Environmental Letters
ISSN: 0013-9300 (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/lesa17
An Environmental and Energy Information System G. U. Ulrikson , G. M. Caton , M. P. Guthrie & H. F. McDuffie To cite this article: G. U. Ulrikson , G. M. Caton , M. P. Guthrie & H. F. McDuffie (1975) An Environmental and Energy Information System, Environmental Letters, 9:4, 431-442, DOI: 10.1080/00139307509435867 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00139307509435867
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ENVIRONHENTAL LETTERS, 9 ( 4 ) , 431-442 (1975)
AN ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY INFORMATION SYSTEM* G.
U. U l r i k s o n , G. M. Caton, F1. P. G u t h r i e and H. F. k D u f f i e
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Oak Ridge I l a t i o n a l Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830 ABSTRACT The Environmental I n f o r m a t i o n System O f f i c e (EISO) a t Oak Ridge N a t i o n a l L a b o r a t o r y (ORNL) provides i n f o r m a t i o n s u p p o r t f o r researchers and administ r a t o r s i n v o l v e d w i t h . e n e r g y and environmental p o l i c y and progress.
Multiple
EISO a c t i v i t i e s f o r v a r i o u s governmental agencies have r e s u l t e d i n e s t a b l i s h ment o f c o m p a t i b l e d a t a bases concerned with energy and environmental i n f o r mation, methods f o r e f f e c t i v e l y developing these, development and computer d i s p l a y o f numerical d a t a sunnnaries, and r e p o r t s e v a l u a t i n g p u b l i s h e d infomaion.
D i r e c t i o n i s p r o v i d e d by c o n t i n u i n g d i a l o g u e between users and
i n f o r m a t i o n system s t a f f . INTRODUCTION Our n a t i o n i s s t r i v i n g t o m i n i m i z e environmental i n s u l t s and p o t e n t i a l hazards t o human h e a l t h w h i l e a t t h e same t i m e u s i n g advanced t e c h n o l o g i e s f o r energy g e n e r a t i o n .
Funding agencies, program managers, r e s e a r c h
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , and researchers need t h e b e s t a v a i l a b l e i n f o r m a t i o n t o make accurate, comprehensive d e c i s i o n s .
I n f o r m a t i o n a n a l y s i s c e n t e r s and
systems o r g a n i z e d t o meet t h e needs o f these groups can make v a l u a b l e cont r i bu t i o n s t o 1e g i s 1 a t i v e d e c i s i o n s and r e s e a r c h program d i r e c t i o n .
*
Work supported by t h e U.S. Atomic Energy Commission under c o n t r a c t w i t h t h e Union Carbide Corporation.
ULRZKSON ET AL.
432
To be relevant and e f f e c t i v e , an information system must be designed f o r the user and must remain service-oriented throughout i t s existence.
A t Oak Ridge National Laboratory we have created an Environmental and Energy Information System which provides the information services l i s t e d
i n Table 1. These types of information have been determined a f t e r many
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I
man-years of e f f o r t .
In the following sections we discuss these various
services and how we f u l f i l them. Table 1.
Environmental and Energy Information Services Bib1 iographic Information Directory of Researchers and I n s t i t u t i o n s Inventories of Current and Proposed Research Factual Information Files Numerical Data Files Assessment of Information
B I BLIO GRAPH1C IN FORMATION In recent years the emphasis o f energy and environmental research has changed from small d i s c i p l i n a r y research projects i n which researchers were aware of the current state-of-the-art of a given project.
Today researchers
of many d i s c i p l i n e s , including engineering, physical, biological, and social sciences, a r e concerned w i t h ecological, physical, chemical, and economic information i n r e l a t i o n to the applied energy programs being developed. Many available bibliographic services a r e oriented toward d i s c i p l i n a r y objectives, e.g.,
Chemical Abstracts,'
Biological Abstracts,* Engineerinq
A b ~ t r a c t s ,Physics ~ Abstracts,4 Metals Abstracts,5 and S t a t i s t i c a l Abstracts.6
In gathering bibliographic information f o r a given request o r
building an i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y information base such as energy, an informat i o n system can begin by using the large computer-readable data bases produced by bibliographic services.
The repackaging of t h i s information
ENVIRO~TAL
433
ENERGY INFORMATION SYSTEEf
r a t t i e r than b u i l d i n g new data bases i s economical and expedient.
Ifa
proper search and r e t r i e v a l Strategy f o r each request i s followed by the i n f o r m a t i o n s p e c i a l i s t , much valuable information can be obtained. For c o l l e c t i n g the maximum r e l e v a n t information, we suggest the
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f o l l o w i n g p l a n (see Fig. 1).
The i n f o r m a t i o n s p e c i a l i s t converses w i t h
the requester t o g e t an understanding o f s p e c i f i c needs of the user and then searches t h e a v a i l a b l e data bases f o r a reference l i s t as a subset f o r t h a t request.
The number of references dropped f o r an i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y
p r o j e c t v a r i e s according t o t h e data bases searched and the keywording of those data bases.
The l i s t of j o u r n a l s from t h i s b i b l i o g r a p h i c search
provides t h e i n f o r m a t i o n s p e c i a l i s t w i t h a l i s t o f "core" j o u r n a l s i n which authors are publishing r e l e v a n t material. these j o u r n a l s are o f t e n manually searched.
The most recent issues of
The authors c i t e d i n t h i s
search can become an "expert" d i r e c t o r y data base.
