The amount, spatial distribution, and velocity of water percolating through the unsaturated zone (UZ) at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, are important issues for assessing the performance of the proposed deep geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To help characterize the nature and history of UZ flow, isotopic studies were initiated in 1995, using rock samples collected from the Miocene ash-flow tuffs in the Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF), an 8-km-long tunnel constructed along the north-south extent of the repository block, and the Enhanced Characterization of the Repository Block (ECRB) Cross Drift, a 2.5-km-long tunnel constructed across the repository block (Figure 1-1, Sources: Modified from DOE 2002 [Figure 1-14] and USBR 1996). Scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) analyzed for chlorine-36 ({sup 36}Cl) in salts leached from whole-rock samples collected from tunnel walls and subsurface boreholes, and scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) analyzed for isotopes of oxygen, carbon, uranium, lead, thorium, and strontium in secondary minerals collected from subsurface fractures and lithophysal cavities. Elevated values for ratios of {sup 36}Cl to total chloride ({sup 36}Cl/CL) at the level of the proposed repository indicated that small amounts of water carrying bomb-pulse {sup 36}Cl (i.e., {sup 36}Cl/Cl ratios …

This Data Qualification Report uses corroborating data methods according to Attachment 2 of AP-SIII.2Q, Rev. 00, ICN 3, ''Qualification of Unqualified Data and the Documentation of Rationale for Accepted Data'', to qualify flowing interval data from a borehole spinner log. This report was prepared in accordance with Data Qualification Plan DQP-NBS-GS-000005, Rev. 00. These data were collected under the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP) Quality Assurance Requirements and Description (QARD) document but are unqualified because unqualified software was used in data reduction. The unqualified flow log was run in Borehole UE-25c No.3 in 1995. Corroborative evidence is available from independent flow logs run in the same borehole in 1984 by an earlier investigator. This corroborative support is unusually strong because it represents a second measurement of the same data. The corroborating data agree well with the data being qualified and support the adequacy of the data. The unqualified software, the TERRASTATION code by Terrasciences Inc., is widely used and accepted by the technical community for non-project applications. The widespread acceptance of the software further supports the adequacy of the data. In view of the evidence provided by the corroborating data and general acceptance of the software, the Data Qualification …

As an integral part of the Spent Fuel Test-Climax 5150 ft (1570 m) of granite core was obtained. This core was diamond drilled in various sizes, mainly 38-mm and 76-mm diameters. The core was teken with single tube core barrels and was unoriented. Techniques used to drill and log this core are discussed, as well as techniques to orient the core. Of the 5150 ft (1570 m) of core more than 3645 ft (1111 m) was retained and logged in some detail. As a result of the core logging, geologic discontinuities were identified, joint frequency and spacing characterized. Discontinuities identified included several joint sets, shear zones and faults. Correlations based on coring along were generally found to be impossible, even for the more prominent features. The only feature properly correlated from the exploratory drilling was the fault system at the end of the facility, but it was not identified from the exploratory core as a fault. Identification of discontinuities was later helped by underground mapping that identified several different joint sets with different characteristics. It was found that joint frequency varied from 0.3 to 1.1 joint per foot of core for open fractures and from 0.3 to 3.3/ft for closed …

Weekly newspaper from Rusk, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with extensive advertising.

Semiweekly student newspaper from the North Texas State College in Denton, Texas that includes local, state, and campus news along with advertising.

Semiweekly student newspaper from the North Texas State College in Denton, Texas that includes local, state, and campus news along with advertising.

This plan replaces an earlier plan for the Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations (NNWSI) Project. It includes activities for all repository projects in the Office of Geologic Repositories: NNWSI, the Basalt Waste Isolation Project, the Salt Repository Project, and the Crystalline Project. Each of these projects is part of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) Program. The scope of work for fiscal years 1986 to 1992 includes the work required to upgrade the geochemical codes and supporting data bases, to permit modeling of chemical processes associated with nuclear waste repositories in four geological environments: tuff, salt, basalt, and crystalline rock. Planned tasks include theoretical studies and code development to take account of the effects of precipitation kinetics, sorption, solid solutions, glass/water interactions, variable gas fugacities, and simple mass transport. Recent progress has been made in the ability of the codes to account for precipitation kinetics, highly-saline solutions, and solid solutions. Transition state theory was re-examined resulting in new insights that will provide the foundation for further improvements necessary to model chemical kinetics. Currently there is an increased effort that is concentrated on the supporting data base. For aqueous species and solid phases, specific to nuclear waste, requisite thermodynamic …

