Plants form the basis of all ecosystems including wetlands. Although they are the most abundant life form and are the primary producers for all other organisms, they have received the least attention when it comes to environmental matters. Higher plants have rarely been used in ecotoxicity testing and may not respond in the same manner as algae, which have been used more frequently. The introduction of hazardous waste materials into wetland areas has the potential to alter and damage the ecological processes in these ecosystems. Measuring the impact of these contaminants on higher plants is therefore important and needs further research. Higher plants are useful for detecting both herbicidal toxicity and heavy metal toxicity. For phytotoxicity tests to be practical they must be simple, inexpensive, yet sensitive to a variety of contaminants. A difference between seed germination and root elongation tests is that seed germination tests measure toxicity associated with soils directly, while root elongation tests consider the indirect effects of water-soluble constituents that may be present in site samples.

Strontium-90 ({sup 90}Sr) has been seeping into the Columbia River since the early 1980s. The likely source is subsurface migration of {sup 90}Sr from once-through cooling water from the Hanford N Reactor disposed into the two disposal crib/trench facilities. Background information has been provided on the operational history of the two liquid waste disposal facilities and some of the regulatory drivers that have lead to the various characterization activities and remediation demonstrations being performed to help choose future full-scale remediation alternatives. The work presented in this topical report had two main objectives. First, we obtained numerous borehole samples from newly installed wells/borings and performed physical and chemical characterization that,included particle size analysis, moisture content, and Strontium-90, Tritium and gamma activity analyses to help improve the conceptual model of where the contaminants currently reside in the sediments. The second objective was to perform laboratory adsorption-desorption tests using both batch and flow- through column techniques to gather data for use in contaminant transport conceptual models and to aid in specific pump-and-treat calculations needed to interpret a field demonstration.

The types of dominantly sandstone lithofacies that characterize the Cretaceous Ferron Sandstone reservoir types were tentatively identified before the project began. These reservoir types were defined and mapped at the regional scale and are the subject of the detailed, highly focused case studies. The purpose of conducting detailed case-study analysis is to develop a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and quantitative characterization of fluvial-deltaic reservoirs which will allow realistic inter-well and reservoir-scale modeling to be used for improved oil-field development in actual reservoirs world-wide. The resulting benefits and value may: (1) increase recoverable reserves by identifying untapped compartments created by reservoir heterogeneity, (2) reduce development costs by more efficiently siting infill drilling locations, (3) increase deliverability by exploiting the reservoir along optimal fluid-flow paths, (4) enhance the application of new technologies, such as horizontal drilling, by identifying optimal drilling directions to maximize fluid-flow, and (5) identify reservoir trends for field extension drilling. Various geologic studies of the Ferron Sandstone were reviewed to compile a list of locations and types of lithofacies in the Ferron Sandstone to be examined in greater detail as part of the subsequent case studies. Preliminary regional interpretations were also used to help select the type and location of lithofacies …

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging is a class of coherent range and Doppler signal processing techniques applied to remote sensing. The aperture is synthesized by recording and processing coherent signals at known positions along the flight path. Demands for greater image resolution put an extreme burden on requirements for inertial measurement units that are used to maintain accurate pulse-to-pulse position information. The recently developed Phase Gradient Autofocus algorithm relieves this burden by taking a data-driven digital signal processing approach to estimating the range-invariant phase aberrations due to either uncompensated motions of the SAR platform or to atmospheric turbulence. Although the performance of this four-step algorithm has been demonstrated, its convergence has not been modeled mathematically. A new sensitivity study of algorithm performance is a necessary step towards this model. Insights that are significant to the application of this algorithm to both SAR and to other coherent imaging applications are developed. New details on algorithm implementation identify an easily avoided biased phase estimate. A new algorithm for defining support of the point spread function is proposed, which promises to reduce the number of iterations required even for rural scenes with low signal-to-clutter ratios.

The purpose of this revision is to update the Line Item Project, 93-L-GFW-152 Functional Design Criteria (FDC) to reflect changes approved in change control M-24-91-6, Engineering Change Notices (ECNs), and expand the scope to include subsurface investigations along with the borehole drilling. This revision improves the ability and effectiveness of maintaining RCRA and Operational groundwater compliance by combining borehole and well drilling with subsurface data gathering objectives. The total projected number of wells to be installed under this project has decreased from 200 and the scope has been broadened to include additional subsurface investigation activities that usually occur simultaneously with most traditional borehole drilling and monitoring well installations. This includes borehole hydrogeologic characterization activities, and vadose monitoring. These activities are required under RCRA 40 CFR 264 and 265 and WAC 173-303 for site characterization, groundwater and vadose assessment and well placement.