By using Science C i t a -
t i o n IndexY7 one can f i n d who c i t e d the paper l i s t e d i n the o r i g i n a l search and how many times; the authors' l i s t i n g i n t h i s index journal provides a comprehensive b i b l i o g r a p h i c service.
With t h i s l i s t i n g a s p e c i f i c p r o j e c t -
o r i e n t e d b i b l i o g r a p h i c data base can be constructed w i t h i n d i v i d u a l subfiles.
Documents can be purchased f o r users, special l i b r a r i e s con-'
structed, b i b 1 iographies p r o d ~ c e d , ~and - ~ ~s p e c i f i c searches accomplished. An example o f an i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y s e r v i c e i s NSF-RANN Energy Abstracts, a monthly j o u r n a l which the Environmental Information System O f f i c e ( E I S O ) o f Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) began p u b l i s h i n g i n January 1973. I t s primary purpose i s t o disseminate as r a p i d l y and widely as possible the published r e s u l t s o f research on energy.
Each c i t a t i o n contains the t i t l e ,
author, corporate author and address, sponsor, p u b l i c a t i o n d e s c r i p t i o n and
a
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ENVIRON~IENTAL AND ENERGY INFORHATION SYSTEM
-W\NN Trace
Contaminants D i r e c t o r y . l3
435
Once these d a t a bases a r e c o n s t r u c t e d ,
t h e y can be used f o r s e a r c h i n g geographic l o c a t i o n s by z i p code o r area telephone number and e x p e r t s by p r o f e s s i o n a l o r r e s e a r c h i n t e r e s t . INVENTORIES OF CURRENT AND PROPOSED RESEARCH
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Comprehensive d a t a f i l e s l i s t i n g c u r r e n t r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t s i n d e t a i l can be prepared. Research
r
An example o f t h i s i s t h e I n v e n t o r y o f C u r r e n t Energy
D e ~ e l o p m e n t , ' ~w h i c h i s a c o m p i l a t i o n o f 4,907 d e s c r i p t i o n s
o f e n e r g y - r e l a t e d r e s e a r c h and development p r o j e c t s conducted o r sponsored
i n t h e U.S. s i n c e 1971.
It i s an expanded and updated v e r s i o n o f t h e March
1972 I n v e n t o r y o f Energy Research. 15 The scope of r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t s f o r t h e c u r r e n t i n v e n t o r y i s broad, including:
(1) a l l types o f energy sources
--
f o s s i l f u e l s , nuclear,
h y d r o e l e c t r i c , s o l a r , geothermal, t i d a l , wind, wood, p l a n t , animal m a t e r i a l s , and waste products; (2) e l e c t r i c power b u t i o n , and storage; (3) energy uses
--
--
generation, transmission, d i s t r i -
r e s i d e n t i a l , commercial, i n d u s t r i a l
,
t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , a g r i c u l t u r a l , and s p e c i a l i z e d a p p l i c a t i o n s ; and (4) h e a l t h and e c o l o g i c a l e f f e c t s .
Subcategories under a p p r o p r i a t e headings i n c l u d e :
e x p l o r a t i o n , mining, processing, resources and r e s e r v e s s t u d i e s , i n f o r m a t i o n on any b a s i c o r a p p l i e d research, e n g i n e e r i n g development, economics, environmental e f f e c t s ,
p o l i c y , r e g u l a t o r y , and l e g i s l a t i v e s t u d i e s r e l e v a n t
t o t h e above s u b j e c t s . The d e s c r i p t i o n o f each r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t l i s t s , i f a v a i l a b l e , t h e following infomation:
the t i t l e o f the project, the research i n s t i t u t i o n
and address, t h e i n v e s t i g a t o r ( s ) ,
t h e funding o r g a n i z a t i o n , t h e d u r a t i o n
o f t h e p r o j e c t , t h e amount o f f u n d i n g by years, a b r i e f s u n a r y o f t h e r e s e a r c h t o g e t h e r w i t h a l i s t o f p e r t i n e n t p u b l i c a t i o n s , and t h e s t a t e i n which t h e r e s e a r c h i s performed (Fig. 2). and a number o f indexes a r e a l s o provided.
Several summary t a b l e s o f f u n d i n g One t a b l e g i v e s t h e t o t a l funds
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436
ULRIKSON ET AL.
II?IslICl?Ollsll k I O h l , 1.1.: OaCI.. I. S ? C I S O # l S l : D.S. Met. of I.mltb. Ilacatloa. t
'121
Fig. 2. Example of research project information.
ENVIR0MlENTA.L AND ENERGY INFORMATION SYSTEM
437 p r o v i d e d by each t y p e of sponsor f o r each s u b j e c t category, a second g i v e s
f o r each s t a t e t h e number o f p r o j e c t s and t h e t o t a l funding,
a t h i r d gives
t h e t o t a l funds a l l o c a t e d t o d i f f e r e n t types o f r e s e a r c h f a c i l i t y , t h e f o u r t h t a b l e g i v e s t h e t o t a l number o f p r o j e c t s and t o t a l funds f o r each s u b j e c t category.
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investigator,
F i v e indexes a r e g i v e n on r e s e a r c h f a c i l i t y , sponsor,
l o c a t i o n o f research, and permuted words o f t h e t i t l e .
This
i n f o r m a t i o n i s s t o r e d i n a computer f i l e which p e r m i t s easy u n d a t i n g and r e a r r a n g i n g of t h e i n f o r w t i o n .
S e l e c t e d subsets o f t h e energy f i l e can
be obtained. Another of o u r computerized and subsequently p u b l i s h e d f i l e s i s t h e NSF-RANN
Trace Contaminants
Abstracts,16
a bimonthly abstract journal i n
which r e s e a r c h r e s u l t s a r e r e p o r t e d by t h e grantees i n t h e NSF-RANN T r a c e Contaminants Program.
