Activities are summarized in the following fields: process development and technology, plutonium trenches, soils, prevention of accidental releases, radiation monitoring, environment, and radiation standards. (DLC)

Six classes of experiments form the base of a program of thermal neutron scattering at the Weapons Neutron Research (WNR) Facility. Three classes are to determine the average microscopic positions of atoms in materials and three are to determine the microscopic vibrations of these atoms. The first three classes concern (a) powder sample neutron diffraction, (b) small angle scattering, and (c) single crystal Laue diffraction. The second three concern (d) small kappa inelastic scattering, (e) scattering surface phonon measurements, and (f) line widths. An instrument to couple with the WNR pulsed source is briefly outlined for each experiment.

Progress is summarized in studies relating to HTGR fuel reprocessing, refabrication, and recycle; HTGR fuel materials development and performance testing; HTGR PCRV development; HTGR materials investigations; HTGR fuel chemistry; HTGR safety studies; and GCFR irradiation experiments and steam generator modeling.

This bibliography on the biology of the transuranium elements is a revision of one issued in 1973 (BNWL-1782). It includes essentially all of the citations from the earlier document, a few corrections and additions from the older literature, plus the new literature to mid-1975. It also includes a subject-matter index not present in the original document.

Separate abstracts were prepared for the 27 papers in this report. (RWR)

Volume I deals with sources (what the emissions are and where they come from), trends (quantities of emissions and their dispersion with time), and costs of control (what it takes in time, energy, and money to meet minimum standards). Volume II concerns itself with the public health effects of energy production and utilization. Volume III summarizes the various techniques for controlling emissions, technological as well as economic, social, and political. (For abstracts of Vols. II and III, see ERDA Energy Research Abstracts, Vol. 2, Absts. 5764 and 5670, respectively) Each volume is divided into sections dealing with the atmosphere, water, land, and social activities--each division indicating a particular sphere of man's environment affected by energy production and use. The sources of information that were used in this study included textbooks, journal articles, technical reports, memoranda, letters, and personal communications. These are cited in the text at the end of each subsection and on the applicable tables and figures.

The OF-1 capsule, the first in a series of High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor fuel irradiations in the Oak Ridge Research Reactor, was irradiated for more than 9300 hr at full reactor power (30 MW). Peak fluences of 1.08 x 10/sup 22/ neutrons/cm/sup 2/ (> 0.18 MeV) were achieved. General Atomic Company's magazine P13Q occupied the upper two-thirds of the test space and the ORNL magazine OF-1 the lower one-third. The ORNL portion tested various HTGR recycle particles and fuel bonding matrices at accelerated flux levels under reference HTGR irradiation conditions of temperature, temperature gradient, and fast fluence exposure (> 0.18 MeV).

It is found that questions concerning the effects of relativistic invariance can and should be separated from questions concerning the relevant subnucleon degrees of freedom that should be treated explicitly. It is possible to formulate Poincare invariant quark models with a finite number of quarks. In such models hadron states have definite spin, a feature which is absent in light-front perturbative treatments of QCD. Substantial differences from nonrelativistic quark models can occur for very light quarks. It is possible to formulate a Poincare invariant three-nucleon dynamics which has the same qualitative features as the nonrelativistic dynamics, including semiphenomenological two- and three-body forces. The invariance requirements do not constrain the allowable two-body forces and impose only a weak constraint on acceptable three-body forces.

Measurements of the angular distribution for the {gamma}d{yields}+pn reaction were performed at SLAC for photon energies between 0.7 and 1.8 GeV (experiment NE8) and between 1.6 and 4.4. GeV (experiment NE17). The final results for experiment NE8 will be presented, but only preliminary results for NE17 will be discussed. The data at {theta}{sub cm} = 90{degrees} appear to follow the constituent counting rules. The angular distribution at high photon energies exhibit large values of the cross section at forward angles. There is evidence that the cross section may also be large at backward angles and high energies.

