During the period of June through October 2006, three deep boreholes and one corehole were drilled beneath the site of the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site near Richland, Washington. The boreholes were drilled to provide information on ground-motion attenuation in the basalt and interbedded sediments underlying the WTP site. This report describes the geophysical logging of the deep boreholes that was conducted in support of the Seismic Boreholes Project, defined below. The detailed drilling and geological descriptions of the boreholes and seismic data collected and analysis of that data are reported elsewhere.

The following Final Geologic Borehole Report briefly describes the drilling of a single borehole at the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) on the Hanford, Washington, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reservation. The location of the WTP is illustrated in Figure 1-1. The borehole was designated as “C4997”, and was drilled to obtain seismic and lithologic data for the Pretreatment Facility and High-Level Waste Vitrification Plant in the WTP. Borehole C4997 was drilled and logged to a total depth of 1428 ft below ground surface (bgs) on October 8, 2006, and was located approximately 150 ft from a recently cored borehole, designated as “C4998”. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) determined the locations for C4997, C4998, and other boreholes at the WTP in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Review Panel, and the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). The total depth of Borehole C4997 was also determined by PNNL.

In 2006, a drilling campaign was conducted at the Project Shoal Area (PSA) to provide information for model validation, emplace long-term monitoring wells, and develop baseline geochemistry for long term hydrologic monitoring. Water levels were monitored in the vicinity of the drilling, in the existing wells HC-1 and HC-6, as well as in the newly drilled wells, MV-1, MV-2 and MV-3 and their associated piezometers. Periodic water level measurements were also made in existing wells HC-2, HC-3, HC-4, HC-5 and HC-7. A lithium bromide chemical tracer was added to drilling fluids during the installation of the monitoring and validation (MV) wells and piezometers. The zones of interest were the fractured, jointed and faulted horizons within a granitic body. These horizons generally have moderate hydraulic conductivities. As a result, the wells and their shallower piezometers required strenuous purging and development to remove introduced drilling fluids as evidenced by bromide concentrations. After airlift and surging well development procedures, the wells were pumped continuously until the bromide concentration was less then 1 milligram per liter (mg/L). Water quality samples were collected after the well development was completed. Tritium scans were preformed before other analyses to ensure the absence of high levels of radioactivity. …

Insitu borehole P- and S-wave velocity measurements were collected in three borings located within the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) boundaries at the Hanford Site, southeastern Washington. Geophysical data acquisition was performed between August and October of 2006 by Rob Steller, Charles Carter, Antony Martin and John Diehl of GEOVision. Data analysis was performed by Rob Steller and John Diehl, and reviewed by Antony Martin of GEOVision, and report preparation was performed by John Diehl and reviewed by Rob Steller. The work was performed under subcontract with Battelle, Pacific Northwest Division with Marty Gardner as Battelle’s Technical Representative and Alan Rohay serving as the Technical Administrator for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). This report describes the field measurements, data analysis, and results of this work.

Recent field investigation that collected and characterized vadose zone sediments from beneath inactive liquid disposal facilities at the Hanford 200 Areas show lower than expected concentrations of a long-term risk driver, Tc-99. Therefore laboratory studies were performed to re-create one of the three processes that were used to separate the plutonium from spent fuel and that created most of the wastes disposed or currently stored in tanks at Hanford. The laboratory simulations were used to compare with current estimates based mainly on flow sheet estimates and spotty historical data. Three simulations of the bismuth phosphate precipitation process show that less that 1% of the Tc-99, Cs-135/137, Sr-90, I-129 carry down with the Pu product and thus these isotopes should have remained within the metals waste streams that after neutralization were sent to single shell tanks. Conversely, these isotopes should not be expected to be found in the first and subsequent cycle waste streams that went to cribs. Measurable quantities (~20 to 30%) of the lanthanides, yttrium, and trivalent actinides (Am and Cm) do precipitate with the Pu product, which is higher than the 10% estimate made for current inventory projections. Surprisingly, Se (added as selenate form) also shows about 10% …

