This Corrective Action Plan (CAP) provides the selected corrective action alternative and proposes the closure implementation methodology for the Roller Coaster Sewage Lagoons and North Disposal Trench Corrective Action Unit (CAU) No. 404. The site is located on the Tonopah Test Range. CAU 404 consists of two Corrective Action Sites (CAS): the Roller Coaster Lagoons (CAS No TA-03-001-TA-RC) and the North Disposal Trench (CAS No TA-21-001-TA-RC). A site map of the lagoons and trench is provided. The Roller Coaster Sewage Lagoons are comprised of two unlined lagoons that received liquid sanitary waste in 1963 from the Operation Roller Coaster Man Camp and debris from subsequent construction and range cleanup activities. The North Disposal Trench was excavated in approximately 1963 and received solid waste and debris from the man camp and subsequent construction and range cleanup activities. A small hydrocarbon spill occurred during the 1995 Voluntary Corrective Action (VCA) activities in an area associated with the North Disposal Trench CAS.

Corrective Action Unit 485, Corrective Action Site TA-39-001-TAGR, the Cactus Spring Ranch Soil Contamination Area, is located approximately six miles southwest of the Area 3 Compound at the eastern mouth of Sleeping Column Canyon in the Cactus Range on the Tonopah Test Range. This site was used in conjunction with animal studies involving the biological effects of radionuclides (specifically plutonium) associated with Operation Roofer Coaster. The location had been used as a ranch by private citizens prior to government control of the area. According to historical records, Operation Roofer Coaster activities involved assessing the inhalation uptake of plutonium in animals from the nonnuclear detonation of nuclear weapons. Operation Roofer Coaster consisted of four nonnuclear destruction tests of a nuclear device. The four tests all took place during May and June 1963 and consisted of Double Tracks and Clean Slate 1, 11, and 111. Eighty-four dogs, 84 burros, and 136 sheep were used for the Double Tracks test, and ten sheep and ten dogs were used for Clean Slate 11. These animals were housed at Cactus Spring Ranch. Before detonation, all animals were placed in cages and transported to the field. After the shot, they were taken to the decontamination area …

The source term literature was reviewed to estimate aerosolized and respirable release fractions for accidents involving plutonium in high-explosive (HE) detonation and in fuel fires. For HE detonation, all estimates are based on the total amount of Pu. For fuel fires, all estimates are based on the amount of Pu oxidized. I based my estimates for HE detonation primarily upon the results from the Roller Coaster experiment. For hydrocarbon fuel fire oxidation of plutonium, I based lower bound values on laboratory experiments which represent accident scenarios with very little turbulence and updraft of a fire. Expected values for aerosolization were obtained from the Vixen A field tests, which represent a realistic case for modest turbulence and updraft, and for respirable fractions from some laboratory experiments involving large samples of Pu. Upper bound estimates for credible accidents are based on experiments involving combustion of molten plutonium droplets. In May of 1991 the DOE Pilot Safety Study Program established a group of experts to estimate the fractions of plutonium which would be aerosolized and respirable for certain nuclear weapon accident scenarios.

In 1963, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), predecessor to the US Department of Energy (DOE), implemented Operation Roller Coaster on the Tonopah Test Range (TTR) and an adjacent area of the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) (formerly the Nellis Air Force Range (NAFR)). Operation Roller Coaster consisted of four tests in which chemical explosions were detonated in the presence of nuclear devices to assess the dispersal of radionuclides and evaluate the effectiveness of storage structures to contain the ejected radionuclides. These tests resulted in dispersal of plutonium over the ground surface downwind of the test ground zero. Three tests, Clean Slate 1, 2, and 3, were conducted on the TTR in Cactus Flat; the fourth, Double Tracks, was conducted in Stonewall Flat on the NTTR. DOE is working to clean up and close all four sites. Substantial cleaned up has been accomplished at Double Tracks and Clean Slate 1. Cleanup of Clean Slate 2 and 3 is on the DOE planning horizon for some time in the next several years. The Desert Research Institute installed two monitoring stations, number 400 at the Sandia National Laboratories Range Operations Center and number 401 at Clean Slate 3, in 2008 and a …

