A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2001, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has been working to develop an Electronic Records Archive (ERA) to preserve and provide access to massive volumes of all types of electronic records. NARA originally planned to complete the system in 2012, but has repeatedly revised the program schedule and estimated cost and is now planning to deploy an ERA system with reduced functionality by the end of fiscal year 2011. As required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010, and the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011, NARA submitted an expenditure plan to Congress to support its request for fiscal year 2011 ERA funding. The legislation also requires that this plan meet six conditions, including review by GAO. GAO's objectives in reviewing the fiscal year 2011 plan were to (1) determine whether the plan satisfies legislative conditions, (2) determine the extent to which NARA has implemented prior GAO recommendations, and (3) provide any other observations on the plan or the ERA acquisition. To do this, GAO reviewed the expenditure plan and other agency documents and interviewed NARA officials."

A model-based flotation control scheme is being implemented to achieve optimal performance in the handling and treatment of fine coal. The control scheme monitors flotation performance through on- line analysis of ash content. Then, based on the economic and metallurgical performance of the circuit, variables such as reagent dosage, pulp density and pulp level are adjusted using model-base control algorithms to compensate for feed variations and other process disturbances. Recent developments in sensor technology are being applied for on-line determination of slurry ash content. During the fifth quarter of this project, all work was on hold pending the final novation of the contract to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

A model-based flotation control scheme is being implemented to achieve optimal performance in the handling and treatment of fine coal. The control scheme monitors flotation performance through on-line analysis of ash content. Then, based on the economic and metallurgical performance of the circuit, variables such as reagent dosage, pulp density and pulp level are adjusted using model-based control algorithms to compensate for feed variations and other process disturbances. Recent developments in sensor technology are being applied for on-line determination of slurry ash content. During the fourth quarter of this project, a final attempt was made to calibrate a video-based ash analyzer for use in this application. It was concluded that the low ash content and the coarse particle size of the flotation tailings slurry at the Maple Meadow plant site made the video-based system unsuitable for this application. Plans are now underway to lease a nuclear-based analyzer as the primary sensor for this project.

This report details events of importance reported by the Hanford Operations Office for the week ending March 2, 1949.

This report provides a brief history and recent developments regarding the comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty (CTBT). The U.N. General Assembly adopted the CTBT in 1996. The report discusses the national positions on testing and the CTBT, The North Korean nuclear test, stockpile stewardship, and CTBT pros and cons.

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The Savannah River Site has areas where soil is contaminated with metals and/or radionuclides. Many of these areas are surrounded by native vegetation which is growing adjacent to the area and where the roots have penetrated into the contaminated soil of the area. In some cases vegetation has actually invaded the contaminated area. Even though the volume of contaminated vegetation is small, there are problems associated with its disposal. Vegetation decomposes quickly after burial and the volume of buried vegetation can decrease. The voids left can lead to subsidence and possible failure of the clay cap constructed over hazardous and/or radioactive waste burial grounds. An alternative to burying the wood is to burn it and bury the ash. However, burning will introduce the contamination in the vegetation into the air where there is potential for inhalation of the contaminants. A procedure is described to assess the hazard associated with inhalation of contamination from burning of vegetation growing in contaminated soil. The procedure is applied to evaluation of the consequence of burning vegetation grown adjacent to and in the SRL Seepage Basins. The results indicate that burning the vegetation during the day could introduce a level of contaminants to the atmosphere …

The United States and Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in 1991; it entered into force in December 1994 and expired in December 2009. This report provides background information about the START Treaty and reviews the discussions about a possible successor to START. It also presents a range of alternatives that the United States and Russia might consider if they choose to follow START with a new framework for the arms control process.

This report describes the FY2009 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Administration requested a net appropriation of $38, 849 million in budget authority for FY2009.