Weekly newspaper from San Antonio, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Abilene, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from San Antonio, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

This analysis report is one of the technical reports containing documentation of the Environmental Radiation Model for Yucca Mountain, Nevada (ERMYN), a biosphere model supporting the Total System Performance Assessment (TSPA) for the license application (LA) for the Yucca Mountain repository. This analysis report describes the development of biosphere dose conversion factors (BDCFs) for the groundwater exposure scenario, and the development of conversion factors for assessing compliance with the groundwater protection standards. A graphical representation of the documentation hierarchy for the ERMYN is presented in Figure 1-1. This figure shows the interrelationships among the products (i.e., analysis and model reports) developed for biosphere modeling and provides an understanding of how this analysis report contributes to biosphere modeling. This report is one of two reports that develop BDCFs, which are input parameters for the TSPA-LA model. The ''Biosphere Model Report'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 169460]) describes in detail the ERMYN conceptual model and mathematical model. The input parameter reports, shown to the right of the ''Biosphere Model Report'' in Figure 1-1, contain detailed description of the model input parameters, their development, and the relationship between the parameters and specific features events and processes (FEPs). This report describes biosphere model calculations and their …

The Yucca Flat-Climax Mine Corrective Action Unit (CAU) on the Nevada Test Site comprises 747 underground nuclear detonations, all but three of which were conducted in alluvial, volcanic, and carbonate rocks in Yucca Flat. The remaining three tests were conducted in the very different hydrogeologic setting of the Climax Mine granite stock located in Area 15 at the northern end of Yucca Flat. As part of the Corrective Action Investigation (CAI) for the Yucca Flat-Climax Mine CAU, models of groundwater flow and radionuclide transport will be developed for Yucca Flat. However, two aspects of these CAU-scale models require focused modeling at the northern end of Yucca Flat beyond the capability of these large models. First, boundary conditions and boundary flows along the northern reaches of the Yucca Flat-Climax Mine CAU require evaluation to a higher level of detail than the CAU-scale Yucca Flat model can efficiently provide. Second, radionuclide fluxes from the Climax tests require analysis of flow and transport in fractured granite, a unique hydrologic environment as compared to Yucca Flat proper. This report describes the Climax Mine sub-CAU modeling studies conducted to address these issues, with the results providing a direct feed into the CAI for the Yucca …

This Corrective Action Investigation Plan (CAIP) contains the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Sites Office's (NNSA/NSO's) approach to collect the data necessary to evaluate corrective action alternatives appropriate for the closure of Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 516, Septic Systems and Discharge Points, Nevada Test Site (NTS), Nevada, under the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order. CAU 516 consists of six Corrective Action Sites: 03-59-01, Building 3C-36 Septic System; 03-59-02, Building 3C-45 Septic System; 06-51-01, Sump Piping, 06-51-02, Clay Pipe and Debris; 06-51-03, Clean Out Box and Piping; and 22-19-04, Vehicle Decontamination Area. Located in Areas 3, 6, and 22 of the NTS, CAU 516 is being investigated because disposed waste may be present without appropriate controls, and hazardous and/or radioactive constituents may be present or migrating at concentrations and locations that could potentially pose a threat to human health and the environment. Existing information and process knowledge on the expected nature and extent of contamination of CAU 516 are insufficient to select preferred corrective action alternatives; therefore, additional information will be obtained by conducting a corrective action investigation. The results of this field investigation will support a defensible evaluation of corrective action alternatives in the …

There are more than 250 forms of US Department of Energy (DOE)-owned spent nuclear fuel (SNF). Due to the variety of the spent nuclear fuel, the National Spent Nuclear Fuel Program has designated nine representative fuel groups for disposal criticality analyses based on fuel matrix, primary fissile isotope, and enrichment. The Fort Saint Vrain reactor (FSVR) SNF has been designated as the representative fuel for the Th/U carbide fuel group. The FSVR SNF consists of small particles (spheres of the order of 0.5-mm diameter) of thorium carbide or thorium and high-enriched uranium carbide mixture, coated with multiple, thin layers of pyrolytic carbon and silicon carbide, which serve as miniature pressure vessels to contain fission products and the U/Th carbide matrix. The coated particles are bound in a carbonized matrix, which forms fuel rods or ''compacts'' that are loaded into large hexagonal graphite prisms. The graphite prisms (or blocks) are the physical forms that are handled in reactor loading and unloading operations, and which will be loaded into the DOE standardized SNF canisters. The results of the analyses performed will be used to develop waste acceptance criteria. The items that are important to criticality control are identified based on the analysis …