The a b s t r a c t s a r e accompanied by a n i n f o r m a l news-
l e t t e r c o n t a i n i n g b r i e f program notes.
This a b s t r a c t journal f a c i l i t a t e s
t h e exchange o f i n f o r m a t i o n among t h e grantees and o t h e r s i n t e r e s t e d i n t h i s area o f environmental concern. O t h e r examples o f i n f o r m a t i o n bases c o n t a i n i n g such i n f o r m a t i o n
_-
include:
O f f i c e o f Coal Research Annual R e p o r t 1972,l’
CRC A i r P o l l u t i o n
Research A d v i s o r y C o r n i t t e e S t a t u s Report.18 Survey o f Research Reported b~ E l e c t r i c U t i l i t y Systems i n t h e U n i t e d States,” o f FY 1973 RANN Awards ------
Energy Research
and Technology.
--
Projects
and A b s t r a c t s
20
FACTUAL INFORMATION FILES
I n a d d i t i o n t o b u i l d i n g comprehensive b i b l i o g r a p h i c f i l e s , i t i s becoming i m p o r t a n t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n c e p t e r s t o answer questions.
For example,
f a c t u a l i n f o r m a t i o n about a chemical substance r e l e a s e d f r o m energy genera t i n g s t a t i o n s and processes i s necessary i n o r d e r t o assess t h e e f f e c t s o f t h a t chemical on t h e environment.
Many f a c t u a l i n f o r m a t i o n f i l e s e x i s t
today; however, many o f these have been produced w i t h a s i n g l e o b j e c t i v e . There a r e desk t o p r e f e r e n c e books such as t h e Chemical Rubber P u b l i s h i n g
438
ULRIKSON ET AL.
Company's Handbook
of Chemistry
and Physics2' f o r chemical and physical data
and Biology Data Bookz2 f o r biological data.
Another published work of
this type i s the Public Health Service Publication 149, Volumes I-V,23 on carcinogenicity of chemicals. The necessity f o r establishing data f i l e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the area
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of toxic materials, has been recognized by such groups a s t h e United Nations Advisory committee on the Application of Science and Technology to Development, the S c i e n t i f i c Committee on Problems of the Environment of the International Council of S c i e n t i f i c Unions, and the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. The Environmental Information System Office of ORNL is demonstrating t h e f e a s i b i l i t y of factual data systems and is using the e f f o r t s of i t s individual information center units to construct various interlocking data f i l e s t h a t show promise of conversion to a l a r g e integrated f i l e .
For
example, the Environmental Mutagen Information Center (EMIC) could e x t r a c t and publish data concerning the potential mutagenicity and teratogenicity of compounds encountered i n t h e mining and refining of f o s s i l f u e l s . The Biomedical Sciences Section (BMS) of EISO i s extracting toxicologically r e l a t e d information f o r t h e Toxicology Information Program of National Library of Medicine.
T h i s information could be used t o discern
real and potential biologic e f f e c t s resulting from energy generation. The Toxic Materials Information Center (TMIC) is determining the f e a s i b i l i t y of reducing s c i e n t i f i c and technical data pertaining to the sources, transport, and f a t e of t r a c e contaminants i n the environment. These data would be machine-stored i n t h e i r reduced form and could be printed out i n tabular form. The combination of these specialized f i l e s makes a comprehensive data f i l e from which valuable information could be gleaned, such as t h e
439
ENVIRONMENTAL AND €NZRGY INFORMATION SYSTEM
impact of energy-related chemicals o r substances i n the environment.
In
providing information to users, quick and easy access to the computer f i l e and a l s o the v e r s a t i l i t y of searching on various " f i e l d s " o r "subject headings" a r e important. NUMERICAL DATA FILES
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The l a s t type of information c a p a b i l i t y , needed mainly by researchers b u t a l s o by decision makers, i s numerical data bases.
With the growing
concern f o r b e t t e r land use planning, new energy sources, environmental impact of p w e r p l a n t construction, economic growth and development, and man-made changes i n our environment, there i s a need f o r detailed numerical data t h a t can be merged with a l l other types of information f o r f i n a l assessment. Information system s c i e n t i s t s can play a major r o l e by knowling where f i l e s a r e located, the content of the data f i l e s , the means of accessing the data, and t h e shortcomings and strung p o i n t s of t h e data in r e l a t i o n t o the needs of the requester.
Infomation s c i e n t i s t s can work closely
w i t h the people they serve t o minimize the lag between a perceived need
f o r information and the actual delivery o f t h a t information. We commonly use several types of numerical bases i n support of impact and assessment studies a t ORNL.
Examples of these a r e 1970 U.S. Census
Data and S t a t i s t i c a l Abstracts produced by U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census; Current Fisheries S t a t i s t i c s , U.S.
Department of Commerce,
National Oceanic and Atirospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, produced i n cooperation with t h e s t a t e s ; Earth Resources Technology S a t e l l i t e Data, NASA; and water q u a l i t y and flow data, U.S. Geologi c a l Survey. Information systems can now locate and subset these data f o r s p e c i f i c problems.
ORNL routinely uses the census data f o r e l e c t r i c a l power p l a n t
impact analysis.
We hope t h a t i n the f u t u r e there may be a comnon system
440
ULRIKSON ET AL.
i n which environmental numerical data bases can be accessed according t o regions of s p e c i f i c i n t e r e s t . ASSESSMENT OF INFORMATION The information gathered i n the f i l e s j u s t described i s o f t e n passed
on to t h e requester f o r evaluation.
