Throughout its history, Congress has engaged in oversight of the executive branch — the review, monitoring, and supervision of the implementation of public policy. The first several Congresses inaugurated such important oversight techniques as special investigations, reporting requirements, resolutions of inquiry, and use of the appropriations process to review executive activity. Contemporary developments, moreover, have increased the legislature’s capacity and capabilities to check on and check the Executive. Public laws and congressional rules have measurably enhanced Congress’s implied power under the Constitution to conduct oversight.

The first phase of the GEO-SEQ project was a multidisciplinary effort focused on investigating ways to lower the cost and risk of geologic carbon sequestration. Through our research in the GEO-SEQ project, we have produced results that may be of interest to the wider geologic carbon sequestration community. However, much of the knowledge developed in GEO-SEQ is not easily accessible because it is dispersed in the peer-reviewed literature and conference proceedings in individual papers on specific topics. The purpose of this report is to present key GEO-SEQ findings relevant to the practical implementation of geologic carbon sequestration in the form of a Best Practices Manual. Because our work in GEO-SEQ focused on the characterization and project development aspects, the scope of this report covers practices prior to injection, referred to as the design phase. The design phase encompasses activities such as selecting sites for which enhanced recovery may be possible, evaluating CO{sub 2} capacity and sequestration feasibility, and designing and evaluating monitoring approaches. Through this Best Practices Manual, we have endeavored to place our GEO-SEQ findings in a practical context and format that will be useful to readers interested in project implementation. The overall objective of this Manual is to …

This quarterly report documents work performed under Tasks 10 through 14 of the project entitled: Technologies to Enhance Operation of the Existing Natural Gas Compression Infrastructure. The project objective is to develop and substantiate methods for operating integral engine/compressors in gas pipeline service, which reduce fuel consumption, increase capacity, and enhance mechanical integrity. The report documents the second series of tests performed on a GMW10 engine/compressor after modifications to add high pressure Fuel and a Turbocharger. It also presents baseline testing for air balance investigations and initial simulation modeling of the air manifold for a Cooper GMVH6.

The Life Sciences Division (LSD) of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has a long record of radiation dosimetry research at the Dosimetry Applications Research (DOSAR) facility complex. These facilities have been used by a broad segment of the research community to perform a variety of experiments in areas including, but not limited to, radiobiology, radiation dosimeter and instrumentation development and calibration, and materials testing in a variety of radiation environments. Collaborations with the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UTK) have also led to important contributions in the area of archaeometry, particularly as it relates to the use of radiation dosimetry to date archaeological artifacts. This manual is to serve as the primary instruction and operation manual for dosimetric and archaeometric research at DOSAR involving thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). Its purpose is to (1) provide protocols for common practices associated with the research, (2) outline the relevant organizational structure, (3) identify the Quality Assurance plan, and (4) describe all the procedures, operations, and responsibilities for safe and proper operation of associated equipment. Each person who performs research at DOSAR using TL/OSL equipment is required to read the latest revision of this manual and be familiar with its contents, and to …

LERs consist of a one page standard form with a standard header and free text data, followed by additional continuation pages of free text data. Currently this LER data is analyzed by first inputting the heading and text data manually into a categorical relational database. The data is then evaluated by enumeration of data in various categories and supplemented by review of individual LERs. This is labor intensive and makes it difficult to relate specific descriptive text to enumerated results. State of the art data mining and visualization technology exists that can eliminate the need for manual categorization, maintain the text relationships within each report, produce the same enumerated results currently available, and provide a tool to support potentially useful additional analysis of the informational content of LERs in a more timely and cost effective manner.

With the availability of whole genome sequences, research attention shifts from gene sequences and genome content to protein functions and systems biology. Genes comprise a major component of the ''parts list'' that is required for building and maintaining of living organisms. Genome DNA sequences reveal the genetic inventory for a rapidly increasing number of species. Defining and interpreting the instruction manual for protein functions, individually and collectively, is the emerging challenge. Defining protein functions is a complex problem because each gene typically encodes several distinct proteins. As a result, the protein inventory includes as many as 100,000 distinct proteins. Protein functions can vary with developmental stage, anatomical location, and environmental context. Like the problem of sequencing the human genome, the multidimensional nature of protein functions in time, space and context constitutes one of the ''big'' problems in biomedical research. Resolving this problem is key to revolutionizing health care where a deep understanding of complex biological systems will lead to more powerful and specific ways to treat, and perhaps, even prevent birth defects and adult diseases. The meeting addressed the above issues.

We present the concept for a ''smart'' highly efficient dynamic window that maximizes solar heat gain during the heating season and minimizes solar heat gain during the cooling season in residential buildings. We describe a prototype dynamic window that relies on an internal shade, which deploys automatically in response to solar radiation and temperature. This prototype was built at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory from commercially available ''off-the-shelf'' components. It is a stand-alone, standard-size product, so it can be easily installed in place of standard window products. Our design shows promise for near-term commercialization. Improving thermal performance of this prototype by incorporating commercially available highly efficient glazing technologies could result in the first window that could be suitable for use in zero-energy homes. The unit's predictable deployment of shading could help capture energy savings that are not possible with manual shading. Installation of dynamically shaded windows in the field will allow researchers to better quantify the energy effects of shades, which could lead to increased efficiency in the sizing of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment for residences.

