This two-year study evaluated advanced multispectral digital imagery applications for assessment of forest carbon stock change. A series of bench and field studies in North Carolina and Ohio tested aerial assessments of forest change between two time periods using two software packages (ERDAS and TERREST) for Digital Elevation Model (DEM) creation, automated classification software (eCognition) for canopy segmentation and a multiple ranging laser designed to improve quality of elevation data. Results of the DEM software comparison showed that while TERREST has the potential to produce much higher resolution DEM than ERDAS, it is unable to resolve crucial canopy features adequately. Lab tests demonstrated that additional laser data improves image registration and Z-axis DEM quality. Data collected in the field revealed difficult challenges in correctly modeling the location of laser strike and subsequently determining elevations in both software packages. Automated software segmentation of tree canopies provided stem diameter and biomass carbon estimates that were within 3% of comparable ground based estimates in the Ohio site and produced similar biomass estimates for a limited number of plots in the Duke forest. Tree height change between time periods and canopy segmentation from multispectral imagery allowed calculation of forest carbon stock change at costs …

This report describes the cultural resource monitoring activities of the Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL) Cultural Resource Management (CRM) Office during fiscal year 2007 (FY 2007). In FY 2007, 40 localities were revisited: two locations of heightened Shoshone-Bannock tribal sensitivity, four caves, three butte/craters, twelve prehistoric archaeological sites, two historic stage stations, nine historic homesteads, a portion of Goodale’s Cutoff of the Oregon Trail, a portion of historic trail T-16, one World War II dump, four buildings from the World War II period, and Experimental Breeder Reactor –I, a modern scientific facility and National Historic Landmark. Several INL project areas were also monitored in FY 2007. This included direct observation of ground disturbing activities within the Power Burst Facility (PBF, now designated as the Critical Infrastructure Test Range Complex – CITRC), backfilling operations associated with backhoe trenches along the Big Lost River, and geophysical surveys designed to pinpoint subsurface unexploded ordnance in the vicinity of the Naval Ordnance Disposal Area. Surprise checks were also made to three ongoing INL projects to ensure compliance with INL CRM Office recommendations to avoid impacts to cultural resources. Although some impacts were documented, no significant adverse effects that would threaten the National Register eligibility of …

The applicant proposes to design and synthesize a series of fluorine-18-labeled radiopharmaceuticals to be used as amyloid imaging agents for positron emission tomography (PET). The investigators will conduct comprehensive iterative in vitro and in vivo studies based upon well defined acceptance criteria in order to identify lead agents suitable for human studies. The long term goals are to apply the selected radiotracers as potential diagnostic agents of Alzheimer's disease (AD), as surrogate markers of amyloid in the brain to determine the efficacy of anti-amyloid therapeutic drugs, and as tools to help address basic scientific questions regarding the progression of the neuropathology of AD, such as testing the "amyloid cascade hypothesis" which holds that amyloid accumulation is the primary cause of AD.

This paper addresses deficiencies identified with the. Performance Assessment for Greater Confinement Disposal (GCD) Boreholes compliance with the Title 40 Code of federal Regulations (CFR) Part 191.14, "Assurance Requirements" (CFR, 1985). The Transuransic Waste Disposal Federal Review Group (TFRG). and U.S Department of Energy Headquarters , need to concur that the assurance requirements have been met at the time of closure of the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site.

The following is an addendum to the 'Closure Report for Corrective Action Unit 92: Area 6 Decontamination Pond, Nevada Test Site, Nevada', DOE/NV/11718--306, dated April 1999. This addendum includes Use Restriction Information forms and survey maps for CAS 06-04-01, Decon Pad Oil/Water Separator, and CAS 06-05-02, Decontamination Pond (RCRA), that were inadvertently left out of the Closure Report when it was published as a final document.

