In order to treat the mixed radioactive and hazardous waste stored in 177 underground tanks, the Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) program is developing a `demonstration` site for treatment and immobilization of these wastes by a private contractor. Project W-519 is providing the infrastructure support to this site by developing the designs and emplacing required pipelines, roads, electrical, etc. In support of the TWRS Phase 1 Infrastructure Project (W-519) Characterization, Numatec Hanford Corporation (NHC) contracted with Waste Management Federal Services, Inc., Northwest Operations (WMNW) to investigate a number of locations in and just outside the 200 East Area eastern fenceline boundary. These areas consisted of known or suspected waste lines or waste sites that could potentially impact the construction and emplacement of the proposed facility improvements, including waterlines and roads. These sites were all located subsurface and sugaring would be required to obtain sample material from the desired depth. The soils would then be sampled and submitted to the laboratory for analysis of radioactivity.

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This report summarizes the work done at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the Oligonucleotide and Long Polymeric DNA Encoding project, part of the Microelectronic Bioprocesses Program at DARPA. The goal of the project was to develop a process by which long (circa 10,000 base-pair) synthetic DNA molecules could be synthesized in a timely and economic manner. During construction of the long molecule, errors in DNA sequence occur during hybridization and/or the subsequent enzymatic process. The work done on this project has resulted in a novel synthesis scheme that we call the parallel pyramid synthesis protocol, the development of a suit of computational tools to minimize and quantify errors in the synthesized DNA sequence, and experimental proof of this technique. The modeling consists of three interrelated modules: the bioinformatics code which determines the specifics of parallel pyramid synthesis for a given chain of long DNA, the thermodynamics code which tracks the products of DNA hybridization and polymerase extension during the later steps in the process, and the kinetics model which examines the temporal and spatial processes during one thermocycle. Most importantly, we conducted the first successful syntheses of a gene using small starting oligomers (tetramers). The synthesized sequence, 813 base pairs …

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This report examines how the Supreme Court determines whether to overrule its prior decisions on questions of constitutional law. It provides an overview of the doctrine of stare decisis, under which a court generally follows rules adopted in prior decisions; discusses how Justices who have adopted textualism and originalism handle conflicts between precedent and their judicial philosophies; and examines various factors that the Court weighs when interpreting the Constitution, providing examples from the Court's recent jurisprudence.

The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993, P.L. 103-62, encourages greater accountability, requiring agencies to set goals and use performance measures for management and budgeting. This report examines how agencies will solicit information from stakeholders and consult with Congress to develop strategic goals, to be provided in final form to Congress in September 1997; GAO and OMB are to report in May and June 1997 (but may advance the date to March 1997) to Congress on agency readiness for full scale implementation and to recommend changes in the statute; and agencies are expected to comply with OMB's requirements to use more performance measurement information in FY1998 budget requests.

This report presents the results of groundwater and vadose-zone monitoring and remediation for fiscal year (FY) 1998 on the Word Site, Washington. Soil-vapor extraction in the 200-West Area removed 777 kg of carbon tetrachloride in FY 1998, for a total of 75,490 kg removed since remediation began in 1992. Spectral gamma logging and evaluation of historical gross gamma logs near tank farms and liquid-disposal sites in the 200 Areas provided information on movement of contaminants in the vadose zone. Water-level monitoring was performed to evaluate groundwater-flow directions, to track changes in water levels, and to relate such changes to evolving disposal practices. Water levels over most of the Hanford Site continued to decline between June 1997 and June 1998. The most widespread radiological contaminant plumes in groundwater were tritium and iodine-129. Concentrations of technetium-99, uranium, strontium-90, and carbon-14 also exceeded drinking water standards in smaller plumes. Plutonium and cesium-137 exceeded standards only near the 216-B-5 injection well. Derived concentration guide levels specified in U.S. Department of Energy Order 5400.5 were exceeded for tritium, uranium, strontium-90, and plutonium in small plumes or single wells. One well completed in the basalt-confined aquifer beneath the 200-East Area exceeded the drinking water standard for …

