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Suggested Citation:"5 Communications." National Research Council. 1998. Seismic Signals from Mining Operations and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: Comments on a Draft Report by a Department of Energy Working Group. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6226.
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5
Communications.

The information contained in the report authored by the DOE Working Group (with appropriate revisions) and in this review should be disseminated to the relevant communities. The primary audience should be the mining industry, largely represented through their principal trade associations and professional societies. The seismic monitoring community and those involved in CTBT policy issues are also important communities for which the information would be beneficial.

For these relevant communities, the information dissemination should include, at a minimum, presentations and panel discussions at national, regional, and state-level meetings. Annual meetings of the mining-related trade associations and professional societies typically involve attendance by management and supervisors who are responsible for corporate-level decisions. State-level or regional meetings may, in addition, include project engineers, scientists, and others who are directly involved in carrying out mining practices. By addressing the interested parties directly, a high degree of interaction can be achieved to (1) disseminate information, (2) obtain feedback from professionals in the industry, and (3) assess the qualitative impacts of the recommendations.

For those groups that would not necessarily be directly affected by the recommendations but which may have peripheral interests in the materials, dissemination should include announcements in journals and newsletters, and on the Internet of the availability of the information.

Although these audiences are interrelated professionally and commercially, they are diverse. For that reason, no single organization can be relied upon to disseminate the objectives of the CTBT monitoring system and the means by which the U.S. mining community can easily and usefully cooperate in the implementation of the treaty and building confidence in the verification regime.

Suggested Citation:"5 Communications." National Research Council. 1998. Seismic Signals from Mining Operations and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: Comments on a Draft Report by a Department of Energy Working Group. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6226.
×

Trade Associations

Industry participation in the activities of national or state trade associations is purely voluntary. Currently, the National Mining Association (NMA) is the principal trade association for the domestic mining industry. The NMA resulted from a merger in 1995 of the American Mining Congress and the National Coal Association, which formerly represented the hard rock and coal industries, respectively. The NMA currently has a membership of most of the major mining companies that utilize explosives in the production of ores and coal. Another segment of the industry is represented by the National Stone Association (NSA), which is the trade association representing about 70 percent of the crushed stone, sand, and gravel mining industry. The use of explosives is integral to their operations.

The Institute of Makers of Explosives (IME) is a trade association dedicated to promoting the safe use of explosives for industrial and research applications. Membership within the IME comprises many of the manufacturers of commercial explosives and initiating devices used in the mining and quarrying industries and chiefly involves corporate managers who are involved in policy decisions on the federal and state levels. NMA, NSA, and IME are based in Washington D.C. for the primary purpose of representing the interests of member companies and closely following policy issues that may affect their members.

All three trade associations should be informed of the CTBT objectives in the direct manner discussed above. Of the three associations, the NMA may be the broadest single avenue for explaining the objectives of the CTBT and the means by which the domestic mining industry could be affected by the treaty. Through a variety of meetings and annual events, information about the treaty can be presented to different groups representing senior management, operating personnel, engineers, and vendors. These meetings should include the two objectives that have guided the NRC committee in preparing this review. First, voluntary and cooperative measures probably could be implemented without creating an additional burden on the industry (see Chapter 4 of this report). Second, active participatory measures contemplated in a few instances are designed to foreclose any possibility of an on-site inspection. The NRC committee believes that cooperation from the domestic mining industry should be forthcoming and widespread.

Professional Societies

A number of professional societies with affiliation to the mining industry exist. The largest is the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME), which is part of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME). SME represents a wide range of professional engineers (principally mining engineers) and scientists (e.g., geologists, geophysicists, mineral economists, hydrologists) whose work is related to the extractive industries. These industries include energy and base metal resources extracted both from open pit (surface) and underground mines. Professionals include upper-level managers, supervisors, project and planning engineers, consultants, academicians, etc.

Suggested Citation:"5 Communications." National Research Council. 1998. Seismic Signals from Mining Operations and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: Comments on a Draft Report by a Department of Energy Working Group. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6226.
×

SME conducts one national meeting each year with attendance of approximately 5,000 from the United States and throughout the world. Specialty presentations (short courses, mini-conferences, etc.) are hosted prior to the meeting. A presentation of the CTBT-related information and materials could possibly be made during this time, in addition to a presentation during a regular session during the main meeting.

In addition to the annual meeting, there are a number of regional SME chapters, largely in states with active mining, that usually conduct monthly or quarterly meetings. Both the national and state forums provide an excellent opportunity to inform a broad spectrum of mine operators about CTBT issues.

The International Society of Explosives Engineers (ISEE) is a professional society whose membership represents explosives engineers, explosives manufacturers, drilling and blasting supervisors, hands-on blasters, academicians, consultants, and researchers. The annual meeting, as well as more frequent meetings of ISEE state and regional chapters, provide an excellent opportunity for dialogue with blasting practitioners about CTBT monitoring issues.

The availability of the NRC and DOE reports and other information on mining activities and the CTBT should be announced through the Internet and newsletters to other professional societies, some of the members of which will have an interest (e.g., Seismological Society of America, American Geophysical Union, Geological Society of America, Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Association of American State Geologists).

Government Agencies

Agencies of the federal government with responsibilities related to CTBT implementation, monitoring, verification, and research are the Departments of State, Defense, and Energy, as well as the Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. Other agencies with responsibilities related to seismic event characterization, mine regulation, and minerals information are the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS, Department of the Interior), the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA, Department of Labor), the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, Department of Health and Human Services), and the Energy Information Administration (EIA, Department of Energy). Except for MSHA, NIOSH, and EIA, interested parties within these agencies can be reached through the CTBT “Backstopping” Committee and the CTBT Verification and Monitoring Task Force (both in the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency), and through the Interagency Working Group of the National Security Council. For MSHA, NIOSH, and EIA, targeted efforts need to be made to identify appropriate contacts for outreach efforts.

There may be considerable benefit from communicating these data, ideas, and proposals internationally. Those government agencies with representatives to the international CTBT Organization (CTBTO) should be encouraged to distribute this information to the CTBTO.

Suggested Citation:"5 Communications." National Research Council. 1998. Seismic Signals from Mining Operations and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: Comments on a Draft Report by a Department of Energy Working Group. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6226.
×
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Suggested Citation:"5 Communications." National Research Council. 1998. Seismic Signals from Mining Operations and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: Comments on a Draft Report by a Department of Energy Working Group. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6226.
×
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Suggested Citation:"5 Communications." National Research Council. 1998. Seismic Signals from Mining Operations and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: Comments on a Draft Report by a Department of Energy Working Group. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6226.
×
Page 24
Suggested Citation:"5 Communications." National Research Council. 1998. Seismic Signals from Mining Operations and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: Comments on a Draft Report by a Department of Energy Working Group. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6226.
×
Page 25
Suggested Citation:"5 Communications." National Research Council. 1998. Seismic Signals from Mining Operations and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: Comments on a Draft Report by a Department of Energy Working Group. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6226.
×
Page 26
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