However, information systems can play
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a s i g n i f i c a n t role i n the evaluation of data and the subsequent preparat i o n of reviews and state-of-the-art documents.
Senior information
s c i e n t i s t s with academic s p e c i a l t i e s i n the area under review can unify the e f f o r t s of the more generally oriented information center s t a f f with those of the highly specialized research participants o r university professors t o produce extremely useful and accurate state-of-the-art documents. CONCLUSIOtiS
An example of information system support f o r researchers and admini s t r a t o r s involved with energy and environmental policy and progress, EISU i s necessarily service-oriented t o user needs.
Multiple EISO a c t i v i t e s
f o r varied government agencies have resulted i n the establishment of compatible data bases concerned w i t h energy and environmental information. The establishment of data bases, methods f o r e f f e c t i v e l y developing and exploiting them, development and computer display of numerical data summaries, and reports evaluating published information a r e a c t i v e l y being pursued.
Direction i s provided by continuing dialogue between users and
information system s t a f f . REFERENCES 1.
Chemical Abstracts, T h e American Chemical Society, Columbus , OH.
2.
Bioloqical Abstracts , Biosciences Information Service, Philadelphia, PA.
3.
ihe Enqineerinq New York, NY.
Index, The American Society of Mechanical Engineers,
441
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ENVl[RONXENTAL AND ENERGY INFORNATION SYSTEM
4.
Physics Abstracts, I n s t i t u t i o n of Electrical Engineers i n Association with t h e I n s t i t u t e of Physics and the American I n s t i t u t e of Physics, London.
5.
Metals Abstracts, (published j o i n t l y by) The American Society f o r Metals and The I n s t i t u t e of Metals, Metals Park, OH.
6.
S t a t i s t i c a l Abstracts, U.S. Bureau of the Census, 92nd edition, Qashington, DC, 1971.
7.
Science Citation Index, I n s t i t u t e f o r S c i e n t i f i c Information, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
8.
tl. P. Guthrie, NSF-RANN Enerqy Abstracts, ORNL-EIS-73-52, Vol. I , No. 1-12 (1973). ORNL-EIS-74-52, Vol. 2, No. 1-3 (1974).
9.
M. P. Guthrie, E. E. Huber, and G. A. Nowood, Enersy Research Development -- Selected Readinq List, ORNL-EIS-73-65, November 1973.
10.
11.
12.
A
G. M. Caton, D. P. Oliveira, C. J. Oen, and G. U. Ulrikson, Mercury Biblioqraphy, ORNL-EIS-8, May 1972.
the Environment -- & I Annotated
&
Emily 0. Copenhaver, G. U. Ulrikson, W. Fulkerson, and L. T. Newman, Annotated Bib1 ioqraphy, ORNL-EIS-16,
Cadmium i n the Environment -- JA --J u l y 1973.
Emilv D. CoDenhaver. G . U. Ulrikson, R. I . Van Hook, and L. T. Newman, 'the Environment -- & Annotated Bibliography, ORNL-EIS-16, July 1973.
--Arsenic i n
Trace Contaminants
13.
Emily D. Copenhaver (ed.), NSF-RANN ORNL-EIS-62, 1973.
14.
G. M. Caton. J. M. Chilton. J. K. Huffstetler. 6. W. Kline, D. C. Michelson, h. P. Guthrie, a n d G. U. Ulrikson,-Inventory of Current Enerqy Research & Development, ORNL-€IS-73-63, Oecember 1973; three volumes. reorinted under same t i t l e as Conqressional Committee P r i n t (Serial -J),'January 1974 (can be obtained through U.S. Government Printing Office).
15.
G. M. Caton, M. P. Guthrie, J. M. Chilton, Z. Combs, D. C. Michelson, L. T. Newman, J. G. Saulmon, and GI. F. Vaughan, & Inventory of Energy Research, ORNL-EIS-72- 18, January 1972; two volumes reprinted under same t i t l e as Congressional Comnittee P r i n t (Serial R), March 1972.
16. Emily D. Copenhaver (ed.) NSF-RANN EIS-73-60, Vol. 1, NO, 1-4, 1973-1974.
Directory,
Contaminants Abstracts, ORNL-
17.
Office of Coal Research Annual Report 1972, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, pp. 1-111, 1972.
18.
Coordinating Research Council -- Air Pollution Research Advisory Committee Status Report, Coordinating Research Council, New York, N Y , pp. 1-140, January 1973.
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ULRIKSON ET
a.
19.
Survey of Research -- Projects Reported by E l e c t r i c U t i l i t y Systems i n the United S t a t e s , E l e c t r i c Research Council, New York, N Y , pp. 1-259, September 1974.
20.
Abstracts of FY 1973 RAHN Awards-Energy Research and Technology, National Science Foundation, Research Applications Directorate, pp. 1-102, 1973.
21.
Robert C. Weast (ed.), CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, Chemical Rubber Company, 53rd e d i t i o n , 1972-73.
22.
P. L. Altman and D. S. Dittmen (eds.), Biology Data Book, Federation of American Society f o r Experimental Biology, Bethesda, MD.
23.
Suryey o f F u n d s Which Have Been Tested f o r Carcinogenic Activity, Pub i c Hea t h Service, Publication tio. 149, National Cancer I n s t i t u t e , National I n s t i t u t e s of Health, 2nd e d i t i o n , reprinted 1963.
