This report describes a project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and implemented by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), from 2000 to 2007 to improve the performance of reflector type (R-lamp) compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and increase their availability throughout the United States by means of a technology development and procurement strategy. In 2000, at the request of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Emerging Technologies Program and its predecessors, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory undertook a technology procurement seeking R-CFLs that were specifically designed for use in ICAT recessed can fixtures and that met other minimum performance criteria including minimum light output and size restrictions (to ensure they fit in standard residential recessed cans). The technology procurement included two phases. In Phase I, requests for proposals (RFPs) were issued in October 2002 and five manufacturers responded with 12 lamp models. Eight of these models met the minimum requirements and passed the 6-hour short-term test in a simulated ICAT environment. These eight models were subjected to long-term tests of 6,000 or more hours in a simulated ICAT environment. Three of these models passed the short- and long-term tests and were promoted through the program website (www.pnl.gov/rlamps), press releases, …

Concern has existed for years that the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), a complex of nuclear weapons research and support facilities, has released polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to the environment that may have reached adjacent bodies of water through canyons that connect them. In 1997, LANL's Ecology Group began measuring PCBs in fish in the Rio Grande upstream and downstream of ephemeral streams that cross LANL and later began sampling fish in Abiquiu and Cochiti reservoirs, which are situated on the Rio Chama and Rio Grande upstream and downstream of LANL, respectively. In 2002, we electroshocked channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) and common carp (Carpiodes carpio) in the Rio Grande upstream and downstream of LANL and analyzed fillets for PCB congeners. We also sampled soils along the Rio Chama and Rio Grande drainages to discern whether a background atmospheric source of PCBs that could impact surface water adjacent to LANL might exist. Trace concentrations of PCBs measured in soil (mean = 4.7E-05 {micro}g/g-ww) appear to be from background global atmospheric sources, at least in part, because the bimodal distribution of low-chlorinated PCB congeners and mid-chlorinated PCB congeners in the soil samples is interpreted to be typical of volatilized PCB congeners that are …

To better understand the role of groundwater-level changes on rock-slope deformation and damage, a carbonate rock slope (30 m x 30 m x 15 m) was extensively instrumented for mesoscale hydraulic and mechanical measurements during water-level changes. The slope is naturally drained by a spring that can be artificially closed or opened by a water gate. In this study, a 2-hour slope-dewatering experiment was analyzed. Changes in fluid pressure and deformation were simultaneously monitored, both at discontinuities and in the intact rock, using short-base extensometers and pressure gauges as well as tiltmeters fixed at the slope surface. Field data were analyzed with different coupled hydromechanical (HM) codes (ROCMAS, FLAC{sup 3D}, and UDEC). Field data indicate that in the faults, a 40 kPa pressure fall occurs in 2 minutes and induces a 0.5 to 31 x 10{sup -6} m normal closure. Pressure fall is slower in the bedding-planes, lasting 120 minutes with no normal deformation. No pressure change or deformation is observed in the intact rock. The slope surface displays a complex tilt towards the interior of the slope, with magnitudes ranging from 0.6 to 15 x 10{sup -6} rad. Close agreement with model for both slope surface and internal measurements …

The radioactive startup of two new SRS processing facilities, the Actinide Removal Process (ARP) and the Modular Caustic-Side-Solvent-Extraction Unit (MCU) will add two new waste streams to the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF). The ARP will remove actinides from the 5.6 M salt solution resulting in a sludge-like product that is roughly half monosodium titanate (MST) insoluble solids and half sludge insoluble solids. The ARP product will be added to the Sludge Receipt and Adjustment Tank (SRAT) at boiling and dewatered prior to pulling a SRAT receipt sample. The cesium rich MCU stream will be added to the SRAT at boiling after both formic and nitric acid have been added and the SRAT contents concentrated to the appropriate endpoint. A concern was raised by an external hydrogen review panel that the actinide loaded MST could act as a catalyst for hydrogen generation (Mar 15, 2007 report, Recommendation 9). Hydrogen generation, and it's potential to form a flammable mixture in the off-gas, under SRAT and Slurry Mix Evaporator (SME) processing conditions has been a concern since the discovery that noble metals catalyze the decomposition of formic acid. Radiolysis of water also generates hydrogen, but the radiolysis rate is orders of magnitude …

We describe a combined ambient pressure photoelectron spectroscopy/droplet train apparatus for investigating the nature and heterogeneous chemistry of liquid/vapor interfaces. In this instrument a liquid droplet train with typical droplet diameters from 50...150 {micro}m is produced by a vibrating orifice aerosol generator (VOAG). The droplets are irradiated by soft X-rays (100...1500 eV) in front of the entrance aperture of a differentially pumped electrostatic lens system that transfers the emitted electrons into a conventional hemispherical electron analyzer. The photoemission experiments are performed at background pressures of up to several Torr, which allows the study of environmentally important liquid/vapor interfaces, in particular aqueous solutions, under equilibrium conditions. The exposure time of the droplet surface to the background gases prior to the XPS measurement can be varied, which will allow future kinetic measurements of gas uptake on liquid surfaces. As an example, a measurement of the surface composition of a {chi} = 0.21 aqueous methanol solution is presented. The concentration of methanol at the vapor/liquid interface is enhanced by a factor of about 3 over the bulk value, while the expected bulk value is recovered at depths larger than about 1.5 nm.