This plan contains the US Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office's approach to collect the data necessary to evaluate correction action alternatives appropriate for the closure of Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 143 under the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order. Corrective Action Unit 143 consists of two waste dumps used for the disposal of solid radioactive wastes. Contaminated Waste Dump No.1 (CAS 25-23-09) was used for wastes generated at the Reactor Maintenance Assembly and Disassembly (R-MAD) Facility and Contaminated Waste Dump No.2 (CAS 25-23-03) was used for wastes generated at the Engine Maintenance Assembly and Disassembly (E-MAD) Facility. Both the R-MAD and E-MAD facilities are located in Area 25 of the Nevada Test Site. Based on site history, radionuclides are the primary constituent of concern and are located in these disposal areas; vertical and lateral migration of the radionuclides is unlikely; and if migration has occurred it will be limited to the soil beneath the Contaminated Waste Disposal Dumps. The proposed investigation will involve a combination of Cone Penetrometer Testing within and near the solid waste disposal dumps, field analysis for radionuclides and volatile organic compounds, as well as sample collection from the waste dumps and surrounding areas for off-site …

Semiweekly student newspaper from the North Texas State College in Denton, Texas that includes local, state, and campus news along with advertising.

Weekly student newspaper from the North Texas State College in Denton, Texas that includes local, state, and campus news along with advertising.

This report evaluates the scope and effectiveness of the public participation pr ograms, including Site-Specific Advisory Boards (SSABs), at seven U.S. Departmen t of Energy (DOE) sites: Fernald, Hanford, Los Alamos, Nevada, Oak Ridge, Paduc ah, and Savannah River. The primary purpose of the study is to assist both DOE Field and Headquarters managers in reviewing and understanding lessons learned o ver the past decade concerning public participation programs administered by the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM). The evaluation provides a snapsh ot of selected EM public participation programs at a particular point of time. It is based on interviews and site visits conducted between January and June 200 2- a time of change within the program. The study focuses on public participati on programs that incorporate a variety of activities and address a wide range of individual site activities and decisions. It uses the Acceptability Diamond as an evaluative framework to answer questions about stakeholders' experiences wit h, and assessment of, DOE-EM's public participation programs. The Acceptability Diamond, which was developed by researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in previous research, identifies four program dimensions - substanti ve issues, decision-making process, relationships, and accountability - that det …

Integrated energy, environment and economics modeling suggests that worldwide electrical energy use will increase from 2.4 TWe today to ~12 TWe in 2100. It will be challenging to provide 40% of this electrical power from combustion with carbon sequestration, as it will be challenging to provide 30% from renewable energy sources derived from natural energy flows. Thus nuclear power may be needed to provide ~30%, 3600 GWe, by 2100. Calculations of the associated stocks and flows of uranium, plutonium and minor actinides indicate that the proliferation risks at mid-century, using current light-water reactor technology, are daunting. There are institutional arrangements that may be able to provide an acceptable level of risk mitigation, but they will be difficult to implement. If a transition is begun to fast-spectrum reactors at mid-century, without a dramatic change in the proliferation risks of such systems, at the end of the century global nuclear proliferation risks are much greater, and more resistant to mitigation. Fusion energy, if successfully demonstrated to be economically competitive, would provide a source of nuclear power with much lower proliferation risks than fission.

Weekly newspaper from San Antonio, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

This Corrective Action Investigation Plan (CAIP) has been developed in accordance with the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO) that was agreed to by the US Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office (DOE/NV); the State of Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP); and the US Department of Defense (FFACO, 1996). The CAIP is a document that provides or references all of the specific information for investigation activities associated with Corrective Action Units (CAUs) or Corrective Action Sites (CASs). According to the FFACO (1996), CASs are sites potentially requiring corrective action(s) and may include solid waste management units or individual disposal or release sites. A CAU consists of one or more CASs grouped together based on geography, technical similarity, or agency responsibility for the purpose of determining corrective actions. This CAIP contains the environmental sample collection objectives and the criteria for conducting site investigation activities at the CAU 321 Area 22 Weather Station Fuel Storage, CAS 22-99-05 Fuel Storage Area. For purposes of this discussion, this site will be referred to as either CAU 321 or the Fuel Storage Area. The Fuel Storage Area is located in Area 22 of the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The NTS is approximately 105 …

Weekly newspaper from San Antonio, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Sweetwater, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Student newspaper of the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma that includes national, local, and campus news along with advertising.