ISSN: 0013-9300 (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/lesa17
An Environmental and Energy Information System G. U. Ulrikson , G. M. Caton , M. P. Guthrie & H. F. McDuffie To cite this article: G. U. Ulrikson , G. M. Caton , M. P. Guthrie & H. F. McDuffie (1975) An Environmental and Energy Information System, Environmental Letters, 9:4, 431-442, DOI: 10.1080/00139307509435867 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00139307509435867
Published online: 02 Sep 2009.
Submit your article to this journal
Article views: 2
View related articles
Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=2esa20 Download by: [University of Florida]
Date: 05 November 2015, At: 12:53
ENVIRONHENTAL LETTERS, 9 ( 4 ) , 431-442 (1975)
AN ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY INFORMATION SYSTEM* G.
U. U l r i k s o n , G. M. Caton, F1. P. G u t h r i e and H. F. k D u f f i e
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Oak Ridge I l a t i o n a l Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830 ABSTRACT The Environmental I n f o r m a t i o n System O f f i c e (EISO) a t Oak Ridge N a t i o n a l L a b o r a t o r y (ORNL) provides i n f o r m a t i o n s u p p o r t f o r researchers and administ r a t o r s i n v o l v e d w i t h . e n e r g y and environmental p o l i c y and progress.
Multiple
EISO a c t i v i t i e s f o r v a r i o u s governmental agencies have r e s u l t e d i n e s t a b l i s h ment o f c o m p a t i b l e d a t a bases concerned with energy and environmental i n f o r mation, methods f o r e f f e c t i v e l y developing these, development and computer d i s p l a y o f numerical d a t a sunnnaries, and r e p o r t s e v a l u a t i n g p u b l i s h e d infomaion.
D i r e c t i o n i s p r o v i d e d by c o n t i n u i n g d i a l o g u e between users and
i n f o r m a t i o n system s t a f f . INTRODUCTION Our n a t i o n i s s t r i v i n g t o m i n i m i z e environmental i n s u l t s and p o t e n t i a l hazards t o human h e a l t h w h i l e a t t h e same t i m e u s i n g advanced t e c h n o l o g i e s f o r energy g e n e r a t i o n .
Funding agencies, program managers, r e s e a r c h
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , and researchers need t h e b e s t a v a i l a b l e i n f o r m a t i o n t o make accurate, comprehensive d e c i s i o n s .
I n f o r m a t i o n a n a l y s i s c e n t e r s and
systems o r g a n i z e d t o meet t h e needs o f these groups can make v a l u a b l e cont r i bu t i o n s t o 1e g i s 1 a t i v e d e c i s i o n s and r e s e a r c h program d i r e c t i o n .
*
Work supported by t h e U.S. Atomic Energy Commission under c o n t r a c t w i t h t h e Union Carbide Corporation.
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To be relevant and e f f e c t i v e , an information system must be designed f o r the user and must remain service-oriented throughout i t s existence.
A t Oak Ridge National Laboratory we have created an Environmental and Energy Information System which provides the information services l i s t e d
i n Table 1. These types of information have been determined a f t e r many
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I
man-years of e f f o r t .
In the following sections we discuss these various
services and how we f u l f i l them. Table 1.
Environmental and Energy Information Services Bib1 iographic Information Directory of Researchers and I n s t i t u t i o n s Inventories of Current and Proposed Research Factual Information Files Numerical Data Files Assessment of Information
B I BLIO GRAPH1C IN FORMATION In recent years the emphasis o f energy and environmental research has changed from small d i s c i p l i n a r y research projects i n which researchers were aware of the current state-of-the-art of a given project.
Today researchers
of many d i s c i p l i n e s , including engineering, physical, biological, and social sciences, a r e concerned w i t h ecological, physical, chemical, and economic information i n r e l a t i o n to the applied energy programs being developed. Many available bibliographic services a r e oriented toward d i s c i p l i n a r y objectives, e.g.,
Chemical Abstracts,'
Biological Abstracts,* Engineerinq
A b ~ t r a c t s ,Physics ~ Abstracts,4 Metals Abstracts,5 and S t a t i s t i c a l Abstracts.6
In gathering bibliographic information f o r a given request o r
building an i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y information base such as energy, an informat i o n system can begin by using the large computer-readable data bases produced by bibliographic services.
The repackaging of t h i s information
ENVIRO~TAL
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ENERGY INFORMATION SYSTEEf
r a t t i e r than b u i l d i n g new data bases i s economical and expedient.
Ifa
proper search and r e t r i e v a l Strategy f o r each request i s followed by the i n f o r m a t i o n s p e c i a l i s t , much valuable information can be obtained. For c o l l e c t i n g the maximum r e l e v a n t information, we suggest the
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f o l l o w i n g p l a n (see Fig. 1).
The i n f o r m a t i o n s p e c i a l i s t converses w i t h
the requester t o g e t an understanding o f s p e c i f i c needs of the user and then searches t h e a v a i l a b l e data bases f o r a reference l i s t as a subset f o r t h a t request.
The number of references dropped f o r an i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y
p r o j e c t v a r i e s according t o t h e data bases searched and the keywording of those data bases.
The l i s t of j o u r n a l s from t h i s b i b l i o g r a p h i c search
provides t h e i n f o r m a t i o n s p e c i a l i s t w i t h a l i s t o f "core" j o u r n a l s i n which authors are publishing r e l e v a n t material. these j o u r n a l s are o f t e n manually searched.
The most recent issues of
The authors c i t e d i n t h i s
search can become an "expert" d i r e c t o r y data base.
