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Any or all uses of this system and all files on this system may be intercepted, monitored, recorded, copied, audited, inspected, transferred and disclosed to authorized site, Department of Energy, and law enforcement personnel, as well as authorized officials of other agencies, both domestic and foreign.

By using this system, the user consents to such interception, monitoring, recording, copying, auditing, inspection, transfer and disclosure at the discretion of authorized site or Department of Energy personnel.

This site employs an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) to help safeguard and enhance the use of publicly accessible information by prohibiting unauthorized excessive content requests or activities. This includes requests initiated by any network host, individual user, or automated means to query, capture, or download data from this system.

Exemptions may be granted to individuals or organizations on a case by case basis.

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For each page that is visited on OSTI.gov/opennet/, the following technical information is automatically captured in what is called a web server log file:

• Date and time of access

• URL address of the webpage visited

• Internet domain and IP address from which our website was accessed

• Type of browser and operating system used to access our site (if provided by the browser)

• URL address of the referring page (if provided by the browser)

• Completion or success status of the request for a web page or other on-line item

• File size of the webpage visited

This information does not contain personally identifiable information nor do we use this information to remember a user’s online interactions with our site. This information is used to track server load, identify operational problems, to prevent fraud and to improve the effectiveness, security and integrity of the site.

This site employs the use of two separate types of cookies, session and persistent, to collect non-personal information related to how users traverse the website. A cookie is a small file that a website transfers to your computer to allow the retrieval of specific information about your session while you are connected to a website.

• Session cookies last only as long as your browser is open; once the browser is closed the cookie disappears.

• Persistent cookies will remain on your hard drive until it reaches its expiration date or is deleted by you. This type of cookie is stored on your computer so the website that placed it there can recognize and remember when you return visit and keep track of which pages on their website you visit.

The federal government has guidelines on the use of persistent cookies related to web measurement and tracking. The goals of the guidelines are to enable the useful functioning of federal websites while protecting individual privacy.

This site does not automatically collect or store personal information in identifiable form about users. Certain non-personally identifiable information is collected and stored automatically via session cookies, including:

• the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the domain from which you access the Internet (i.e., 123.456.789.012), whether yours individually or provided as a proxy by your Internet Service Provider (ISP);

• the domain from which you access the Internet;

• the date and time you accessed the site;

• the search queries, bibliographic citations viewed, and reports viewed; and

• the Internet address of the Website from which you linked directly to our site.

This information is used to compile summary statistics to help us make the site more valuable to its users. It is not shared with anyone beyond the professional support staff of this site, except when required by Law Enforcement investigation, and is used only as a source of anonymous statistical information.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) classifies the use of this type of technology as Tier 1 usage, since we are utilizing a single session web measurement technology that does not collect any personally identifiable information (PII).

This site may also use session cookies to provide salient session-related information and to enable product-specific functions not related to web measurement and tracking. In no case will cookies be used to capture information that might compromise or threaten personal privacy.

Visitors to this site who have JavaScript enabled are by default anonymously tracked with persistent cookies using a web measurement technology known as Google Analytics. Google Analytics collects the following types of information from users:

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• Referring site statistics

• The website (URL) the user came through in order to arrive at this website (for example: clicking on a hyperlink from www.osti.gov that took the user to this website)

• Search engine query used (example: typing in a phrase into a search engine like Google, and clicking on a link from that search engine)

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) classifies the use of this type of technology as Tier 2 usage, since we are utilizing a multi-session web measurement technology that does not collect any personally identifiable information (PII).

The information collected by Google Analytics is used to optimize our website; helping us determine top tasks, improve our user interface, and diversify our content offerings to meet the needs of our customers. No personally identifiable information is collected, so the anonymity of the end user is protected. The measurement data that is collected is retained for as long as is needed for proper analysis and optimization of the website and is accessible only to employees whose job function requires it.

Users who do not wish to participate in these web measurement and tracking activities may visit https://www.osti.gov/optout for step-by-step instructions of how to opt-out. Google also provides a browser plug-in that will allow you to opt-out of all Google Analytics measurements, which you can find at http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. Please note that opting-out in no way affects your access to content within the site.

Users may choose to provide personal information containing comments or questions or to enable use of specialized site features. This information is only used to provide service to the user or to respond to a user inquiry.

OSTI is committed and empowered to provide public access to DOE-sponsored scientific and technical information. However, public access does not connote that the materials on this or other DOE websites are in the public domain. When accessing OSTI websites, you may encounter documents, illustrations, photographs, or other information resources that are protected by U.S. or foreign copyright laws. OSTI provides access to such content under the authority of the government’s retained license to distribute publications and data resulting from federal funding.  Although you may legally access such works via OSTI, the copyright owners retain rights that govern the reproduction, redistribution, and re-use of copyrighted works. You are  solely responsible for complying with applicable copyright law restrictions, including seeking the permission of the copyright owners when your intended activities fall outside the limited uses provided for by fair use and other legal principles.

Many documents and other materials available via OSTI are marked with a copyright notice or other statement designed to inform the reader or user of applicable restrictions (or lack thereof). For example, documents labeled "U.S. Government Work" or similar are not copyrightable under U.S. law, and therefore may be freely copied and redistributed. Other works, such as journal articles or conference proceedings, clearly indicate the copyright holder, year copyrighted, and so forth. Finally, some OSTI materials may lack an explicit copyright statement; if so, you should treat these works as if they are protected by copyright. For more information on copyright law, please visit http://copyright.gov.

In an effort to respect each author's intellectual and creative contributions, please give acknowledgement when re-using or redistributing U.S. Government works and other public domain works available via OpenNet. For example, if you use images or other information that originated at OpenNet, please credit us as the source. If you use a report generated at a DOE lab, please acknowledge the lab, the authors, and the DOE funding program, as appropriate.

The U.S. Department of Energy is committed to making its electronic and information technologies accessible to individuals with disabilities in accordance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended in 1998. Send feedback or concerns related to the accessibility of this website to DOE Section 508 Coordinator mailbox.

For more information about Section 508, please visit the DOE Section 508 website.

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By accessing this Website, you are expressly consenting to these monitoring activities. Unauthorized attempts to defeat or circumvent security features; to use the system for other than intended purposes; to deny service to authorized users; to access, obtain, alter, damage; or destroy information; or otherwise to interfere with the system or its operation are prohibited.

Evidence of such acts may be disclosed to law enforcement authorities and result in criminal prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act of 1996, codified at section 1030 of Title 18 of the United States Code, or other applicable criminal laws.

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OpenNet includes links to a variety of websites and other content hosted or maintained by third parties. These links are provided for convenience, and do not constitute any endorsement or recommendation of the third parties, their websites, or their view or opinions. Further, DOE accepts no liability for any linked sites or their content, and make no warranty as to the quality, safety, suitability, or reliability of linked sites. In short, you click on these links at your own risk.

Most publicly-releasable information is already available through OSTI web products. If you do not find information you are seeking through OSTI web products, it may not yet be in a digitized format or it may not be in OSTI's collection. You may request that documents be digitized by contacting the comments@osti.gov, and we will respond promptly during regular business hours. You also have the option of filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

OSTI Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

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All Federal regulations that are open for public comment (i.e., proposed rules) and closed for comment (i.e., final rules) as published in the Federal Register.

Many Federal agency notices published in the Federal Register.

Additional supporting materials, public comments, and Federal agency guidance and adjudications.

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