Corrective Action Unit 485, Corrective Action Site TA-39-001-TAGR, the Cactus Spring Ranch Soil Contamination Area, is located approximately six miles southwest of the Area 3 Compound at the eastern mouth of Sleeping Column Canyon in the Cactus Range on the Tonopah Test Range. This site was used in conjunction with animal studies involving the biological effects of radionuclides (specifically plutonium) associated with Operation Roller Coaster. According to field records, a hardened layer of livestock feces ranging from 2.54 centimeters (cm) (1 inch [in.]) to 10.2 cm (4 in.) thick is present in each of the main sheds. IT personnel conducted a field visit on December 3, 1997, and noted that the only visible feces were located within the east shed, the previously fenced area near the east shed, and a small area southwest of the west shed. Other historical records indicate that other areas may still be covered with animal feces, but heavy vegetation now covers it. It is possible that radionuclides are present in this layer, given the history of operations in this area. Chemicals of concern may include plutonium and depleted uranium. Surface soil sampling was conducted on February 18, 1998. An evaluation of historical documentation indicated that …

The three-dimensional diagnostic wind field model (MATHEW) and the particle-in-cell atmospheric transport and diffusion model (ADPIC) are used by the Atmospheric Release Advisory Capability to estimate the environmental consequences of accidental releases of radioactivity into the atmosphere. These models have undergone extensive evaluations against field experiments conducted in a variety of environmental settings ranging from relatively flat to very complex terrain areas. Simulations of tracer experiments conducted in a complex mountain valley setting revealed that 35 to 50% of the comparisons between calculated and measured tracer concentrations were within a factor of 5. This may be compared with a factor of 2 for 50% of the comparisons for relatively flat terrain. This degradation of results in complex terrain is due to a variety of factors such as the limited representativeness of measurements in complex terrain, the limited spatial resolution afforded by the models, and the turbulence parameterization based on sigma/sub theta/ measurements to evaluate the eddy diffusivities. Measurements of sigma/sub theta/ in complex terrain exceed those measured over flat terrain by a factor of 2 to 3 leading to eddy diffusivities that are unrealistically high. The results of model evaluations are very sensitive to the quality and the representativeness of …

The Intense Pulsed Neutron Source (IPNS) upgrade to 1 MW requires new power supply designs. This paper describes the tools and the methodology needed to assess the reliability of the power supplies. Both the design and operation of the power supplies in the synchrotron will be taken into account. To develop a reliability budget, the experiments to be conducted with this accelerator are reviewed, and data is collected on the number and duration of interruptions possible before an experiment is required to start over. Once the budget is established, several accelerators of this type will be examined. The budget is allocated to the different accelerator systems based on their operating experience. The accelerator data is usually in terms of machine availability and system down time. It takes into account mean time to failure (MTTF), time to diagnose, time to repair or replace the failed components, and time to get the machine back online. These estimated times are used as baselines for the design. Even though we are in the early stage of design, available data can be analyzed to estimate the MTTF for the power supplies.

This document presents a compilation of chemical and isotopic data for groundwater samples analyzed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in support of the Hydrology and Radionuclide Migration Program (HRMP) and the Underground Test Area Program (UGTA) for the U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office. Included are data for 107 samples collected from wells and springs located on and around the Nevada Test Site (NTS), within an area approximately bounded by latitudes 36{sup o} to 38{sup o}15'N and longitudes 115{sup o} to 117{sup o}15'W. The samples were collected during the time period 1992 to early 1997. The data represents one of the largest internally consistent geochemical data sets to be gathered for groundwater in southern Nevada. This database is available in electronic or hardcopy formats to interested parties upon request. In addition to the LLNL data we have included a table of selected isotopic data summarized from a larger database compiled by GeoTrans, Inc. (1994). This data is included for comparative purposes as a means of placing the LLNL data in the context of other data for the same geographic region.

In view of the great public apprehension about plutonium and nuclear weapons we should explore ways to prevent, limit, or mitigate possible plutonium dispersals. This review is primarily a tutorial on what is known about plutonium dispersal in fires. It concludes that in most types of fires involving plutonium the amount released will not be an immediate danger to life. Indeed, in many cases very few personnel will receive more than the lung burden allowed by current regulations for plutonium workers. However, the dangers may be significant in special situations, unusual terrains, certain meteorological conditions, and very high burn temperatures.

As a result of nuclear weapons testing and accidents, plutonium has been distributed into the environment. The areas close to the sites of these tests and accidental dispersions contain plutonium deposition of such a magnitude that health authorities and responsible officials have mandated that the contaminated areas be protected, generally through isolation or removal of the contaminated areas. In recent years remedial actions have taken place at all these sites. For reasons not entirely clear, the public perceives radiation exposure risk to be much greater than the evidence would suggest [1]. This perception seems to be particularly true for plutonium, which has often been ''demonized'' in various publications as the ''most hazardous substance known to man'' [2]. As the position statement adapted by the Health Physics Society explains, ''Plutonium's demonization is an example of how the public has been misled about radiation's environmental and health threats generally, and in cases like plutonium, how it has developed a warped ''risk perception'' that does not reflect reality'' [3]. As a result of this risk perception and ongoing debate surrounding environmental plutonium contamination, remedial action criteria are difficult to establish. By examining the data available before and after remedial actions taken at the …