By using Science C i t a -
t i o n IndexY7 one can f i n d who c i t e d the paper l i s t e d i n the o r i g i n a l search and how many times; the authors' l i s t i n g i n t h i s index journal provides a comprehensive b i b l i o g r a p h i c service.
With t h i s l i s t i n g a s p e c i f i c p r o j e c t -
o r i e n t e d b i b l i o g r a p h i c data base can be constructed w i t h i n d i v i d u a l subfiles.
Documents can be purchased f o r users, special l i b r a r i e s con-'
structed, b i b 1 iographies p r o d ~ c e d , ~and - ~ ~s p e c i f i c searches accomplished. An example o f an i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y s e r v i c e i s NSF-RANN Energy Abstracts, a monthly j o u r n a l which the Environmental Information System O f f i c e ( E I S O ) o f Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) began p u b l i s h i n g i n January 1973. I t s primary purpose i s t o disseminate as r a p i d l y and widely as possible the published r e s u l t s o f research on energy.
Each c i t a t i o n contains the t i t l e ,
author, corporate author and address, sponsor, p u b l i c a t i o n d e s c r i p t i o n and
a
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ENVIRON~IENTAL AND ENERGY INFORHATION SYSTEM
-W\NN Trace
Contaminants D i r e c t o r y . l3
435
Once these d a t a bases a r e c o n s t r u c t e d ,
t h e y can be used f o r s e a r c h i n g geographic l o c a t i o n s by z i p code o r area telephone number and e x p e r t s by p r o f e s s i o n a l o r r e s e a r c h i n t e r e s t . INVENTORIES OF CURRENT AND PROPOSED RESEARCH
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Comprehensive d a t a f i l e s l i s t i n g c u r r e n t r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t s i n d e t a i l can be prepared. Research
r
An example o f t h i s i s t h e I n v e n t o r y o f C u r r e n t Energy
D e ~ e l o p m e n t , ' ~w h i c h i s a c o m p i l a t i o n o f 4,907 d e s c r i p t i o n s
o f e n e r g y - r e l a t e d r e s e a r c h and development p r o j e c t s conducted o r sponsored
i n t h e U.S. s i n c e 1971.
It i s an expanded and updated v e r s i o n o f t h e March
1972 I n v e n t o r y o f Energy Research. 15 The scope of r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t s f o r t h e c u r r e n t i n v e n t o r y i s broad, including:
(1) a l l types o f energy sources
--
f o s s i l f u e l s , nuclear,
h y d r o e l e c t r i c , s o l a r , geothermal, t i d a l , wind, wood, p l a n t , animal m a t e r i a l s , and waste products; (2) e l e c t r i c power b u t i o n , and storage; (3) energy uses
--
--
generation, transmission, d i s t r i -
r e s i d e n t i a l , commercial, i n d u s t r i a l
,
t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , a g r i c u l t u r a l , and s p e c i a l i z e d a p p l i c a t i o n s ; and (4) h e a l t h and e c o l o g i c a l e f f e c t s .
Subcategories under a p p r o p r i a t e headings i n c l u d e :
e x p l o r a t i o n , mining, processing, resources and r e s e r v e s s t u d i e s , i n f o r m a t i o n on any b a s i c o r a p p l i e d research, e n g i n e e r i n g development, economics, environmental e f f e c t s ,
p o l i c y , r e g u l a t o r y , and l e g i s l a t i v e s t u d i e s r e l e v a n t
t o t h e above s u b j e c t s . The d e s c r i p t i o n o f each r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t l i s t s , i f a v a i l a b l e , t h e following infomation:
the t i t l e o f the project, the research i n s t i t u t i o n
and address, t h e i n v e s t i g a t o r ( s ) ,
t h e funding o r g a n i z a t i o n , t h e d u r a t i o n
o f t h e p r o j e c t , t h e amount o f f u n d i n g by years, a b r i e f s u n a r y o f t h e r e s e a r c h t o g e t h e r w i t h a l i s t o f p e r t i n e n t p u b l i c a t i o n s , and t h e s t a t e i n which t h e r e s e a r c h i s performed (Fig. 2). and a number o f indexes a r e a l s o provided.
Several summary t a b l e s o f f u n d i n g One t a b l e g i v e s t h e t o t a l funds
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ULRIKSON ET AL.
II?IslICl?Ollsll k I O h l , 1.1.: OaCI.. I. S ? C I S O # l S l : D.S. Met. of I.mltb. Ilacatloa. t
'121
Fig. 2. Example of research project information.
ENVIR0MlENTA.L AND ENERGY INFORMATION SYSTEM
437 p r o v i d e d by each t y p e of sponsor f o r each s u b j e c t category, a second g i v e s
f o r each s t a t e t h e number o f p r o j e c t s and t h e t o t a l funding,
a t h i r d gives
t h e t o t a l funds a l l o c a t e d t o d i f f e r e n t types o f r e s e a r c h f a c i l i t y , t h e f o u r t h t a b l e g i v e s t h e t o t a l number o f p r o j e c t s and t o t a l funds f o r each s u b j e c t category.
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investigator,
F i v e indexes a r e g i v e n on r e s e a r c h f a c i l i t y , sponsor,
l o c a t i o n o f research, and permuted words o f t h e t i t l e .
This
i n f o r m a t i o n i s s t o r e d i n a computer f i l e which p e r m i t s easy u n d a t i n g and r e a r r a n g i n g of t h e i n f o r w t i o n .
