presents the status of national efforts to cleanup dioxin-contaminated sites and the technologies that have been used, proposed, and researched. It covers thermal and nonthermal treatment techniques as well as approaches such as stabilization and storage. It discusses the development of these technologies as well as advantages and disadvantages of their use.

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 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.

This background paper examines evidence of the risk of HIV transmission in the health care workplace and discusses the policy implications of CDC guidelines and congressional actions in response to this risk.

This report focuses on key assumptions that will affect the sizing and procurement of the new FBI system, and on other related steps that appear necessary to ensure complete and up-to-date record systems. These include full implementation of a Federal/State/local partnership for maintaining and exchanging fingerprint and criminal history records; enactment of an interstate compact or Federal legislation setting out uniform rules for the exchange of such records; standards and funding for improving criminal history record completeness and disposition reporting; and privacy and security protections for electronic fingerprint and record information.

This report analyzes various technologies that may be important for future advances in miniaturization. Current research in the United States and other nations is pushing the limits of miniaturization to the point that structures only hundreds of atoms thick will be commonly manufactured. Researchers studying atomic and molecular interactions are continuing to push the frontiers, creating knowledge needed to continue progress in miniaturization. Scientists and engineers are creating microscopic mechanical structures and biological sensors that will have novel and diverse applications.

This report examines the U.S. preparations process for WARC-92, highlighting efforts to integrate the needs and concerns of various interest groups. It also reviews the forces and trends affecting the United States as it approaches WARC-92, and is intended to inform future congressional oversight of the domestic and international radio communication policy process.

This report discusses the history and function of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) as it stood in November 1989, focusing on the benefit of the OTA's function as a practical analysis tool concerning technological issues.

An assessment by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that looks at the international competitiveness of the electronics technology industry.

A technical memorandum by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "estimates plausible levels of world oil production to the year 2000 and assesses the factors likely to determine which levels are actually reached" (p. iii).

A report by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that is a "background to an analysis of Federal policies regarding the medical devices industry" (p. 4).

A technical memorandum by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that looks at "issues directly related to the scientific validity of the polygraph" (p. iii).

A case study by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "focuses on amputees and the social policies that bear on their use of the Boston Elbow" (p. 3).

A study by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that covers "the essential technical issues surrounding the selection and acquisition of infrastructure in space" (p. iii).

A case study by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that presents "what is currently known about ICUs in terms of the distribution of ICU beds, the costs of maintaining ICUs, the characteristics of ICU patients and the outcome of ICU care" (p. 3).

An assessment by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "focuses on how Federal Government policies affect innovations in wheelchair characteristics" (p. 3).

A report by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "examines both the demands that the information revolution will make on education and the opportunities afforded by the new information technologies to meet those demands" (p. iii).