Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) embarked on a new initiative to strengthen the technical defensibility of the predictions being made with a site-wide groundwater flow and transport model at the U.S. Department of Energy Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State. In FY 2000, the focus of the initiative was on the characterization of major uncertainties in the current conceptual model that would affect model predictions. The long-term goals of the initiative are the development and implementation of an uncertainty estimation methodology in future assessments and analyses using the site-wide model. This report focuses on the development and implementation of an uncertainty analysis framework.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) embarked on a new initiative to strengthen the technical defensibility of the predictions being made with a site-wide groundwater flow and transport model at the U.S. Department of Energy Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State. In FY 2000, the focus of the initiative was on the characterization of major uncertainties in the current conceptual model that would affect model predictions. The long-term goals of the initiative are the development and implementation of an uncertainty estimation methodology in future assessments and analyses using the site-wide model. This report focuses on the development and implementation of an uncertainty analysis framework.

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Evaluating spatial and temporal trends in contaminant residues in Puget Sound fish and macroinvertebrates are the objectives of the Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Program (PSAMP). In a cooperative effort between the ENVironmental inVESTment group (ENVVEST) and Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, additional biota samples were collected during the 2007 PSAMP biota survey and analyzed for chemical residues and stable isotopes of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N). Approximately three specimens of each species collected from Sinclair Inlet, Georgia Basin, and reference locations in Puget Sound were selected for whole body chemical analysis. The muscle tissue of specimens selected for chemical analyses were also analyzed for δ13C and δ15N to provide information on relative trophic level and food sources. This data report summarizes the chemical residues for the 2007 PSAMP fish and macro-invertebrate samples. In addition, six Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias) samples were necropsied to evaluate chemical residue of various parts of the fish (digestive tract, liver, embryo, muscle tissue), as well as, a weight proportional whole body composite (WBWC). Whole organisms were homogenized and analyzed for silver, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, zinc, mercury, 19 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners, PCB homologues, percent moisture, percent lipids, δ13C, and δ15N.

This topical report covers the first 12 months of the subject 3-year grant, evaluating the relationship between fracture-related dolomite and dolomite constrained by primary rock fabric in the 3 most prolific reservoir intervals in the Michigan Basin (Ordovician Trenton-Black River Formations; Silurian Niagara Group; and the Devonian Dundee Formation). Phase I tasks, including Developing a Reservoir Catalog for selected dolomite reservoirs in the Michigan Basin, Characterization of Dolomite Reservoirs in Representative Fields and Technology Transfer have all been initiated and progress is consistent with our original scheduling. The development of a reservoir catalog for the 3 subject formations in the Michigan Basin has been a primary focus of our efforts during Phase I. As part of this effort, we currently have scanned some 13,000 wireline logs, and compiled in excess of 940 key references and 275 reprints that cover reservoir aspects of the 3 intervals in the Michigan Basin. A summary evaluation of the data in these publications is currently ongoing, with the Silurian Niagara Group being handled as a first priority. In addition, full production and reservoir parameter data bases obtained from available data sources have been developed for the 3 intervals in Excel and Microsoft Access data bases. …

The purpose of this project was to manage the Western Resources Project, which included a comprehensive, basin-wide set of experiments investigating the impacts of coal bed methane (CBM; a.k.a. coal bed natural gas, CBNG) production on surface and groundwater in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. This project included a number of participants including Apache Corporation, Conoco Phillips, Marathon, the Ucross Foundation, Stanford University, the University of Wyoming, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, and Western Research Institute.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO estimated the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) sugar program's: (1) costs to domestic sweetener users; (2) benefits to domestic sugar and high-fructose corn syrup producers; and (3) net effects on the U.S. economy--the differences between the costs to users and the benefits to producers that result from artificially high sweetener prices."

This report examines the historical issue of child labor in America and carries it through the 108th Congress.

Simulations of the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) Chemical Processing Cell (CPC) vessels were performed as part of the ongoing investigation into catalytic hydrogen generation. Rhodium, ruthenium, and mercury have been identified as the principal elemental factors affecting the peak hydrogen generation rate in the DWPF Sludge Receipt and Adjustment Tank (SRAT) for a given acid addition. The primary goal of this study is to identify any significant interactions between the three factors. Noble metal concentrations were similar to recent sludge batches. Rh ranged from 0.0026-0.013% and Ru ranged from 0.010-0.050% in the dried sludge solids, while initial Hg ranged from 0.5-2.5 wt%. An experimental matrix was developed to ensure that the existence of statistically significant two-way interactions could be determined without confounding of the main effects with the two-way interaction effects. The nominal matrix design consisted of twelve SRAT cycles. Testing included: a three factor (Rh, Ru, and Hg) study at two levels per factor (eight runs), two duplicate midpoint runs, and two additional replicate runs to assess reproducibility away from the midpoint. Midpoint testing can identify potential quadratic effects from the three factors. A single sludge simulant was used for all tests. Acid addition was kept effectively constant …