Scientific computations and collaborations increasingly rely on the network to provide high-speed data transfer, dissemination of results, access to instruments, support for computational steering, etc. The Energy Sciences Network is establishing a science data network to provide user driven bandwidth allocation. In a shared network environment, some reservations may not be granted due to the lack of available bandwidth on any single path. In many cases, the available bandwidth across multiple paths would be sufficient to grant the reservation. In this paper we investigate how to utilize the available bandwidth across multiple paths in the case of bulk data transfer.

A report which provides an assessment of the effects of climate change on U.S. agriculture, land resources, water resources, and biodiversity.

The objectives of the project were (i) to develop a combination iron oxide production and carbon sequestration plant that will use serpentine ores as the source of iron and the extraction tailings as the storage element for CO2 disposal, (ii) the identification of locations within the US where this process may be implemented and (iii) to create a standardized process to characterize the serpentine deposits in terms of carbon disposal capacity and iron and steel production capacity. The first objective was not accomplished. The research failed to identify a technique to accelerate direct aqueous mineral carbonation, the limiting step in the integration of steel production and carbon sequestration. Objective (ii) was accomplished. It was found that the sequestration potential of the ultramafic resource surfaces in the US and Puerto Rico is approximately 4,647 Gt of CO2 or over 500 years of current US production of CO2. Lastly, a computer model was developed to investigate the impact of various system parameters (recoveries and efficiencies and capacities of different system components) and serpentinite quality as well as incorporation of CO2 from sources outside the steel industry.

The Waste Acceptance Product Specifications (WAPS)1 1.2 require that 'The Producer shall report the inventory of radionuclides (in Curies) that have half-lives longer than 10 years and that are, or will be, present in concentrations greater than 0.05 percent of the total inventory for each waste type indexed to the years 2015 and 3115'. As part of the strategy to meet WAPS 1.2, the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) will report for each waste type, all radionuclides (with half-lives greater than 10 years) that have concentrations greater than 0.01 percent of the total inventory from time of production through the 1100 year period from 2015 through 3115. The initial listing of radionuclides to be included is based on the design-basis glass as identified in the Waste Form Compliance Plan (WCP)2 and Waste Form Qualification Report (WQR)3. However, it is required that this list be expanded if other radionuclides with half-lives greater than 10 years are identified that may meet the greater than 0.01% criterion for Curie content. Specification 1.6 of the WAPS, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguards Reporting for High Level Waste (HLW), requires that the ratio by weights of the following uranium and plutonium isotopes be reported: U-233, …

The National Synchrotron Light Source is one of the world's most productive and cost-effective user facilities. With 2,219 individual users, about 100 more than last year, and a record-high 985 publications, 2007 was no exception. In addition to producing an impressive array of science highlights, which are included in this Activity Report, many NSLS users were honored this year for their scientific accomplishments. Throughout the year, there were major strides in the development of the scientific programs by strengthening strategic partnerships with major research resources and with the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN). Of particular note, the Consortium for Materials Properties Research in Earth Sciences (COMPRES) received renewed funding for the next five years through the National Science Foundation. COMPRES operates four high-pressure NSLS beamlines--X17B2, X17B3, X17C, and U2A--and serves the earth science community as well as the rapidly expanding segment of researchers using high-pressure techniques in materials, chemical, and energy-related sciences. A joint appointment was made between the NSLS and Stony Brook University to further enhance interactions with COMPRES. There was major progress on two key beamline projects outlined in the Five-Year Strategic Plan: the X25 beamline upgrade and the construction of the X9 small angle scattering (SAXS) beamline. …

This report provides research highlights from the Advanced Photon Source (APS). Although these highlights represent less than 10% of the published work from the APS in 2007, they give a flavor of the diversity and impact of user research at the facility. In the strategic planning the aim is to foster the growth of existing user communities and foresee new areas of research. This coming year finds the APS engaged in putting together, along with the users, a blueprint for the next five years, and making the case for a set of prioritized investments in beamlines, the accelerator, and infrastructure, each of which will be transformational in terms of scientific impact. As this is written plans are being formulated for an important user workshop on October 20-21, 2008, to prioritize strategic plans. The fruit from past investments can be seen in this report. Examples include the creation of a dedicated beamline for x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy at Sector 8, the evolution of dedicated high-energy x-ray scattering beamlines at sectors 1 and 11, a dedicated imaging beamline at Sector 32, and new beamlines for inelastic scattering and powder diffraction. A single-pulse facility has been built in collaboration with Sector 14 (BioCARS) …

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