We present the discovery of 2MASS J21321145+1341584AB as a closely separated (0.066'') very low-mass field dwarf binary resolved in the near-infrared by the Keck II Telescope using laser guide star adaptive optics. Physical association is deduced from the angular proximity of the components and constraints on their common proper motion. We have obtained a near-infrared spectrum of the binary and find that it is best described by an L5{+-}0.5 primary and an L7.5{+-}0.5 secondary. Model-dependent masses predict that the two components straddle the hydrogen burning limit threshold with the primary likely stellar and the secondary likely substellar. The properties of this sytem - close projected separation (1.8{+-}0.3AU) and near unity mass ratio - are consistent with previous results for very low-mass field binaries. The relatively short estimated orbital period of this system ({approx}7-12 yr) makes it a good target for dynamical mass measurements. Interestingly, the system's angular separation is the tightest yet for any very low-mass binary published from a ground-based telescope and is the tightest binary discovered with laser guide star adaptive optics to date.

In 2006, DOE-ORP initiated the Seismic Boreholes Project (SBP) to emplace boreholes at the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) site in order to obtain direct Vs measurements and other physical property measurements in Columbia River basalt and interbedded sediments of the Ellensburg Formation. The goal was to reduce the uncertainty in the response spectra and seismic design basis, and potentially recover design margin for the WTP. The characterization effort within the deep boreholes included 1) downhole measurements of the velocity properties of the suprabasalt, basalt, and sedimentary interbed sequences, 2) downhole measurements of the density of the subsurface basalt and sediments, and 3) confirmation of the geometry of the contact between the various basalt and interbedded sediments through examination of retrieved core from the corehole and data collected through geophysical logging of each borehole. This report describes the results of the geologic studies from three mud-rotary boreholes and one cored borehole at the WTP. All four boreholes penetrated the entire Saddle Mountains Basalt and the upper part of the Wanapum Basalt where thick sedimentary interbeds occur between the lava flows. The basalt flows penetrated in Saddle Mountains Basalt included the Umatilla Member, Esquatzel Member, Pomona Member and the Elephant Mountain Member. …

The known galaxies most dominated by dark matter (Draco, Ursa Minor and Andromeda IX) are satellites of the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxies. They are members of a class of faint galaxies, devoid of gas, known as dwarf spheroidals, and have by far the highest ratio of dark to luminous matter. None of the models proposed to unravel their origin can simultaneously explain their exceptional dark matter content and their proximity to a much larger galaxy. Here we report simulations showing that the progenitors of these galaxies were probably gas-dominated dwarf galaxies that became satellites of a larger galaxy earlier than the other dwarf spheroidals. We find that a combination of tidal shocks and ram pressure swept away the entire gas content of such progenitors about ten billion years ago because heating by the cosmic ultraviolet background kept the gas loosely bound: a tiny stellar component embedded in a relatively massive dark halo survived until today. All luminous galaxies should be surrounded by a few extremely dark-matter-dominated dwarf spheroidal satellites, and these should have the shortest orbital periods among dwarf spheroidals because they were accreted early.

A core hole (C4998) and three boreholes (C4993, C4996, and C4997) were drilled to acquire stratigraphic and downhole seismic data to model potential seismic impacts and to refine design specifications and seismic criteria for the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) under construction on the Hanford Site. Borehole C4993 was completed through the Saddle Mountains Basalt, the upper portion of the Wanapum Basalt, and associated sedimentary interbeds, to provide a continuous record of the rock penetrated by all four holes and to provide access to the subsurface for geophysical measure¬ment. Presented and compiled in this report are field-generated records for the deep mud rotary borehole C4993 at the WTP site. Material for C4993 includes borehole logs, lithologic summary, and record of rock chip samples collected during drilling through the months of August through early October. The borehole summary report also includes documentation of the mud rotary drilling, borehole logging, and sample collection.