The Coal and Electric Data and Renewables Division; Office of Coal, Nuclear, Electric and Alternate Fuels, Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of Energy prepares the EPM. This publication provides monthly statistics at the State, Census division, and U.S. levels for net generation, fossil fuel consumption and stocks, quantity and quality of fossil fuels, cost of fossil fuels, electricity sales, revenue, and average revenue per kilowatthour of electricity sold. Data on net generation, fuel consumption, fuel stocks, quantity and cost of fossil fuels are also displayed for the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) regions. The EIA publishes statistics in the EPM on net generation by energy source; consumption, stocks, quantity, quality, and cost of fossil fuels; and capability of new generating units by company and plant.

Functional statements and organization charts for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission offices, divisions, and branches are presented.

The 1993-1994 Geophysical Institute Biennial Report was published in November 1995 by the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. It contains an overview of the Geophysical Institute, the Director`s Note, and research presentations concerning the following subjects: Scientific Predictions, Space Physics, Atmospheric Sciences, Snow, Ice and Permafrost, Tectonics and Sedimentation, Seismology, Volcanology, Remote Sensing, and other projects.

Annual report of the Hazardous and Solid Waste Program describing goals, activities, and accomplishments during fiscal year 1995.

For fifty years, the United States was involved in a nuclear arms race of immense proportions. During the majority of this period, the push was always to design new weapons, produce more weapons, and increase the size of the arsenal, maintaining an advantage over the opposition in order to protect US interests. Now that the Cold War is over, the US is faced with the imposing tasks of dismantling, cleaning up, and remediating the wide variety of problems created by this arms race. The ability to understand the problems encountered when dealing with radioactive waste, both from a scientific standpoint and from a legislative standpoint, requires knowledge of treatment and disposal subject areas. This required the accumulation of applicable information. A literature database was developed; site visits were made; and contact relationships were established. Informational databases from government agencies involved in environmental remediation were ordered or purchased, and previously established private sector relationships were used to develop an information base. An appendix contains 482 bibliographic citations that have been integrated into a Microsoft Access{reg_sign} database.

This handbook serves as a guide to understanding and implementing the Federal regulations and US DOE Orders established to protect human research subjects. Material in this handbook is directed towards new and continuing institutional review board (IRB) members, researchers, institutional administrators, DOE officials, and others who may be involved or interested in human subjects research. It offers comprehensive overview of the various requirements, procedures, and issues relating to human subject research today.

The Title List of Documents Made Publicly Available is a monthly publication. It contains descriptions of the information received and generated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). This information includes (1) docketed material associated with civilian nuclear power plants and other uses of radioactive materials and (2) nondocketed material received and generated by NRC pertinent to its role as a regulatory agency. As used here, docketed does not refer to Court dockets; it refers to the system by which NRC maintains its regulatory records. This series of documents is indexed by a Personal Author Index, a Corporate Source Index and a Report Number Index. The docketed information contained in the Title List includes the information formerly issued through the Department of Energy publication Power Reactor Docker Information, last published in January 1979. NRC documents that are publicly available may be examined without charge at the NRC Public Document Room (PDR). Duplicate copies may be obtained for a fee. Standing orders for certain categories of documents are also available. Clients may search for and order desired titles through the PDR computerized Bibliographic Retrieval System, which is accessible both at the PDR and remotely. The PDR is staffed by professional technical …

Nineteen RCRA groundwater monitoring projects are conducted at the Hanford site. They include treatment, storage, and disposal facilities for both solid and liquid waste. Groundwater monitoring programs described in this report comply with the interim- and final- status federal and state regulations. The RCRA projects are monitored under one of the following programs: background monitoring, indicator parameter evaluation, or groundwater quality assessment or detection. This quarterly report contains data received between July 1 and Sept. 30, 1995, which are the cutoff dates for this reporting period. This report may contain not only data from the July-Sept. quarter, but also data from earlier sampling events not previously reported.

The Office of Environmental Management`s (EM) technical reports bibliography is an annual publication that contains information on scientific and technical reports sponsored by the Office of Environmental Management added to the Energy Science and Technology Database from July 1, 1994 through June 30, 1995. This information is divided into the following categories: Focus Areas, Cross-Cutting Programs, and Support Programs. In addition, a category for general information is included. EM`s Office of Science and Technology sponsors this bibliography.