Report about the unusual mortality of Hawaiian Monk Seals that includes extensive background information and research along with a prospective contingency plan to respond to the issue of unusual mortality for this species.

The advanced Chemistry Basin Model project has been operative for 48 months. During this period, about half the project tasks are on projected schedule. On average the project is somewhat behind schedule (90%). Unanticipated issues are causing model integration to take longer then scheduled, delaying final debugging and manual development. It is anticipated that a short extension will be required to fulfill all contract obligations.

Coupled modeling of subsurface multiphase fluid and heat flow, solute transport and chemical reactions can be used for the assessment of mineral alteration in hydrothermal systems, waste disposal sites, acid mine drainage remediation, contaminant transport, and groundwater quality. A comprehensive non-isothermal multi-component reactive fluid flow and geochemical transport simulator, TOUGHREACT, has been developed. A wide range of subsurface thermo-physical-chemical processes is considered under various thermohydrological and geochemical conditions of pressure, temperature, water saturation, and ionic strength. The program can be applied to one-, two- or three-dimensional porous and fractured media with physical and chemical heterogeneity. The model can accommodate any number of chemical species present in liquid, gas and solid phases. A variety of equilibrium chemical reactions are considered, such as aqueous complexation, gas dissolution/exsolution, and cation exchange. Mineral dissolution/precipitation can proceed either subject to local equilibrium or kinetic conditions. Changes in porosity and permeability due to mineral dissolution and precipitation can be considered. Linear adsorption and decay can be included. For the purpose of future extensions, surface complexation by double layer model is coded in the program. Xu and Pruess (1998) developed a first version of a non-isothermal reactive geochemical transport model, TOUGHREACT, by introducing reactive geochemistry into the …

The Department of Energy is sponsoring an initiative to facilitate efficient, effective and responsible use of Monitored Natural Attenuation and Enhanced Passive Remediation for chlorinated solvents. This Office of Environmental Management ''Alternative Project,'' focuses on providing scientific and policy support for MNA/EPR. A broadly representative working group of scientists supports the project along with partnerships with regulatory organizations such as the Interstate Technology Regulatory Council and the Environmental Protection Agency. The initial product of the technical working group was a summary report that articulated the conceptual approach and central scientific tenants of the project, and that identified a prioritized listing of technical targets for field research. This report documented the process in which scientific ground rules were developed, lines of inquiry were identified and then critically evaluated, promising applied research topics were highlighted in the various lines of inquiry, and these were discussed and prioritized. The summary report will serve as a resource to guide management and decision making throughout the period of the subject MNA/EPR Alternative Project. To support and more fully document the information presented in the summary report, we are publishing a series of supplemental documents that present the full texts from the technical analyses within the …

Composites of sludge from Tanks 241-B-203, 241-T-203, 241 T 204, and 241-T-110 at the Hanford Site were prepared at the Hanford 222-S Laboratory from core samples retrieved from these tanks. These tank composites may not be representative of the entire contents of the tank but provide some indication of the properties of the waste within these underground storage tanks. The composite samples were diluted with water at the Radiochemical Processing Laboratory at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to represent the slurries that are expected to be received from tank retrieval operations and processed to produce a final waste stream. The dilutions were vacuum dried at 60 C and 26 in. of mercury ({approx} 100 torr). Semi-quantitative measurements of stickiness and cohesive strength were made on these dilutions as a function of drying time. Mass loss as a function of drying time and total solids concentration of the initial dilution and at the conclusion of drying were also measured. Visual observations of the sludge were recorded throughout the drying process.

The MuCool Test Area (MTA) is an intense primary beam facility derived directly from the Fermilab Linac to test heat deposition and other technical concerns associated with the liquid hydrogen targets being developed for cooling intense muon beams. In this shielding study the results of Monte Carlo radiation shielding calculations performed using the MARS14 code for the MuCool Test Area and including the downstream portion of the target hall and berm around it, access pit, service building, and parking lot are presented and discussed within the context of the proposed MTA experimental configuration.

The Energy Technology (ET) Division provides materials and engineering technology support to a wide range of programs important to the US Department of Energy (DOE). The Division's capabilities are generally applied to technical issues associated with energy systems, biomedical engineering, transportation, and homeland security. Research related to the operational safety of commercial light water nuclear reactors (LWRs) for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) remains another significant area of interest for the Division. The pie chart below summarizes the ET sources of funding for FY 2004.

Reports in the Argonne National Laboratory Nuclear Data and Measurement Series present results of studies in the field of microscopic nuclear data. The primary objective of the series is the dissemination of information in the comprehensive form required for nuclear technology applications. This Series is devoted to: (a) measured microscopic nuclear parameters, (b) experimental techniques and facilities employed in measurements, (c) the analysis, correlation and interpretation of nuclear data, and (d) the compilation and evaluation of nuclear data. Contributions to this Series are reviewed to assure technical competence and, unless otherwise stated, the contents can be formally referenced. This Series does not supplant formal journal publication, but it does provide the more extensive information required for technological applications (e.g., tabulated numerical data) in a timely manner.