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Preparation of organically-bridged polysilsesquioxanes has been achieved by polymerizing organic monomers with two or more trialkoxysilyl groups per monomer repeat unit. The nature of the organic bridging group has been shown to strongly impact the final properties (surface area, pore size, and thermal stability) of the end product. For example, rigid arylene bridging groups have been shown to give rise to materials with high surface areas with a relatively large contribution from micropores (< 20 {angstrom}). The length of alkylene-bridging groups can be used to control the size and dispersity of pores in hydrocarbon-bridged xerogels. In this study, the authors have examined the preparation of ethylene-bridged polysilsesquioxanes from the E-(1) and Z-(2) isomers of 1,2-bis(triethoxysilyl)ethene and vinylidene-bridged polysilsesquioxanes from 1,1-bis(triethoxysilyl)ethene-(3). This study was intended to determine the effects of substitution geometry about the carbon-carbon double bond on the condensation chemistry of the monomers and on the resulting architectures of the final materials.

The Department of Energy MHD Coal-Fired Flow Facility is located on Woods Reservoir at the University of Tennessee Space Institute. Part of the role of UTSI as participants in the DOE program is to document environmental aspects of coal-fired MHD. This document reports the findings of UTSI in investigating a fish kill on Woods Reservoir. The results show the fish mortality to be of natural causes, in no way attributable to CFFF operations. Occasionally seasonal fish kills have occurred in Woods Reservoir during the past several years with minimal documentation of causative factors. During the early spring (April 1980) approximately one hundred fish of a single species Minytrema (spotted sucker) died near the embayment of Rollins Creek. An investigation was conducted to determine the cause of death. Inasmuch as only a single species was involved it was assumed that the kill resulted from an infectious or parasitic disease rather than from pollution. This view was substantiated by an examination of the water quality data during the period. Specimens were examined macroscopically and microscopically for external and internal pathogens. Heavy infestation of the myxosporidian spore Myxosoma sp. was found localized in the gills of the fish. Scanning electron photomicrographs revealed a …

This Corrective Action Decision Document (CADD) has been prepared for Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 486, Double Tracks Radiological Safety (RADSAFE) Area (DTRSA) in accordance with the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO) of 1996 that was agreed to by the U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office (DOE/NV); the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP); and the U.S Department of Defense (FFACO, 1996). The CADD provides or references the specific information necessary to recommend a preferred corrective action for the single Corrective Action Site (CAS), 71-23-001-71DT, within CAU 486. Corrective Action Unit 486 is located on the Nellis Air Force Range 71 North, west of the Tonopah Test Range (TTR), Nevada. The TTR, located in the Nellis Air Force Range, is approximately 140 miles (mi) northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada (Figure 1-1). The DTRSA is located on the west side of the Cactus Range approximately 5 mi southwest of the Cactus Spring gate at the intersection of the Cactus Spring Road and the Double Tracks Control Point Road (Figure 1-2).

The purpose of this memorandum is to present and analyze, in terms of the current status of knowledge of radiation damage to graphite, the data available at the present time on the expansion status of the graphite in the piles, and suggest, in terms of this analysis, several possibly feasible curative and preventive measures. The portion of the data to be covered in this memorandum consists of that obtained during the last four years from pile motion measurements and from tube bowing measurements, and particularly that from graphite mining operations during the last six months. The objective to be attained is twofold: (1) the information developed here should permit a better understanding of the need for and development of future corrective measures to be applied to the present piles, and (2) this summary will serve as a basis for further experimental work necessary to place the conclusions on a more firm foundation. This memorandum is being issued at this time, although present ideas and conclusions are in a somewhat uncertain state, in the hope that the currently most feasible preventive measure might be applied to the DR Pile before startup.

This paper is centered around the use of stratified random sampling for estimating the total amount (inventory) of $sup 239-240$Pu and uranium in surface soil at ten ''safety-shot'' sites on the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and Tonopah Test Range (TTR) that are currently being studied by the Nevada Applied Ecology Group (NAEG). The use of stratified random sampling has resulted in estimates of inventory at these desert study sites that have smaller standard errors than would have been the case had simple random sampling (no stratification) been used. Estimates of inventory are given for $sup 235$U, $sup 238$U, and $sup 239-240$Pu in soil at A Site of Area 11 on the NTS. Other results presented include average concentrations of one or more of these isotopes in soil and vegetation and in soil profile samples at depths to 25 cm. The regression relationship between soil and vegetation concentrations of $sup 235$U and $sup 238$U at adjacent sampling locations is also examined using three different models. The applicability of stratified random sampling to the estimation of concentration contours of $sup 239-240$Pu in surface soil using computer algorithms is also investigated. Estimates of such contours are obtained using several different methods. The planning …