Development of coating on nuclear fuel particles for the High-Temperature Fuels Technology program at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory included process studies for low-density porous and high-density isotropic carbon coats, and for ZrC and ''alloy'' C/ZrC coats. This report documents the data generated by these studies.

Conceptual design studies of possible fusion reactor configurations have revealed a host of interesting and sometimes extremely difficult heat transfer problems. The general requirements imposed on the coolant system for heat removal of the thermonuclear power from the reactor are discussed. In particular, the constraints imposed by the fusion plasma, neutronics, structure and magnetic field environment are described with emphasis on those aspects which are unusual or unique to fusion reactors. Then the particular heat transfer characteristics of various possible coolants including lithium, flibe, boiling alkali metals, and helium are discussed in the context of these general fusion reactor requirements. Some specific areas where further experimental and/or theoretical work is necessary are listed for each coolant along with references to the pertinent research already accomplished. Specialized heat transfer problems of the plasma injection and removal systems are also described. Finally, the challenging heat transfer problems associated with the superconducting magnets are reviewed, and once again some of the key unsolved heat transfer problems are enumerated.

Refabrication is in the step in the HTGR thorium fuel cycle that begins with a nitrate solution containing /sup 238/U and culminates in the assembly of this material into fuel elements for use in an HTGR. Refabrication of HTGR fuel is essentially a manufacturing operation and consists of preparation of fuel kernels, application of multiple layers of pyrolytic carbon and SiC, preparation of fuel rods, and assembly of fuel rods in fuel elements. All the equipment for refabrication of /sup 238/U-containing fuel must be designed for completely remote operation and maintenance in hot cell facilities. This paper describes the status of processes and equipment development for the remote refabrication of HTGR fuels. The feasibility of HTGR refabrication processes has been proven by laboratory development. Engineering-scale development is now being performed on a unit basis on the majority of the major equipment items. Engineering-scale equipment described includes full-scale resin loading equipment, a 5-in.-dia (0.13-m) microsphere coating furnace, a fuel rod forming machine, and a cure-in-place furnace.

The highlight of the Argonne Physics Division during the past year (1985/86) has been the completion and dedication of the final superconducting linac stages of the ATLAS system and the beginning of the research program that utilizes the full capabilities of that system. The transition to using the full ATLAS and the new experimental area has been a smooth one and the research program is beginning to bear fruit. The experimental facilities have also come into operation with three major components, consisting of the first stage of a gamma detection system incorporating an array of Compton-suppressed germanium detectors and BGO total energy detectors, a magnetic spectrograph of the Enge split-pole design, with a focal-plane detector system adapted to heavy ions, and a new scattering facility with a number of features. Interesting new data are emerging on quasi-elastic processes, on the transition between fission and quasi-fission and the study of nuclear structure at high spin. The past year has also seen the merging of the nuclear research in the Argonne Chemistry Division, mostly in heavy-ion and medium-energy nuclear physics, with the Physics Division. The merger is leading to full cooperation within the larger group and will help broaden and strengthen the …

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.

High-spin states in the N = 104 to 108 region have been studied by in-beam spectroscopy techniques in a number of Ir, Pt, and Au nuclei. These measurements have been performed at tandem Van de Graaff facilities at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and at McMaster University. Through comparison of band crossings in a variety of odd-A and even-A nuclei, we are able to assign the first neutron and first proton alignment processes, which are nearly degenerate for /sup 184/Pt. These measurements yield the trend of these crossing frequencies with N and Z in this region. Knowledge of this trend is important, since these crossing frequencies can give an estimate of how the shape parameters vary across this transitional region. 22 refs., 7 figs., 1 tab.

The OF-2 irradiation experiment was designed and built to test candidate High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR) fuel and fuel-rod matrix designs. The capsule was designed with two separate specimen cells, allowing for independent temperature control as well as independent fission gas release measurements. The OF-2 capsule is presently operating at the Oak Ridge Research Reactor (ORR). Initial fuel rod linear heat rates are between 16.4 and 23.0 kW/m (5 and 7 kW/ft) and fuel centerline temperatures are approximately 1150 and 1350/sup 0/C. Plans are to operate the capsule for nine ORR cycles to accumulate a maximum damage fluence of 9 x 10/sup 21/ neutrons/cm/sup 2/ (E > 0.18 MeV).

