For 13 years, low-level waste (LLW) generator fees and disposal volumes for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Operations Office (NNSA/NV) Radioactive Waste Management Sites (RWMSs) had been on a veritable roller coaster ride. As forecast volumes and disposal volumes fluctuated wildly, generator fees were difficult to determine and implement. Fiscal Year (FY) 2000 forecast projections were so low, the very existence of disposal operations at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) were threatened. Providing the DOE Complex with a viable, cost-effective disposal option, while assuring the disposal site a stable source of funding, became the driving force behind the development of the Waste Generator Access Fee at the NTS. On September 26, 2000, NNSA/NV (after seeking input from DOE/Headquarters [HQ]), granted permission to Bechtel Nevada (BN) to implement the Access Fee for FY 2001 as a two-year Pilot Program. In FY 2001 (the first year the Access Fee was implemented), the NTS Disposal Operations experienced a 90 percent increase in waste receipts from the previous year and a 33 percent reduction in disposal fee charged to the waste generators. Waste receipts for FY 2002 were projected to be 63 percent higher than FY 2001 and …

The calculation of downwind concentrations from non-traditional sources, such as explosions, provides unique challenges to dispersion models. The US Department of Energy has assigned the Atmospheric Release Advisory Capability (ARAC) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) the task of estimating the impact of accidental radiological releases to the atmosphere anywhere in the world. Our experience includes responses to over 25 incidents in the past 16 years, and about 150 exercises a year. Examples of responses to explosive accidents include the 1980 Titan 2 missile fuel explosion near Damascus, Arkansas and the hydrogen gas explosion in the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. Based on judgment and experience, we frequently estimate the source geometry and the amount of toxic material aerosolized as well as its particle size distribution. To expedite our real-time response, we developed some automated algorithms and default assumptions about several potential sources. It is useful to know how well these algorithms perform against real-world measurements and how sensitive our dispersion model is to the potential range of input values. In this paper we present the algorithms we use to simulate explosive events, compare these methods with limited field data measurements, and analyze their sensitivity to input parameters. …

After a brief introduction to the CEBAF accelerator, several recent results of the research programs in Hall A are discussed. All of those address the transition region between the meson-baryon and quark-gluon description of nuclear matter. Finally, the plans for upgrading CEBAF to 12 GeV are presented and the instrumentation under design for Hall A to carry out that research program is discussed.

Article on caregiver concerns during hospice care and reciprocal suffering.

The record of the proceedings of the workshop on environmental decontamination contains twenty-seven presentations. Emphasis is placed upon soil and surface decontamination, the decommissioning of nuclear facilities, and assessments of instrumentation and equipment used in decontamination. (DLS)

The goal of nuclear forensics is to develop a preferred approach to support illicit trafficking investigations. This approach must be widely understood and accepted as credible. The principal objectives of the Round Robin Tests are to prioritize forensic techniques and methods, evaluate attribution capabilities, and examine the utility of database. The HEU (Highly Enriched Uranium) Round Robin, and previous Plutonium Round Robin, have made tremendous contributions to fulfilling these goals through a collaborative learning experience that resulted from the outstanding efforts of the nine participating internal laboratories. A prioritized list of techniques and methods has been developed based on this exercise. Current work is focused on the extent to which the techniques and methods can be generalized. The HEU Round Robin demonstrated a rather high level of capability to determine the important characteristics of the materials and processes using analytical methods. When this capability is combined with the appropriate knowledge/database, it results in a significant capability to attribute the source of the materials to a specific process or facility. A number of shortfalls were also identified in the current capabilities including procedures for non-nuclear forensics and the lack of a comprehensive network of data/knowledge bases. The results of the Round …

Complete texts of 123 communications to the Congress (in the original language; the majority in English, some in Russian, French), on the following topics; radiation perspective in the U.S., radiation and man, non-ionising radiation, radiation effects on animals, radiation quantities, radioecology, reactor experience, late radiation effects, dose calculations and radiation accidents.