This project has used Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) {sup 14}C measurements to study climate and carbon cycle variations on time scales from decades to millennia over the past 30,000 years, primarily in the western US and the North Pacific. {sup 14}C dates provide a temporal framework for records of climate change, and natural radiocarbon acts as a carbon cycle tracer in independently dated records. The overall basis for the study is the observation that attempts to model future climate and carbon cycle changes cannot be taken seriously if the models have not been adequately tested. Paleoclimate studies are unique because they provide realistic test data under climate conditions significantly different from those of the present, whereas instrumental results can only sample the system as it is today. The aim of this project has been to better establish the extent, timing, and causes of past climate perturbations, and the carbon cycle changes with which they are linked. This provides real-world data for model testing, both for the development of individual models and also for inter-model diagnosis and comparison activities such as those of LLNL's PCMDI program; it helps us achieve a better basic understanding of how the climate system works so …

The workshop participants enthusiastically concluded that the time is ripe for new fundamental science to beget a revolution in lighting technology. SSL sources based on organic and inorganic materials have reached a level of efficiency where it is possible to envision their use for general illumination. The research areas articulated in this report are targeted to enable disruptive advances in SSL performance and realization of this dream. Broad penetration of SSL technology into the mass lighting market, accompanied by vast savings in energy usage, requires nothing less. These new ?good ideas? will be represented not by light bulbs, but by an entirely new lighting technology for the 21st century and a bright, energy-efficient future indeed.

The purpose of this catalog is to integrate all available soil physics data and information from vadose zone characterization and performance assessments into one useable, scientifically defensible document.

The purpose of this catalog is to integrate all available soil physics data and information from vadose zone characterization and performance assessments into one usable, scientifically defensible document.

The UCLA work on this grant was to design and help implement an object-oriented version of the GTC code, which is written in Fortran90. The GTC code is the main global gyrokinetic code used in this project, and over the years multiple, incompatible versions have evolved. The reason for this effort is to allow multiple authors to work together on GTC and to simplify future enhancements to GTC. The effort was designed to proceed incrementally. Initially, an upper layer of classes (derived types and methods) was implemented which called the original GTC code 'under the hood.' The derived types pointed to data in the original GTC code, and the methods called the original GTC subroutines. The original GTC code was modified only very slightly. This allowed one to define (and refine) a set of classes which described the important features of the GTC code in a new, more abstract way, with a minimum of implementation. Furthermore, classes could be added one at a time, and at the end of the each day, the code continued to work correctly. This work was done in close collaboration with Y. Nishimura from UC Irvine and Stefan Ethier from PPPL. Ten classes were ultimately …

In my five years as the Director of the Advanced Photon Source (APS), I have been fortunate to see major growth in the scientific impact from the APS. This year I am particularly enthusiastic about prospects for our longer-term future. Every scientific instrument must remain at the cutting edge to flourish. Our plans for the next generation of APS--an APS upgrade--got seriously in gear this year with strong encouragement from our users and sponsors. The most promising avenue that has emerged is the energy-recovery linac (ERL) (see article on page xx), for which we are beginning serious R&D. The ERL{at}APS would offer revolutionary performance, especially for x-ray imaging and ultrafast science, while not seriously disrupting the existing user base. I am very proud of our accelerator physics and engineering staff, who not only keep the current APS at the forefront, but were able to greatly impress our international Machine Advisory Committee with the quality of their work on the possible upgrade option (see page xx). As we prepare for long-term major upgrades, our plans to develop and optimize all the sectors at APS in the near future are advancing. Several new beamlines saw first light this year, including a dedicated …

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References to signiflcant design information for a steam generator in a gas-cooled reactor system are presented. Papers concerning heat transfer and pressure drop correlations for gas flow across banks of bare and circular finned tubes and for subcooled waters boiling water, and superheated steam flow inside pipes are listed and briefly discussed. (auth)