In this paper the design of a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) equilibrium core using thorium is presented; a heterogeneous blanket-seed core arrangement concept was adopted. The design was developed in three steps: in the first step two different assemblies were designed based on the integrated blanket-seed concept, they are the blanket-dummy assembly and the blanket-seed assembly. The integrated blanketseed concept comes from the fact that the blanket and the seed rods are located in the same assembly, and are burned-out in a once-through cycle. In the second step, a core design was developed to achieve an equilibrium cycle of 365 effective full power days in a standard BWR with a reload of 104 fuel assemblies designed with an average 235U enrichment of 7.5 w/o in the seed sub-lattice. The main operating parameters, like power, linear heat generation rate and void distributions were obtained as well as the shutdown margin. It was observed that the analyzed parameters behave like those obtained in a standard BWR. The shutdown margin design criterion was fulfilled by addition of a burnable poison region in the assembly. In the third step an in-house code was developed to evaluate the thorium equilibrium core under transient conditions. A …

This Biennial Environmental Compliance Report (BECR) documents environmental regulatory compliance at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), a facility designed and authorized for the safe disposal of transuranic (TRU) radioactive waste, for the reporting period of April 1, 2002, to March 31, 2004. As required by the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act (LWA) (Public Law [Pub. L.] 102-579, as amended by Pub. L. 104-201), the BECR documents U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) compliance with applicable environmental protection laws and regulations implemented by agencies of the federal government and the state of New Mexico.

This presentation discusses the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the control of radioactive sources.

This report describes the development of release models for key contaminants that are present in residual sludge remaining after closure of Hanford Tanks 241-C-203 (C-203) and 241-C-204 (C-204). The release models were developed from data generated by laboratory characterization and testing of samples from these two tanks. Key results from this work are (1) future releases from the tanks of the primary contaminants of concern (99Tc and 238U) can be represented by relatively simple solubility relationships between infiltrating water and solid phases containing the contaminants; and (2) high percentages of technetium-99 in the sludges (20 wt% in C-203 and 75 wt% in C-204) are not readily water leachable, and, in fact, are very recalcitrant. This is similar to results found in related studies of sludges from Tank AY-102. These release models are being developed to support the tank closure risk assessments performed by CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy.

This presentation discusses solutions to obsolete equipment in operating nuclear power plants.

The purpose of this report is to document the abstraction model being used in total system performance assessment (TSPA) model calculations for radionuclide transport in the unsaturated zone (UZ). The UZ transport abstraction model uses the particle-tracking method that is incorporated into the finite element heat and mass model (FEHM) computer code (Zyvoloski et al. 1997 [DIRS 100615]) to simulate radionuclide transport in the UZ. This report outlines the assumptions, design, and testing of a model for calculating radionuclide transport in the UZ at Yucca Mountain. In addition, methods for determining and inputting transport parameters are outlined for use in the TSPA for license application (LA) analyses. Process-level transport model calculations are documented in another report for the UZ (BSC 2004 [DIRS 164500]). Three-dimensional, dual-permeability flow fields generated to characterize UZ flow (documented by BSC 2004 [DIRS 169861]; DTN: LB03023DSSCP9I.001 [DIRS 163044]) are converted to make them compatible with the FEHM code for use in this abstraction model. This report establishes the numerical method and demonstrates the use of the model that is intended to represent UZ transport in the TSPA-LA. Capability of the UZ barrier for retarding the transport is demonstrated in this report, and by the underlying process …

The purpose of this report is to evaluate and document the screening of the clad degradation features, events, and processes (FEPs) with respect to modeling used to support the Total System Performance Assessment-License Application (TSPA-LA). This report also addresses the effect of certain FEPs on both the cladding and the commercial spent nuclear fuel (CSNF), DOE-owned spent nuclear fuel (DSNF), and defense high-level waste (DHLW) waste forms, as appropriate to address the effects on multiple materials and both components (FEPs 2.1.09.09.0A, 2.1.09.11.0A, 2.1.11.05.0A, 2.1.12.02.0A, and 2.1.12.03.0A). These FEPs are expected to affect the repository performance during the postclosure regulatory period of 10,000 years after permanent closure. Table 1-1 provides the list of cladding FEPs, including their screening decisions (include or exclude). The primary purpose of this report is to identify and document the analysis, screening decision, and TSPA-LA disposition (for included FEPs) or screening argument (for excluded FEPs) for these FEPs related to clad degradation. In some cases, where a FEP covers multiple technical areas and is shared with other FEP reports, this report may provide only a partial technical basis for the screening of the FEP. The full technical basis for shared FEPs is addressed collectively by the sharing …