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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. …

Sandia networks consist of nearly nine hundred routers and switches and nearly one million lines of command code, and each line ideally contributes to the capabilities of the network to convey information from one location to another. Sandia's Cyber Infrastructure Development and Deployment organizations recognize that it is therefore essential to standardize network configurations and enforce conformance to industry best business practices and documented internal configuration standards to provide a network that is agile, adaptable, and highly available. This is especially important in times of constrained budgets as members of the workforce are called upon to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and customer focus. Best business practices recommend using the standardized configurations in the enforcement process so that when root cause analysis results in recommended configuration changes, subsequent configuration auditing will improve compliance to the standard. Ultimately, this minimizes mean time to repair, maintains the network security posture, improves network availability, and enables efficient transition to new technologies. Network standardization brings improved network agility, which in turn enables enterprise agility, because the network touches all facets of corporate business. Improved network agility improves the business enterprise as a whole.

Historical information about tritium released routinely and accidentally from all Livermore Site Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) facilities and from the Tritium Research Laboratory of Sandia National Laboratories/California (SNL/CA) between 1953 through 2005 has been compiled and summarized in this report. Facility-specific data (annual release rates and dilution factors) have been derived from the historical information. These facility-specific data are needed to calculate annual doses to a hypothetical site-wide maximally exposed individual from routine releases of tritiated water (HTO) and tritiated hydrogen gas (HT) to the atmosphere. Doses can also be calculated from observed air tritium concentrations, and mean annual values for one air tritium sampling location are presented. Other historical data relevant to a dose reconstruction (e.g., meteorological data, including absolute humidity and rainfall) are also presented. Sources of information are carefully referenced, and assumptions are documented. Uncertainty distributions have been estimated for all parameter values. Confidence in data post-1974 is high.

We propose to develop a high-energy heavy-ion experimental database and make it accessible to the scientific community through an on-line interface. The database will be searchable and cross-indexed with relevant publications, including published detector descriptions. It should eventually contain all published data from older heavy-ion programs such as the Bevalac, AGS, SPS and FNAL fixed-target programs, as well as published data from current programs at RHIC and new facilities at GSI (FAIR), KEK/Tsukuba and the LHC collider. This data includes all proton-proton, proton-nucleus to nucleus-nucleus collisions as well as other relevant systems and all measured observables. Such a database would have tremendous scientific payoff as it makes systematic studies easier and allows simpler benchmarking of theoretical models to a broad range of experiments. To enhance the utility of the database, we propose periodic data evaluations and topical reviews. These reviews would provide an alternative and impartial mechanism to resolve discrepancies between published data from rival experiments and between theory and experiment. Since this database will be a community resource, it requires the high-energy nuclear physics community's financial and manpower support.

Open Access to particle physics literature does not sound particularly new or exciting, since particle physicists have been reading preprints for decades, and arXiv.org for 15 years. However new movements in Europe are attempting to make the peer-reviewed literature of the field fully Open Access. This is not a new movement, nor is it restricted to this field. However, given the field's history of preprints and eprints, it is well suited to a change to a fully Open Access publishing model. Data shows that 90% of HEP published literature is freely available online, meaning that HEP libraries have little need for expensive journal subscriptions. As libraries begin to cancel journal subscriptions, the peer review process will lose its primary source of funding. Open Access publishing models can potentially address this issue. European physicists and funding agencies are proposing a consortium, SCOAP3, that might solve many of the objections to traditional Open Access publishing models in Particle Physics. These proposed changes should be viewed as a starting point for a serious look at the field's publication model, and are at least worthy of attention, if not adoption.

This month's issue has the following articles: (1) Partnering to Enhance Americans Health--Commentary by Tomas Diaz de la Rubia; (2) Advancing the Frontiers in Cancer Research--Researchers at the University of California Davis Cancer Center and Lawrence Livermore are teaming up to fight cancer; (3) On the Leading Edge of Atmospheric Predictions--Continual research and development at the National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center help mitigate the consequences of toxic airborne hazards; (4) Climate and Agriculture: Change Begets Change--A Livermore researcher is using computer models to explore how a warmer climate may affect crop yields in California; (5) New Routes to High Temperatures and Pressures--With functionally graded density impactors composed of thin metal and polyethylene films, researchers can explore new areas of experimental physics; and (6) From Sound Waves to Stars: Teller's Contributions to Shock Physics--Edward Teller's interest in shock physics led to significant developments in both basic and applied science.