A number of programs have been implemented on the Hanford Site that utilize the pumping and treatment of contaminated groundwater as part of their remediation strategy. Often the treated water is reinjected into the aquifer at injection well sites. The implementation of remedial pump and treat systems, however, results in hydraulic pressure responses, both areally and vertically (i.e., with depth) within the pumped aquifer. The area within the aquifer affected by the pump and treat system (i.e., radius of influence) is commonly estimated based on detecting associated water-level responses within surrounding monitor wells. Natural external stresses, such as barometric pressure fluctuations, however, can have a discernible impact on well water-level measurements. These temporal barometric effects may significantly mask water-level responses within more distant wells that are only slightly affected (< 0.10 m) by the test system. External stress effects, therefore, can lead to erroneous indications of the radius of influence of the imposed pump and treat system remediation activities and can greatly diminish the ability to analyze the associated well responses for hydraulic property characterization. When these extraneous influences are significant, adjustments or removal of the barometric effects from the test-response record may be required for quantitative hydrologic assessment. This …

Electrochemical noise (ECN) probes were deployed in a carbon steel continuous kraft digester at five locations roughly equi-spaced from top to bottom of the vessel. Current and potential noise, the temperature at each probe location, and the value of about 60 process parameters (flow rates, liquor chemistry, etc.) were monitored continuously for a period of one year. Historical vessel inspection data, including inspections accomplished immediately prior to and immediately following probe deployment, and post-test evaluation of the probe components were used to assess/compare corrosion indications from the probes with physical changes in wall thickness and corrosion patterns on the digester shell. The results indicate that furnish composition is a significant variable influencing digester corrosion, with increasing amounts of Douglas fir in the nominal furnish correlating directly with increased corrosion activity on the ECN probes. All five probes detected changes in furnish composition approximately simultaneously, indicating rapid chemical communication through the liquor, but the effect was strongest and persisted longest relatively high in the digester. The ECN probes also indicate significant corrosion activity occurred at each probe position during shutdown/restart transients. Little or no correlation between ECN probe corrosion activity and other operational variables was observed. Post-test evaluation of the probes …

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) will transition from Sludge Batch 5 (SB5) processing to Sludge Batch 6 (SB6) processing in late fiscal year 2010. Tests were conducted using non-radioactive simulants of the expected SB6 composition to determine the impact of varying the acid stoichiometry during the Sludge Receipt and Adjustment Tank (SRAT) and Slurry Mix Evaporator (SME) processes. The work was conducted to meet the Technical Task Request (TTR) HLW/DWPF/TTR-2008-0043, Rev.0 and followed the guidelines of a Task Technical and Quality Assurance Plan (TT&QAP). The flowsheet studies are performed to evaluate the potential chemical processing issues, hydrogen generation rates, and process slurry rheological properties as a function of acid stoichiometry. These studies were conducted with the estimated SB6 composition at the time of the study. This composition assumed a blend of 101,085 kg of Tank 4 insoluble solids and 179,000 kg of Tank 12 insoluble solids. The current plans are to subject Tank 12 sludge to aluminum dissolution. Liquid Waste Operations assumed that 75% of the aluminum would be dissolved during this process. After dissolution and blending of Tank 4 sludge slurry, plans included washing the contents of Tank 51 to {approx}1M Na. After the completion of washing, the …

The focus of this project is direct detection of DNAPL's specifically chlorinated solvents, via material property estimation from multi-fold surface ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data. We combine state-of-the-art GPR processing methodology with quantitative attribute analysis and material property estimation to determine the location and extent of residual and/or pooled DNAPL in both the vadose and saturated zones. An important byproduct of our research is state-of-the-art imaging which allows us to pinpoint attribute anomalies, characterize stratigraphy, identify fracture zones, and locate buried objects.

The purpose of this model report is to document the infiltration model used to estimate upper-bound, mean, and lower-bound spatially-distributed average annual net infiltration rates for present-day and potential future climates at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Net infiltration is the component of infiltrated precipitation, snowmelt, or surface water run-on that has percolated below the zone of evapotranspiration as defined by the depth of the effective root zone. The estimates of net infiltration are primarily used for defining the upper boundary condition for the site-scale three-dimensional unsaturated zone (UZ) model. The UZ flow model is one of several process models abstracted by the total system performance assessment (TSPA) model used to evaluate performance of the repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The net-infiltration model is important for assessing repository-system performance because output from this model provides the upper boundary condition for the UZ flow model used to generate flow fields; water percolating downward from the UZ will be the principal means by which radionuclides are potentially released to the saturated zone (SZ). The SZ is the principal pathway to the biosphere where the reasonably maximally exposed individual (RMEI) is exposed to radionuclides.

The conceptual and predictive models documented in this Engineered Barrier System: Physical and Chemical Environment Model report describe the evolution of the physical and chemical conditions within the waste emplacement drifts of the repository. The modeling approaches and model output data will be used in the total system performance assessment (TSPA-LA) to assess the performance of the engineered barrier system and the waste form. These models evaluate the range of potential water compositions within the emplacement drifts, resulting from the interaction of introduced materials and minerals in dust with water seeping into the drifts and with aqueous solutions forming by deliquescence of dust (as influenced by atmospheric conditions), and from thermal-hydrological-chemical (THC) processes in the drift. These models also consider the uncertainty and variability in water chemistry inside the drift and the compositions of introduced materials within the drift. This report develops and documents a set of process- and abstraction-level models that constitute the engineered barrier system: physical and chemical environment model. Where possible, these models use information directly from other process model reports as input, which promotes integration among process models used for total system performance assessment. Specific tasks and activities of modeling the physical and chemical environment are …