NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
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The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and interim vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
This study was supported by Contract No. TATF-96-17 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Department of the Treasury. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.
Copyright 1997 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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Committee on Marking, Rendering Inert, and Licensing of Explosive Materials
MARYE ANNE FOX,
University of Texas,
Chair
EDWARD M. ARNETT,
Duke University,
Vice Chair
ALEXANDER BEVERIDGE,
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
ALAN L. CALNAN,
Southwestern University School of Law
TUNG HO CHEN,
U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center
HERBERT S. ELEUTERIO,
National University of Singapore
WILLIAM M. HAYNES,
Monsanto Company
ROBERT B. HOPLER,
Powderman Consulting, Inc.
ALEXANDER MacLACHLAN,
Department of Energy (retired)
LYLE O. MALOTKY,
Federal Aviation Administration
DAVID W. McCALL,
AT&T Bell Laboratories (retired)
DOUGLAS B. OLSON,
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
JIMMIE C. OXLEY,
University of Rhode Island and Gordon Research Conferences
ROBERT M. PENTZ,
Aerospace Corporation
ANTHONY J. SILVESTRI,
Mobil Research and Development Corporation (retired)
JUDITH BANNON SNOW,
Los Alamos National Laboratory
FRANK H. STILLINGER,
Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies
ANDREW E. TASLITZ,
Howard University School of Law
Liaison Members
JOHN J. WISE,
Mobil Research and Development Corporation (Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology)
EDWARD C. DOWLING,
Cyprus Amax Minerals Company (National Materials Advisory Board)
Project Staff
DOUGLAS J. RABER, Study Director and Director,
Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology (BCST)
ROBERT SCHAFRIK, Director,
National Materials Advisory Board (NMAB)
GREG EYRING, Consultant,
NMAB
SANDRA HYLAND, Senior Program Officer,
NMAB
RYANNE J. MAYERSAK, Research Assistant,
BCST
TRACY D. WILSON, Senior Program Officer,
BCST
Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology
ROYCE C. MURRAY,
University of North Carolina,
Co-Chair
JOHN J. WISE,
Mobil Research and Development Corporation,
Co-Chair
HANS C. ANDERSEN,
Stanford University
JOHN L. ANDERSON,
Carnegie Mellon University
DAVID C. BONNER,
Westlake Group
PHILIP H. BRODSKY,
Monsanto Company
MARVIN H. CARUTHERS,
University of Colorado
GREGORY R. CHOPPIN,
Florida State University
MOSTAFA EL-SAYED,
Georgia Institute of Technology
JOANNA S. FOWLER,
Brookhaven National Laboratory
JUDITH C. GIORDAN,
Villanova, Pennsylvania
LOUIS C. GLASGOW,
E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company
JOSEPH G. GORDON II,
IBM Almaden Research Center
ROBERT H. GRUBBS,
California Institute of Technology
VICTORIA F. HAYNES,
B.F. Goodrich Company
GEORGE J. HIRASAKI,
Rice University
GARY E. MCGRAW,
Eastman Chemical Company
WAYNE H. PITCHER, JR.,
Genencor Corporation
GABOR A. SOMORJAI,
University of California at Berkeley
JOAN S. VALENTINE,
University of California at Los Angeles
WILLIAM J. WARD III,
General Electric Company
Staff
DOUGLAS J. RABER, Director
TAMAE MAEDA WONG, Senior Program Officer
TRACY D. WILSON, Senior Program Officer
MARIA P. JONES, Senior Project Assistant
RYANNE J. MAYERSAK, Research Assistant
SYBIL A. PAIGE, Administrative Associate
Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Applications
ROBERT J. HERMANN,
United Technologies Corporation,
Co-Chair
W. CARL LINEBERGER,
University of Colorado,
Co-Chair
PETER M. BANKS,
Environmental Research Institute of Michigan
LAWRENCE D. BROWN,
University of Pennsylvania
RONALD G. DOUGLAS,
Texas A&M University
JOHN E. ESTES,
University of California at Santa Barbara
L. LOUIS HEGEDUS,
Elf Atochem North America Inc.
JOHN E. HOPCROFT,
Cornell University
RHONDA J. HUGHES,
Bryn Mawr College
SHIRLEY A. JACKSON,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
KENNETH H. KELLER,
University of Minnesota
KENNETH I. KELLERMANN,
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
MARGARET G. KIVELSON,
University of California at Los Angeles
DANIEL KLEPPNER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
JOHN KREICK,
Sanders, a Lockheed Martin Company
MARSHA I. LESTER,
University of Pennsylvania
THOMAS A. PRINCE,
California Institute of Technology
NICHOLAS P. SAMIOS,
Brookhaven National Laboratory
L.E. SCRIVEN,
University of Minnesota
SHMUEL WINOGRAD,
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
CHARLES A. ZRAKET,
MITRE Corporation (retired)
NORMAN METZGER, Executive Director
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Preface
The Committee on Marking, Rendering Inert, and Licensing of Explosive Materials (see Appendix A) was appointed by the National Research Council to address four basic areas: (a) the viability of adding tracer elements to explosives for the purpose of detection, (b) the viability of adding tracer elements to explosives for the purpose of identification, (c) the feasibility and practicability of rendering inert common chemicals used to manufacture explosive materials, and (d) the feasibility and practicability of imposing controls on certain precursor chemicals used to manufacture explosive materials. (See Appendix B for a detailed statement of task.) As part of these tasks, the committee is also considering risks to human life or safety, utility to law enforcement, effects on the quality and reliability of the explosive materials for their intended lawful use, potential effects on the environment, and the cost-effectiveness of these approaches.
The study focuses on issues in science and technology, with the goal being to frame the issues and furnish a report that provides a clear description of the technical options that exist. The committee's final report of the results of this study will provide advice to officials of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms on which to base recommendations to Congress. It will also clearly set forth any opinions and findings obtained as a result of consultation with other federal, state, and local officials, regulated industry members, and fertilizer research centers. This interim report describes progress to date (March 1997) and summarizes recent workshop presentations concerning current developments and critical issues in “tagging” explosive materials for the purposes of detection or identification. The final report containing the committee's conclusions and recommendations will be published in February 1998.
In its initial meetings, the committee received a number of briefings (see Appendix C) and held subsequent deliberations. These presentations are summarized in this interim report. The reader is cautioned that the committee does not present any conclusions or recommendations in this report, as it believes it is premature to do so at this time.
This study is being conducted by the Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology with technical insights and assistance provided by the National Materials Advisory Board and its staff. The committee acknowledges this support. The committee is also grateful to the many individuals who provided technical information and insights during briefings at the committee's initial meetings. This information represents a sound foundation on which the committee can base its continuing work. The committee continues to solicit input from the scientific community and affected stakeholders on the issues delineated in the committee's charge and to consider other sources of information relevant to this study.
The chair is also particularly grateful to the members of this committee, who worked diligently and effectively on a demanding schedule to produce this interim report.
MARYE ANNE FOX, CHAIR
COMMITTEE ON MARKING, RENDERING INERT, AND LICENSING OF EXPLOSIVE MATERIALS
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Contents
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Marking, Rendering Inert, and Licensing of Explosive Materials |
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Appendices |
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Language of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 |
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