We describe the development of an on-line high-energy heavy-ion experimental database. When completed, the database will be searchable and cross-indexed with relevant publications, including published detector descriptions. While this effort is relatively new, it will eventually contain all published data from older heavy-ion programs as well as published data from current and future facilities. These data include all measured observables in proton-proton, proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions. Once in general use, this database will have tremendous scientific payoff as it makes systematic studies easier and allows simpler benchmarking of theoretical models for a broad range of experiments. Furthermore, there is a growing need for compilations of high-energy nuclear data for applications including stockpile stewardship, technology development for inertial confinement fusion, target and source development for upcoming facilities such as the International Linear Collider and homeland security. This database is part of a larger proposal that includes the production of periodic data evaluations and topical reviews. These reviews would provide an alternative and impartial mechanism to resolve discrepancies between published data from rival experiments and between theory and experiment. Since this database will be a community resource, it requires the high-energy nuclear physics community's financial and manpower support. This project serves as …

This Streamlined Approach for Environmental Restoration (SAFER) Plan addresses the actions needed to achieve closure for Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 117, Pluto Disassembly Facility, identified in the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order. Corrective Action Unit 117 consists of one Corrective Action Site (CAS), CAS 26-41-01, located in Area 26 of the Nevada Test Site. This plan provides the methodology for field activities needed to gather the necessary information for closing CAS 26-41-01. There is sufficient information and process knowledge from historical documentation and investigations of similar sites regarding the expected nature and extent of potential contaminants to recommend closure of CAU 117 using the SAFER process. Additional information will be obtained by conducting a field investigation before finalizing the appropriate corrective action for this CAS. The results of the field investigation will support a defensible recommendation that no further corrective action is necessary following SAFER activities. This will be presented in a Closure Report that will be prepared and submitted to the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) for review and approval. The site will be investigated to meet the data quality objectives (DQOs) developed on June 27, 2007, by representatives of NDEP; U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National …

Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 516 is located in Areas 3, 6, and 22 of the Nevada Test Site. CAU 516 is listed in the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order of 1996 as Septic Systems and Discharge Points, and is comprised of six Corrective Action Sites (CASs): {sm_bullet} CAS 03-59-01, Bldg 3C-36 Septic System {sm_bullet} CAS 03-59-02, Bldg 3C-45 Septic System {sm_bullet} CAS 06-51-01, Sump and Piping {sm_bullet} CAS 06-51-02, Clay Pipe and Debris {sm_bullet} CAS 06-51-03, Clean Out Box and Piping {sm_bullet} CAS 22-19-04, Vehicle Decontamination Area The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP)-approved corrective action alternative for CASs 06-51-02 and 22-19-04 is no further action. The NDEP-approved corrective action alternative for CASs 03-59-01, 03-59-02, 06-51-01, and 06-51-03 is clean closure. Closure activities included removing and disposing of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH)-impacted septic tank contents, septic tanks, distribution/clean out boxes, and piping. CAU 516 was closed in accordance with the NDEP-approved CAU 516 Corrective Action Plan (CAP). The closure activities specified in the CAP were based on the recommendations presented in the CAU 516 Corrective Action Decision Document (U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office, 2004). This Closure Report documents CAU 516 closure activities. During …

In February 1997, the U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office issued the Mitigation Action Plan which addressed potential impacts described in the “Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Nevada Test Site and Off-Site Locations in the State of Nevada” (DOE/EIS 0243). The U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office committed to several actions, including the preparation of an annual report, which summarizes waste shipments to and from the Nevada Test Site (NTS) Radioactive Waste Management Sites (RWMS) at Area 3 and Area 5. This document satisfies requirements with regard to low-level radioactive waste (LLW) and mixed low-level radioactive waste (MLLW) transported to or from the NTS during fiscal year (FY) 2006.

The Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP) is a single, highly integrated technical program for maintaining the surety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile. The SSP uses past nuclear test data along with current and future non-nuclear test data, computational modeling and simulation, and experimental facilities to advance understanding of nuclear weapons. It includes stockpile surveillance, experimental research, development and engineering programs, and an appropriately scaled production capability to support stockpile requirements. This integrated national program requires the continued use of current facilities and programs along with new experimental facilities and computational enhancements to support these programs. The Advanced Simulation and Computing Program (ASC)1 is a cornerstone of the SSP, providing simulation capabilities and computational resources to support the annual stockpile assessment and certification, to study advanced nuclear-weapons design and manufacturing processes, to analyze accident scenarios and weapons aging, and to provide the tools to enable Stockpile Life Extension Programs (SLEPs) and the resolution of Significant Finding Investigations (SFIs). This requires a balanced resource, including technical staff, hardware, simulation software, and computer science solutions. In its first decade, the ASC strategy focused on demonstrating simulation capabilities of unprecedented scale in three spatial dimensions. In its second decade, ASC is focused on …

In February 1997, the U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office (now known as the Nevada Site Office) issued the Mitigation Action Plan which addressed potential impacts described in the “Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Nevada Test Site and Off-Site Locations in the State of Nevada” (DOE/EIS 0243). The U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office committed to several actions, including the preparation of an annual report, which summarizes waste shipments to and from the Nevada Test Site Radioactive Waste Management Site at Area 5. No shipments were disposed of at Area 3 in fiscal year 2007. This document satisfies requirements regarding low-level radioactive waste and mixed low-level radioactive waste transported to or from the NTS during fiscal year 2007.

Organizations with increasingly diverse workforces and customer populations face challenges in reaping diversity's benefits while managing its potentially disruptive effects. This article defines workplace diversity and identifies best practices supporting planned and positive diversity management. It explores how academic libraries can apply diversity management best practices and provides a reading list for leaders and human resource managers wishing to optimize their organization's approach to diversity.

Evaluation of the PIE results of the monolithic plates that were irradiated as part of the RERTR-6 experiment has continued. Specifically, comparisons have been made between the microstructures of the fuel plates before and after irradiation. Using the results from the rigorous characterization that was performed on the as-fabricated plates using scanning electron microscopy, it is possible to improve understanding of how monolithic fuel plates perform when they are irradiated. This paper will discuss the changes that occur, if any, in the microstructure of a monolithic fuel plate that is fabricated using techniques like what were employed for fabricating RERTR-6 fuel plates. In addition, the performance of fuel/cladding interaction layers that were present in the fuel plates due to the fabrication process will be discussed, particularly in the context of swelling of these layers and how these layers exhibit different behaviors depending on whether the fuel alloy in the fuel plate is U-7Mo or U-10Mo.

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'Designing in Safety' is a desired part of the development of any new potentially hazardous system, process, or facility. It is a required part of nuclear safety activities as specified in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Order 420.B, Facility Safety. This order addresses the design of nuclear related facilities developed under federal regulation IOCFR830, Nuclear Safety Management. IOCFR830 requires that safety basis documentation be provided to identify how nuclear safety is being adequately addressed as a condition for system operation (e.g., the safety basis). To support the development of the safety basis, a safety analysis is performed. Although the concept of developing a design that addresses 'Safety is simple, the execution can be complex and challenging. This paper addresses those complexities and challenges for the design activity of a system to treat sludge, a corrosion product of spent nuclear fuel, at DOE's Hanford Site in Washington State. The system being developed is referred to as the Sludge Treatment Project (STP). This paper describes the portion of the safety analysis that addresses the selection of design basis events using the experience gained from the STP and the development of design requirements for safety features associated with those events. Specifically, the …

Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 90, Area 2 Bitcutter Containment, is identified in the ''Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order'' of 1996. The post-closure requirements for CAU 90 are described in Section VII.B.8.b of the Nevada Test Site ''Resource Conservation and Recovery Act'' Permit for a Hazardous Waste Management Facility Number NEV HW0021, dated November 2005. Post-closure activities consist of the following: Semiannual inspections of the site using inspection checklists; Photographic documentation; Field note documentation; and Preparation and submittal of an annual Post-Closure Inspection Report. This annual report covers the period of July 2006 to June 2007 and consists of a summary of the results of the inspections, copies of the inspection checklists and field notes, maintenance and repair records (if any), photographs, and conclusions and recommendations. The inspection checklists are provided in Appendix A, a copy of the field notes is provided in Appendix B, and copies of photographs taken during the inspections are provided in Appendix C.