S e l e c t e d subsets o f t h e energy f i l e can
be obtained. Another of o u r computerized and subsequently p u b l i s h e d f i l e s i s t h e NSF-RANN
Trace Contaminants
Abstracts,16
a bimonthly abstract journal i n
which r e s e a r c h r e s u l t s a r e r e p o r t e d by t h e grantees i n t h e NSF-RANN T r a c e Contaminants Program.
The a b s t r a c t s a r e accompanied by a n i n f o r m a l news-
l e t t e r c o n t a i n i n g b r i e f program notes.
This a b s t r a c t journal f a c i l i t a t e s
t h e exchange o f i n f o r m a t i o n among t h e grantees and o t h e r s i n t e r e s t e d i n t h i s area o f environmental concern. O t h e r examples o f i n f o r m a t i o n bases c o n t a i n i n g such i n f o r m a t i o n
_-
include:
O f f i c e o f Coal Research Annual R e p o r t 1972,l’
CRC A i r P o l l u t i o n
Research A d v i s o r y C o r n i t t e e S t a t u s Report.18 Survey o f Research Reported b~ E l e c t r i c U t i l i t y Systems i n t h e U n i t e d States,” o f FY 1973 RANN Awards ------
Energy Research
and Technology.
--
Projects
and A b s t r a c t s
20
FACTUAL INFORMATION FILES
I n a d d i t i o n t o b u i l d i n g comprehensive b i b l i o g r a p h i c f i l e s , i t i s becoming i m p o r t a n t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n c e p t e r s t o answer questions.
For example,
f a c t u a l i n f o r m a t i o n about a chemical substance r e l e a s e d f r o m energy genera t i n g s t a t i o n s and processes i s necessary i n o r d e r t o assess t h e e f f e c t s o f t h a t chemical on t h e environment.
Many f a c t u a l i n f o r m a t i o n f i l e s e x i s t
today; however, many o f these have been produced w i t h a s i n g l e o b j e c t i v e . There a r e desk t o p r e f e r e n c e books such as t h e Chemical Rubber P u b l i s h i n g
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ULRIKSON ET AL.
Company's Handbook
of Chemistry
and Physics2' f o r chemical and physical data
and Biology Data Bookz2 f o r biological data.
Another published work of
this type i s the Public Health Service Publication 149, Volumes I-V,23 on carcinogenicity of chemicals. The necessity f o r establishing data f i l e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the area
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of toxic materials, has been recognized by such groups a s t h e United Nations Advisory committee on the Application of Science and Technology to Development, the S c i e n t i f i c Committee on Problems of the Environment of the International Council of S c i e n t i f i c Unions, and the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. The Environmental Information System Office of ORNL is demonstrating t h e f e a s i b i l i t y of factual data systems and is using the e f f o r t s of i t s individual information center units to construct various interlocking data f i l e s t h a t show promise of conversion to a l a r g e integrated f i l e .
For
example, the Environmental Mutagen Information Center (EMIC) could e x t r a c t and publish data concerning the potential mutagenicity and teratogenicity of compounds encountered i n t h e mining and refining of f o s s i l f u e l s . The Biomedical Sciences Section (BMS) of EISO i s extracting toxicologically r e l a t e d information f o r t h e Toxicology Information Program of National Library of Medicine.
T h i s information could be used t o discern
real and potential biologic e f f e c t s resulting from energy generation. The Toxic Materials Information Center (TMIC) is determining the f e a s i b i l i t y of reducing s c i e n t i f i c and technical data pertaining to the sources, transport, and f a t e of t r a c e contaminants i n the environment. These data would be machine-stored i n t h e i r reduced form and could be printed out i n tabular form. The combination of these specialized f i l e s makes a comprehensive data f i l e from which valuable information could be gleaned, such as t h e
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ENVIRONMENTAL AND €NZRGY INFORMATION SYSTEM
impact of energy-related chemicals o r substances i n the environment.
In
providing information to users, quick and easy access to the computer f i l e and a l s o the v e r s a t i l i t y of searching on various " f i e l d s " o r "subject headings" a r e important. NUMERICAL DATA FILES
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The l a s t type of information c a p a b i l i t y , needed mainly by researchers b u t a l s o by decision makers, i s numerical data bases.
With the growing
concern f o r b e t t e r land use planning, new energy sources, environmental impact of p w e r p l a n t construction, economic growth and development, and man-made changes i n our environment, there i s a need f o r detailed numerical data t h a t can be merged with a l l other types of information f o r f i n a l assessment. Information system s c i e n t i s t s can play a major r o l e by knowling where f i l e s a r e located, the content of the data f i l e s , the means of accessing the data, and t h e shortcomings and strung p o i n t s of t h e data in r e l a t i o n t o the needs of the requester.
Infomation s c i e n t i s t s can work closely
w i t h the people they serve t o minimize the lag between a perceived need
f o r information and the actual delivery o f t h a t information. We commonly use several types of numerical bases i n support of impact and assessment studies a t ORNL.
Examples of these a r e 1970 U.S. Census
Data and S t a t i s t i c a l Abstracts produced by U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census; Current Fisheries S t a t i s t i c s , U.S.
Department of Commerce,
National Oceanic and Atirospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, produced i n cooperation with t h e s t a t e s ; Earth Resources Technology S a t e l l i t e Data, NASA; and water q u a l i t y and flow data, U.S. Geologi c a l Survey. Information systems can now locate and subset these data f o r s p e c i f i c problems.
ORNL routinely uses the census data f o r e l e c t r i c a l power p l a n t
impact analysis.