The CAST initiative is comprised of a diverse group of subprojects, most of which are multistage, task-oriented developmental projects that cannot be conveniently categorized by the traditional reporting criteria required by the DOE Uniform Reporting Requirements. For example, several of the projects have required the construction of unique test equipment, others the generation of simulation models, etc., as preliminary tasks in the overall execution of the project. As such, the presentation of results is more appropriately described and discussed within the context of the individual Technical Progress Reports. These reports are attached to this document as Appendices and should be referred to for this information.

This technical report describes the results from Task 1 of the Cooperative Agreement. Powerspan has installed, tested, and validated Hg SCEMS systems for measuring oxidized and elemental mercury at the pilot facility at R.E. Burger Generating Station in Shadyside, Ohio. When operating properly, these systems are capable of providing near real-time monitoring of inlet and outlet gas flow streams and are capable of extracting samples from different locations to characterize mercury removal at these different ECO process stages. This report discusses the final configuration of the Hg CEM systems and the operating protocols that increase the reliability of the HG SCEM measurements. Documentation on the testing done to verify the operating protocols is also provided. In addition the report provides details on the protocols developed and used for measurement of mercury in process liquid streams and in captured ash.

This report describes the sampling and analysis PNNL will conduct on ALE to characterize concentrations of radionuclides present in soil and demonstrate compliance with DOE-EM approved Authorized Limits.

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This document describes development of radiological release criteria (Authorized Limits) for Hanford Reach National Monument lands that DOE plans to release to the U.S. Department of the Interior.

This paper provides experimental results on the dependence of the output signal from small-area silicon photodetectors, such as MRS (Metal-Resistive layer-Semiconductor) photodiodes, on the fiber alignment.

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In order to meet the challenges of new accelerator and space projects and further improve modeling of radiation effects in microscopic objects, heavy-ion interaction and transport physics have been recently incorporated into the MARS15 Monte Carlo code. A brief description of new modules is given in comparison with experimental data.

The authors describe version 3.0 of the COPS set of nonlinearly constrained optimization problems. They have added new problems, as well as streamlined and improved most of the problems. They also provide a comparison of the FILTER, KNITRO, LOQO, MINOS, and SNOPT solvers on these problems.

Distributed generation has attracted significant interest from rural electric cooperatives and their customers. Cooperatives have a particular nexus because of inherently low customer density, growth patterns at the end of long lines, and an influx of customers and high-tech industries seeking to diversify out of urban environments. Fuel cells are considered a particularly interesting DG candidate for these cooperatives because of their power quality, efficiency, and environmental benefits. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Cooperative Research Network residential fuel cell program demonstrated RFC power plants and assessed related technical and application issues. This final subcontract report is an assessment of the program's results. This 3-year program leveraged Department of Energy (DOE) and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) funding.

This document describes the main functionalities of the Amesos package, version 1.0. Amesos, available as part of Trilinos 4.0, provides an object-oriented interface to several serial and parallel sparse direct solvers libraries, for the solution of the linear systems of equations A X = B where A is a real sparse, distributed matrix, defined as an EpetraRowMatrix object, and X and B are defined as EpetraMultiVector objects. Amesos provides a common look-and-feel to several direct solvers, insulating the user from each package's details, such as matrix and vector formats, and data distribution.

Subcontractor report details work done by Cummins and Westport Innovations to develop a heavy-duty, low-NOx, high-pressure direct-injection natural gas engine for the Next Generation Natural Gas Vehicle activity.

In 2002, Procter& Gamble applied a system-level strategy to optimize a compressed air system at its paper products mill in Mehoopany, Pennsylvania. The project improved production, improved system performance, and saved 7.6 million kWh per year and $309,000 per year in maintenance costs.

This Technical Progress Report describes progress made on the seventeen subprojects awarded in the first year of Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-02NT41607: Crosscutting Technology Development at the Center for Advanced Separation Technologies. This work is summarized in the body of the main report: the individual sub-project Technical Progress Reports are attached as Appendices. Due to the time taken up by the solicitation/selection process, these cover the initial 6-month period of project activity only. The U.S. is the largest producer of mining products in the world. In 1999, U.S. mining operations produced $66.7 billion worth of raw materials that contributed a total of $533 billion to the nation's wealth. Despite these contributions, the mining industry has not been well supported with research and development funds as compared to mining industries in other countries. To overcome this problem, the Center for Advanced Separation Technologies (CAST) was established to develop technologies that can be used by the U.S. mining industry to create new products, reduce production costs, and meet environmental regulations. Originally set up by Virginia Tech and West Virginia University, this endeavor has been expanded into a seven-university consortium--Virginia Tech, West Virginia University, University of Kentucky, University of Utah, Montana Tech, New Mexico Tech …

A trace explosives detection system typically contains three subsystems: sample collection, preconcentration, and detection. Sample collection of trace explosives (vapor and particulate) through large volumes of airflow helps reduce sampling time while increasing the amount of dilute sample collected. Preconcentration of the collected sample before introduction into the detector improves the sensitivity of the detector because of the increase in sample concentration. By combining large-volume sample collection and preconcentration, an improvement in the detection of explosives is possible. Large-volume sampling and preconcentration is presented using a systems level approach. In addition, the engineering of large-volume sampling and preconcentration for the trace detection of explosives is explained.

This report documents an evaluation of the performance of blends of biodiesel and home heating oil in space heating applications.