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The USAF OEHL (Occupational and Environmental Health Laboratory) conducted an on-site water quality management survey at Columbus AFB MS from 18-22 July 1983 at the request of HQ ATC/SGPB. Main areas of interest were; (1) wastewater discharge permits, (2) outdoor storage of drummed chemicals and chemical wastes, and (3) ambient stream monitoring. The water and wastewater treatment plants, and industrial shops, were also included in the survey. Results of the survey indicated that the wastewater discharge permits need to be revised to reflect current base conditions. The recommendation was made that the outdoor storage practices for chemicals and chemical wastes be reviewed so that the chance of environmental contamination is minimized.

Primary attention has been given to the problem of the generation of background light caused by spontaneous emission and its amplification in passing through an intensifier. Because of the high fluorescence level occurring, schemes for possible lowering this background were considered. One of these involves the incorporation of a non-uniform pumping intensity or the incorporation of a non-uniform density of luminescent states along the amplifier axis. Another possibility considered is the use of an auxiliary abosrbing medium placed between the intensifier output and the observer's eye, which would be optically non-linear in such a way that its light transmission is low below a specified light level, but high above this threshold. The factors concerned with the choice of a material for the amplifier itself were separately considered, and the problem of obtaining uniform pumping in the case of an optically-pumped amplifier was also considered.