We hope t h a t i n the f u t u r e there may be a comnon system
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ULRIKSON ET AL.
i n which environmental numerical data bases can be accessed according t o regions of s p e c i f i c i n t e r e s t . ASSESSMENT OF INFORMATION The information gathered i n the f i l e s j u s t described i s o f t e n passed
on to t h e requester f o r evaluation.
However, information systems can play
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a s i g n i f i c a n t role i n the evaluation of data and the subsequent preparat i o n of reviews and state-of-the-art documents.
Senior information
s c i e n t i s t s with academic s p e c i a l t i e s i n the area under review can unify the e f f o r t s of the more generally oriented information center s t a f f with those of the highly specialized research participants o r university professors t o produce extremely useful and accurate state-of-the-art documents. CONCLUSIOtiS
An example of information system support f o r researchers and admini s t r a t o r s involved with energy and environmental policy and progress, EISU i s necessarily service-oriented t o user needs.
Multiple EISO a c t i v i t e s
f o r varied government agencies have resulted i n the establishment of compatible data bases concerned w i t h energy and environmental information. The establishment of data bases, methods f o r e f f e c t i v e l y developing and exploiting them, development and computer display of numerical data summaries, and reports evaluating published information a r e a c t i v e l y being pursued.
Direction i s provided by continuing dialogue between users and
information system s t a f f . REFERENCES 1.
Chemical Abstracts, T h e American Chemical Society, Columbus , OH.
2.
Bioloqical Abstracts , Biosciences Information Service, Philadelphia, PA.
3.
ihe Enqineerinq New York, NY.
Index, The American Society of Mechanical Engineers,
441
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ENVl[RONXENTAL AND ENERGY INFORNATION SYSTEM
4.
Physics Abstracts, I n s t i t u t i o n of Electrical Engineers i n Association with t h e I n s t i t u t e of Physics and the American I n s t i t u t e of Physics, London.
5.
Metals Abstracts, (published j o i n t l y by) The American Society f o r Metals and The I n s t i t u t e of Metals, Metals Park, OH.
6.
S t a t i s t i c a l Abstracts, U.S. Bureau of the Census, 92nd edition, Qashington, DC, 1971.
7.
Science Citation Index, I n s t i t u t e f o r S c i e n t i f i c Information, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
8.
tl. P. Guthrie, NSF-RANN Enerqy Abstracts, ORNL-EIS-73-52, Vol. I , No. 1-12 (1973). ORNL-EIS-74-52, Vol. 2, No. 1-3 (1974).
9.
M. P. Guthrie, E. E. Huber, and G. A. Nowood, Enersy Research Development -- Selected Readinq List, ORNL-EIS-73-65, November 1973.
10.
11.
12.
A
G. M. Caton, D. P. Oliveira, C. J. Oen, and G. U. Ulrikson, Mercury Biblioqraphy, ORNL-EIS-8, May 1972.
the Environment -- & I Annotated
&
Emily 0. Copenhaver, G. U. Ulrikson, W. Fulkerson, and L. T. Newman, Annotated Bib1 ioqraphy, ORNL-EIS-16,
Cadmium i n the Environment -- JA --J u l y 1973.
Emilv D. CoDenhaver. G . U. Ulrikson, R. I . Van Hook, and L. T. Newman, 'the Environment -- & Annotated Bibliography, ORNL-EIS-16, July 1973.
--Arsenic i n
Trace Contaminants
13.
Emily D. Copenhaver (ed.), NSF-RANN ORNL-EIS-62, 1973.
14.
G. M. Caton. J. M. Chilton. J. K. Huffstetler. 6. W. Kline, D. C. Michelson, h. P. Guthrie, a n d G. U. Ulrikson,-Inventory of Current Enerqy Research & Development, ORNL-€IS-73-63, Oecember 1973; three volumes. reorinted under same t i t l e as Conqressional Committee P r i n t (Serial -J),'January 1974 (can be obtained through U.S. Government Printing Office).
15.
G. M. Caton, M. P. Guthrie, J. M. Chilton, Z. Combs, D. C. Michelson, L. T. Newman, J. G. Saulmon, and GI. F. Vaughan, & Inventory of Energy Research, ORNL-EIS-72- 18, January 1972; two volumes reprinted under same t i t l e as Congressional Comnittee P r i n t (Serial R), March 1972.
16. Emily D. Copenhaver (ed.) NSF-RANN EIS-73-60, Vol. 1, NO, 1-4, 1973-1974.
Directory,
Contaminants Abstracts, ORNL-
17.
Office of Coal Research Annual Report 1972, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, pp. 1-111, 1972.
18.
Coordinating Research Council -- Air Pollution Research Advisory Committee Status Report, Coordinating Research Council, New York, N Y , pp. 1-140, January 1973.
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a.
19.
Survey of Research -- Projects Reported by E l e c t r i c U t i l i t y Systems i n the United S t a t e s , E l e c t r i c Research Council, New York, N Y , pp. 1-259, September 1974.
20.
Abstracts of FY 1973 RAHN Awards-Energy Research and Technology, National Science Foundation, Research Applications Directorate, pp. 1-102, 1973.
21.
Robert C. Weast (ed.), CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, Chemical Rubber Company, 53rd e d i t i o n , 1972-73.
22.
P. L. Altman and D. S. Dittmen (eds.), Biology Data Book, Federation of American Society f o r Experimental Biology, Bethesda, MD.
23.
Suryey o f F u n d s Which Have Been Tested f o r Carcinogenic Activity, Pub i c Hea t h Service, Publication tio. 149, National Cancer I n s t i t u t e , National I n s t i t u t e s of Health, 2nd e d i t i o n , reprinted 1963.