This report describes the 2006 fiscal year field activities associated with the installation of four cable-tool-drilled boreholes located within the boundary of the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP), DOE Hanford site, Washington. The cable-tool-drilled boreholes extend from surface to ~20 ft below the top of basalt and were utilized as cased entry holes for three deep boreholes (approximately 1400 ft) that were drilled to support the acquisition of sub-surface geophysical data, and one deep corehole (1400 ft) that was drilled to acquire continuous core samples from underlying basalt and sedimentary interbeds. The geophysical data acquired from these boreholes will be integrated into a seismic response model that will provide the basis for defining the seismic design criteria for the WTP facilities.

This report begins with a discussion of the foster care system and the Social Security benefits available to eligible children, including those in foster care. It then describes the role of representative payees and their responsibilities. The report provides data on the use of Social Security benefits to reimburse states for child welfare, and includes a discussion of the Keffeler decision. Finally, the report concludes with proposals supported by some advocates to change the current practice of using SSI and other Social Security benefits to fund foster care, as well as with a discussion of state initiatives to screen all foster children for Social Security and to pass along some benefits to eligible children.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO is required to annually audit the financial statements of the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) and FSLIC Resolution Fund (FRF), which are administered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). GAO is responsible for obtaining reasonable assurance about whether FDIC's financial statements for DIF and FRF are presented fairly in all material respects, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, and whether FDIC maintained effective internal control over financial reporting and compliance. Also, GAO is responsible for testing FDIC's compliance with selected laws and regulations. Created in 1933 to insure bank deposits and promote sound banking practices, FDIC plays an important role in maintaining public confidence in the nation's financial system. In 1989, legislation to reform the federal deposit insurance system created three funds to be administered by FDIC: the Bank Insurance Fund (BIF) and the Savings Association Insurance Fund (SAIF), which protect bank and savings deposits, and FRF, which was created to close out the business of the former Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation. In accordance with subsequent legislation passed in 2006, FDIC merged the BIF and SAIF into the newly established DIF …

THIS manual will describe the functions and capabilities that are available from the RadAssessor database and will demonstrate how to retrieve and view its information. You’ll learn how to start the database application, how to log in, how to use the common commands, and how to use the online help if you have a question or need extra guidance. RadAssessor can be viewed from any standard web browser. Therefore, you will not need to install any special software before using RadAssessor.

In this work the S-wave component of the K{pi} amplitude from decay of D{sup +} {yields} K{sup -}{pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup +} it is directly measured. The data come from the Fermilab E831/FOCUS experiment. The amplitude measurement is made using the partial wave analysis without any preliminary assumption about the nature of the S-wave component of the K{pi} system. The phase and magnitude of the S-wave amplitude are generic functions to be determined directly through the Dalitz plot fit. For the sake of comparison, our results the same decay is analyzed using the isobar model, which is the standard way to analyze the Dalitz plot. The data fit obtained with the partial wave analysis is better than the data fit from the isobar model. The phase variation with respect to the invariant mass K{pi} is compared with the measurement of the phase {delta}{sub I=1/2}{sup 0} (m{sub K{pi}}) from K{pi} {yields} K{pi} scattering. The difference between both analysis is discussed considering: a difference in the composition of the isospin components I = 1/2 and I = 3/2 of the K{pi} system between D{sup +} decay and the K{pi} {yields} K{pi} scattering; and the final state interaction involving all particles from decay.

Biweekly, comprehensive compilation of decisions, reports, public notices, and other documents of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

Summary of contracts reported to the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) by Texas state agencies and institutions of higher learning during fiscal year 2006. Reports include "information regarding professional services, construction or consulting contract that totals $14,000 or more, or a major information systems contract that totals $100,000 or more. The requirement also covers any amendments, modifications, renewals, and extensions for specified contracts" (p. v).