This bibliography of 500 references is compiled from the Data Base on the Environmental Aspects of the Transuranics built to provide information support to the Nevada Applied Ecology Group (NAEG) of ERDA`s Nevada Operations Office. The general scope is environmental aspects of uranium and the transuranic elements, with emphasis on plutonium. Laboratory and field studies dealing with the effects of plutonium-239 on animals are highlighted in this bibliography. Supporting information on ecology of the Nevada Test Site and reviews on the effects of other radionuclides upon man and his environment has been included at the request of the NAEG. The references are arranged by subject category with first authors appearing alphabetically in each category. Indexes are given for author, geographic location, keywords, taxons, permuted title and publication description.

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This document constitutes a reclamation plan for the short-term and long-term stabilization of land disturbed by activities associated with the cleanup of radionuclide contaminated surface soil at the Clean Slate 1 site. This document has been prepared to provide general reclamation practices and procedures that will be followed during restoration of the cleanup site. The results of reclamation trials at Area 11, Area 19 and more recently the reclamation demonstration plots at the Double Tracks cleanup site, have been summarized and incorporated into this reclamation and monitoring plan. The plan also contains procedures for monitoring both the effectiveness and success of short-term and long-term soil stabilization. The Clean Slate 1 site is located on the Tonopah Test Range. The surface soils were contaminated as a result of the detonation of a device containing plutonium and depleted uranium using chemical explosives. Short-term stabilization consists of the application of a chemical soil stabilizer that is applied immediately following excavation of the contaminated soils to minimize Pu resuspension. Long-term stabilization is accomplished by the establishment of a permanent vegetation.

This document is a reclamation plan for short-term and long-term stabilization of land disturbed by activities associated with interim clean-up of radionuclide-contaminated surface soil at the Double Tracks site. This document has been prepared to provide general reclamation practices and procedures that will be followed during restoration of the cleanup site. Reclamation demonstration plots were established near the site in the fall of 1994 to evaluate the performance of several native species and to evaluate different irrigation strategies. Results of the study at Double Tracks, as well as the results from numerous studies conducted at other sites (Area 11 and Area 19 of the Nevada Test Site), have been summarized and incorporated into this final reclamation plan for the interim cleanup of the Double Tracks site, located northwest of the Nevada Test Site on the Nellis Air Force Range. Surface soils at Double Tracks were contaminated as a result of the detonation of a device containing plutonium and depleted uranium using chemical explosives. The total amount of Pu deposited on the site was between 980 and 1,600 grams and was scattered downwind south of the detonation site. Short-term stabilization consists of the application of a chemical soil stabilizer that is …

The purpose of this paper is to collect and present current knowledge relevant to the protection offered by sheltering against exposure to plutonium particles released to the atmosphere during accidents. For those many contaminants for which effects are linear with the airborne concentration, it is convenient to define a Dose Reduction Factor (DRF). In the past, the DRF has been defined as the ratio of the radiological dose that may be incurred within the shelter to that in the outdoors. As such, it includes the dose through shine from plumes aloft and from material deposited on the surface. For this paper, which is concerned only with the inhalation pathway, the DRF is the ratio of the time-integrated concentration inside the shelter to that outdoors. It is important to note that the range over which effects are linear with concentration may be limited for many contaminants. Examples are when concentrations produce effects that are irreversible, or when concentrations are below effects threshold levels. 71 refs., 4 figs., 8 tabs.

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This report highlights the results of FY 2000 technical studies conducted by the Analytical and Nuclear Chemistry Division (ANCD) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in support of the Hydrology and Radionuclide Migration Program (HRMP) and Underground Test Area (UGTA) Project. This is the latest in a series of annual reports published by LLNL-ANCD to document recent investigations of radionuclide migration and transport processes at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The HRMP is sponsored by Defense Programs (DP) at the U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office (DOENV), and supports DP operations at the NTS through studies of radiochemical and hydrologic processes that are relevant to the DP mission. Other organizations that support the HRMP include Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Desert Research Institute (DRI) of the University of Nevada, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPS), and Bechtel Nevada (BN). The UGTA Project is sponsored by the Environmental Management (EM) program at DOENV; its goal is to determine the extent of radionuclide contamination in groundwater resulting from underground nuclear testing at the NTS. The project strategy follows guidelines set forth in a Federal Facilities Agreement and Consent Order between the U.S. Department of Energy, …