This report contains the results of a hazards analysis of the steam and hydraulic systems at the Western Area Demilitarization Facility (WADF) at Hawthorne, Nevada. The analyses have been divided ...into five plant areas: (1) Washout/Steamout Building North Tower; (2) Washout/Steamout Building South Tower; (3) Refining Building; (4) Bulk Explosives Disposal Facility; and (5) Process Water Treatment Plant. The methodology used was a combination of failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) and fault tree analysis (FTA), with quantification accomplished through the use of a fault tree computer model.
That's what happened with "Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture," which hit stores in 2000 and has since drawn great praise and great criticism. At its high point, it won the ...Bancroft award, a prestigious history honor, in 2001. But it's been downhill since, with academics, journalists, and the public scrutinizing author Michael Bellesiles's sourcing, particularly with regard to probate records, and finding it sloppy. Emory University, the author's employer, announced in February that it is conducting a formal inquiry. Historians who review for mainstream publications say they couldn't check all the facts even if they wanted to, as it would be too time-consuming. These scholars also say they operate under a code that the work they are looking at is not distorted or manufactured, notes Gerald DeGroot, chairman of the Modern History Department at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, who reviewed the Bellesiles book for the Monitor. Book publishers also rely on authors to check their own facts. Mr. Steve Wasserman has worked at a number of publishing houses and says, "Fact checking, alas, is spotty at best." In the case of the Bellesiles book, his publisher, Knopf, said in a statement that the book had been reviewed by several prominent historians, and also by Emory, before its release. Factual mistakes have been corrected for subsequent editions, according to Knopf, which adds that the majority of issues raised have been ones of interpretation.