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 …

Progress is reported in the following areas: prestressed concrete pressure vessel development, structural materials, fission product technology, kernel migration and irradiated fuel chemistry, coolant chemistry (steam-graphite reactions), fuel qualification, and characterization and standardization of graphite.

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 …

This eighth published bibliography of 427 references is compiled from the Nevada Applied Ecology Information Center's Data Base on the Environmental Aspects of the Transuranics. The data base was built to provide information support to the Nevada Applied Ecology Group (NAEG) of ERDA's Nevada Operations Office. The general scope covers environmental aspects of uranium and the transuranic elements, with emphasis on plutonium. This bibliography highlights literature on plutonium 238 and 239 and americium in the critical organs of man and animals. Supporting information on ecology of the Nevada Test Site and reviews and summarizing literature on other radionuclides have been included at the request of the NAEG. The references are arranged by subject category with leading authors appearing alphabetically in each category. Indexes are provided for author(s), geographic location, keyword(s), taxon, title, and publication description.

Abstracts are presented of 716 papers published during 1975 concerning thermal effects on aquatic organisms. Indexes are included for author, subject category, geographic location, toxon, title, and keywords. (CH)

We use the Global Modeling Initiative chemistry and transport model to simulate the evolution of stratospheric ozone between 1995 and 2030, using boundary conditions consistent with the recent World Meteorological Organization ozone assessment. We compare the Antarctic ozone recovery predictions of two simulations, one driven by meteorological data from a general circulation model (GCM), the other using the output of a data assimilation system (DAS), to examine the sensitivity of Antarctic ozone recovery predictions to the characteristic dynamical differences between GCM and DAS-generated meteorological data. Although the age of air in the Antarctic lower stratosphere differs by a factor of 2 between the simulations, we find little sensitivity of the 1995-2030 Antarctic ozone recovery between 350 K and 650 K to the differing meteorological fields, particularly when the recovery is specified in mixing ratio units. Relative changes are smaller in the DAS-driven simulation compared to the GCM-driven simulation due to a surplus of Antarctic ozone in the DAS-driven simulation which is not consistent with observations. The peak ozone change between 1995 and 2030 in both simulations is {approx}20% lower than photochemical expectations, indicating that changes in ozone transport at 450 K between 1995 and 2030 constitute a small negative feedback. …

The objective of this paper is to present a compilation of computer codes for the assessment of accidental or routine releases of radioactivity to the environment from nuclear power facilities. The capabilities of 83 computer codes in the areas of environmental transport and radiation dosimetry are summarized in tabular form. This preliminary analysis clearly indicates that the initial efforts in assessment methodology development have concentrated on atmospheric dispersion, external dosimetry, and internal dosimetry via inhalation. The incorporation of terrestrial and aquatic food chain pathways has been a more recent development and reflects the current requirements of environmental legislation and the needs of regulatory agencies. The characteristics of the conceptual models employed by these codes are reviewed. The appendixes include abstracts of the codes and indexes by author, key words, publication description, and title.

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) Wind Energy Research Program has begun a new effort to partner with U.S. industry to develop wind technology that will allow wind systems to compete in regions of low wind speed. The Class 4 and 5 sites targeted by this effort have annual average wind speeds of 5.8 m/s (13 mph), measured at 10 m (33 ft) height. Such sites are abundant in the United States and would increase the land area available for wind energy production twenty-fold. The new program is targeting a levelized cost of energy of 3 cents/kWh at these sites by 2010. A three-element approach has been initiated. These efforts are concept design, component development, and system development. This work builds on previous activities under the WindPACT program and the Next Generation Turbine program. If successful, DOE estimates that his new technology could result in 35 to 45 gigawatts of additional wind capacity being installed by 2020.