I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5132 

To require the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

to establish a research initiative to support the development of technical 

standards and conformance architecture to improve emergency communication and tracking technologies for use in locating trapped individuals 

in confined spaces and other shielded environments where conventional 

radio communication is limited, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 22, 2010 

Mr. MATHESON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Science and Technology 

A BILL 

To require the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to establish a research initiative 

to support the development of technical standards and 

conformance architecture to improve emergency communication and tracking technologies for use in locating 

trapped individuals in confined spaces and other shielded 

environments where conventional radio communication is 

limited, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mine Communications 

3 Technology Innovation Act of 2010’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 The Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) The properties of confined spaces, such as 

7 underground mines, and shielded environments, such 

8 as high-rise buildings or collapsed structures, limit 

9 conventional radio communication capabilities. For 

10 instance, in coal mines, very low power radio waves 

11 must propagate through dense, absorptive materials. 

12 Radio waves also often cannot reach through dense 

13 rubble or penetrate multiple stories of concrete and 

14 steel. 

15 (2) The April 2010 coal mine disaster in West 

16 Virginia illustrated how available emergency commu17 nication and tracking technologies did not function 

18 when they were needed most to locate victims of the 

19 disaster. 

20 (3) Developing measurement protocols, tech21 nical standards, testing, and verification capabilities 

22 can bring greater assurance that emergency commu23 nication and tracking technologies used in confined 

24 spaces and shielded environments will function as in25 tended in all situations. 


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1 (4) The National Institute of Standards and 

2 Technology has significant expertise in developing 

3 the measurement infrastructure and other technical 

4 capabilities to help stakeholders define tests and 

5 standards that ultimately make such technologies 

6 more reliable. 

7 SEC. 3. EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION AND TRACKING 

8 TECHNOLOGIES RESEARCH INITIATIVE. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall establish a 

10 research initiative to support the development of emer11 gency communication and tracking technologies for use in 

12 locating trapped individuals in confined spaces, such as 

13 underground mines, and other shielded environments, 

14 such as high-rise buildings or collapsed structures, where 

15 conventional radio communication is limited. 

16 (b) ACTIVITIES.—In order to carry out this section, 

17 the Director shall work with the private sector and appro18 priate Federal agencies to— 

19 (1) perform a needs assessment to identify and 

20 evaluate the measurement, technical standards, and 

21 conformity assessment needs required to improve the 

22 operation and reliability of such emergency commu23 nication and tracking technologies; and 

24 (2) support the development of technical stand25 ards and conformance architecture to improve the 


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1 operation and reliability of such emergency commu2 nication and tracking technologies. 

3 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit 

5 to Congress and make publicly available a report describ6 ing the assessment performed under subsection (b)(1) and 

7 making recommendations about research priorities to ad8 dress gaps in the measurement, technical standards, and 

9 conformity assessment needs identified by such assess10 ment. 

11 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

13 the Director of the National Institute of Standards 

14 and Technology. 

15 (2) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 

16 agency’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

17 4 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation 

18 Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703). 

Æ 


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