This months issue has the following articles: (1)''Computing Science: One Arrow in the Quiver for Homeland Security''--Commentary by Wayne Shotts; (2) ''On the Front Lines of Biodefense''--The Laboratory's pathogen bioinformatics group is developing ways to rapidly identify microbes that could pose a threat to the nation's citizens, livestock, and crops. (3) ''Defending against Corrosion''--Livermore researchers are designing a rugged system to prevent nuclear wastes from seeping into the environment at the proposed underground repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. (4) ''Engine Shows Diesel Efficiency without the Emissions''--Computer models are helping Laboratory engineers better understand the homogeneous compression charge ignition engine, a fuel-efficient engine with reduced emissions.

Annealing beta-heat-treated production-size dingoturanium core blanks in the high alpha range (1150 to 1200 deg F) produced a fine, equiaxed grain size by a recrystallization process. The extent of recrystallization is dependent upon the rate of cooling through the beta-to-alpha transformation, the time and temperature of annealing, and whether or not impurities that retard grain growth are present. The cooling rate through the beta-to-alpha transformation was varied by using a range of beta temperatures and air cooling times prior to quenching into water. Longer air cooling times are permissible at the higher beta temperatures; however, the greatest amount of induced lattice strain was obtained after an air delay of only 2 seconds before quenching. Decreasing the annealing temperature results in a corresponding increase in the annealing time required for an equivalent amount of recrystallization. A second phase, present in the alloyed dingot metal, inhibited recrystallization and grain growth. Alloyed metal recrystallized progressively from the outer periphery to the center of the core, whereas unalloyed metal subjected to identical annealing conditions exhibited recrystallized grains throughout the cross section. A reduction in grain size from 0.38 mm to 0.25 mm occurred in a beta-treated, unalloyed core after annealing at 1200 deg F …

The bibliography contains 1067 citations from the literature of critical and near-critical nuclear experiments. It provides an up-to-date index to reports containing useful data for many types of criticality studies. Most of the reports can provide specifications for relatively simple critical configurations necessary for validating nuclear constants and calculational techniques. The reports of more than 1143 experimentors at 38 international facilities since 1943 are cross-referenced. The collection contains the prototypes of many different designs of nuclear reactors and studies performed to insure the safe use of fissile materials in chemical processing plants, storage facilities, and transportation containers. The bibliography has three volumes. Volume 1 contains the main listing of citations with abstracts. Volume 2 is a set of indexes organized by report number, publication date, experimental facility, and author name. Volume 3 provides a subject index, concorded on the significant keyphrases derived from titles, and an index of keyterms derived from titles, and an index of keyterms extracted from titles and abstracts. The bibliography was printed by computer as a selection from a computerized system at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory contaning information and data on criticality experiments.

First part of an annual report of the Texas Railroad Commission's Oil and Gas Division providing background on the industry and the agency's activities, information related to the production of oil and gas, and data regarding production by field.

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The Antiproton Generation and Storage Facility (AGSF) creates copious quantities of antiprotons, for bottling and transportation to remote cancer therapy centers. The #12;first step in the generation and storage process is to accelerate an intense proton beam down the Main Linac for injection into the Main Ring, which is a Rapid Cycling Synchrotron that accelerates the protons to high energy. The beam is then extracted from the ring into a transfer line and into a Proton Target. Immediately downstream of the target is an Antiproton Collector that captures some of the antiprotons and focuses them into a beam that is transported sequentially into two antiproton rings. The Precooler ring rapidly manipulates antiproton bunches from short and broad (in momentum) to long and thin. It then performs some preliminary beam cooling, in the fraction of a second before the next proton bunch is extracted from the Main Ring. Pre-cooled antiprotons are passed on to the Accumulator ring before the next antiprotons arrive from the target. The Accumulator ring cools the antiprotons, compressing them into a dense state that is convenient for mass storage over many hours. Occasionally the Accumulator ring decelerates a large number of antiprotons, injecting them into a Deceleration …