It is proposed that this retorting facility is to process Green River formation raw shales in a controlled manner. The research efforts necessary to acieve an integrated development of the role of process variables in determining oil quantity and quality, effluent quantity and quality, and concomitant health and environmental impacts of various retorting scenarios can be divided into several tasks, depending on the interests of the research groups in the DOE oil shale program. The user-oriented nature of the proposed facility will incorporate the strategies and material needs of each research group and will respond to the goals of the overall DOE program. These various research efforts will continually exchange information to ensure ongoing definition of fruitful experiments and research direction. Each task, thoguh building on existing expertise within the DOE system, would be capable of independent progress. However, the integrated approach to understanding the chemical, biological, and engineering aspects of fossil fuel processing and related health and enviromental impacts of that processing would be a unique and prifitable activity.