Effective contaminated land management requires a number of decisions addressing a suite of technical, economic, and social concerns. These concerns include human health risks, ecological risks, economic costs, technical feasibility of proposed remedial actions, and the value society places on clean-up and re-use of formerly contaminated lands. Decision making, in the face of uncertainty and multiple and often conflicting objectives, is a vital and challenging role in environmental management that affects a significant economic activity. Although each environmental remediation problem is unique and requires a site-specific analysis, many of the key decisions are similar in structure. This has led many to attempt to develop standard approaches. As part of the standardization process, attempts have been made to codify specialist expertise into decision support tools. This activity is intended to facilitate reproducible and transparent decision making. The process of codifying procedures has also been found to be a useful activity for establishing and rationalizing management processes. This study will have two primary objectives. The first is to develop taxonomy for Decision Support Tools (DST) to provide a framework for understanding the different tools and what they are designed to address in the context of environmental remediation problems. The taxonomy will have …

An LDRD (Laboratory Directed Research and Development) project is ongoing at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) for applying the three-dimensional multi-group deterministic neutron transport code (Attila®) to criticality, flux and depletion calculations of the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). This paper discusses the model development, capabilities of Attila, generation of the cross-section libraries, and comparisons to an ATR MCNP model and future.

This booklet contains the agenda and abstracts for the 2004 U.S. DOE Solar Energy Technologies Program Review Meeting. The meeting was held in Denver, Colorado, October 25-28, 2004. More than 240 abstracts are contained in this publication. Topic areas for the research papers include laboratory research, program management, policy analysis, and deployment of solar technologies.

Newsletter updates covered fleets about online driver training availability, how to ease fleet manager transitions, E85 infrastructure toolkit, and preparing for reporting season.

High precision modeling of space-charge effects, together with accurate treatment of single-particle dynamics, is essential for designing future accelerators as well as optimizing the performance of existing machines. Synergia is a high-fidelity parallel beam dynamics simulation package with fully three dimensional space-charge capabilities and a higher order optics implementation. We describe the computational techniques, the advanced human interface, and the parallel performance obtained using large numbers of macroparticles.

This report summarizes existing analytical data gleaned from samples taken from the Hanford tanks designated as potentially containing transuranic mixed process wastes. Process knowledge of the wastes transferred to these tanks has been reviewed to determine whether the dangerous waste characteristics now assigned to all Hanford underground storage tanks are applicable to these particular wastes. Supplemental technologies are being examined to accelerate the Hanford tank waste cleanup mission and accomplish waste treatment safely and efficiently. To date, 11 Hanford waste tanks have been designated as potentially containing contact-handled (CH) transuranic mixed (TRUM) wastes. The CH-TRUM wastes are found in single-shell tanks B-201 through B-204, T-201 through T-204, T-104, T-110, and T-111. Methods and equipment to solidify and package the CH-TRUM wastes are part of the supplemental technologies being evaluated. The resulting packages and wastes must be acceptable for disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The dangerous waste characteristics being considered include ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and toxicity arising from the presence of 2,4,5-trichlorophenol at levels above the dangerous waste threshold. The analytical data reviewed include concentrations of sulfur, sulfate, cyanide, 2,4,5-trichlorophenol, total organic carbon, and oxalate; the composition of the tank headspace, pH, and mercury. Differential scanning calorimetry results …

The purpose of this model report is to provide documentation of the conceptual and mathematical model (Ashplume) for atmospheric dispersal and subsequent deposition of ash on the land surface from a potential volcanic eruption at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. This report also documents the ash (tephra) redistribution conceptual model. These aspects of volcanism-related dose calculation are described in the context of the entire igneous disruptive events conceptual model in ''Characterize Framework for Igneous Activity'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 169989], Section 6.1.1). The Ashplume conceptual model accounts for incorporation and entrainment of waste fuel particles associated with a hypothetical volcanic eruption through the Yucca Mountain repository and downwind transport of contaminated tephra. The Ashplume mathematical model describes the conceptual model in mathematical terms to allow for prediction of radioactive waste/ash deposition on the ground surface given that the hypothetical eruptive event occurs. This model report also describes the conceptual model for tephra redistribution from a basaltic cinder cone. Sensitivity analyses and model validation activities for the ash dispersal and redistribution models are also presented. Analyses documented in this model report update the previous documentation of the Ashplume mathematical model and its application to the Total System Performance Assessment (TSPA) for the License Application …

Dr. Dragt of the University of Maryland is one of the Institutional Principal Investigators for the SciDAC Accelerator Modeling Project Advanced Computing for 21st Century Accelerator Science and Technology whose principal investigators are Dr. Kwok Ko (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center) and Dr. Robert Ryne (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory). This report covers the activities of Dr. Dragt while at Berkeley during spring 2002 and at Maryland during fall 2003.

The Absolute Neutron Activation Analysis (ANAA) technique was used to determine element concentrations of Cl and Na in blood of healthy group (male and female blood donators), select from Blood Banks at Sao Paulo city, to provide information which can help in diagnosis of patients. This study permitted to perform a discussion about the advantages and limitations of using this nuclear methodology in hematological examinations.

This report examines a method to monitor and trend the transmission grid in the local vicinity of a nuclear o other generating station. The method addresses the potential for a loss of off-site power following a plant trip or a loss-of-coolant accident.