A significant seismic hazard exists in south Hawaii from large tectonic earthquakes that can reach magnitude 8 and intensity XII. This paper quantifies the hazard by estimating the horizontal peak ground acceleration (PGA) in south Hawaii which occurs with a 90% probability of not being exceeded during exposure times from 10 to 250 years. The largest earthquakes occur beneath active, unbuttressed and mobile flanks of volcanoes in their shield building stage.

[1] Douglass and Knox [2005], hereafter referred to as DK, present an analysis of the observed cooling following the 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption and claim that these data imply a very low value for the climate sensitivity (equivalent to 0.6 C equilibrium warming for a CO{sub 2} doubling). We show here that their analysis is flawed and their results are incorrect.

The Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP) is a single, highly integrated technical program for maintaining the surety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile. The SSP uses past nuclear test data along with current and future non-nuclear test data, computational modeling and simulation, and experimental facilities to advance understanding of nuclear weapons. It includes stockpile surveillance, experimental research, development and engineering (D&E) programs, and an appropriately scaled production capability to support stockpile requirements. This integrated national program requires the continued use of current facilities and programs along with new experimental facilities and computational enhancements to support these programs. The Advanced Simulation and Computing Program (ASC) is a cornerstone of the SSP, providing simulation capabilities and computational resources to support the annual stockpile assessment and certification, to study advanced nuclear weapons design and manufacturing processes, to analyze accident scenarios and weapons aging, and to provide the tools to enable stockpile Life Extension Programs (LEPs) and the resolution of Significant Finding Investigations (SFIs). This requires a balanced resource, including technical staff, hardware, simulation software, and computer science solutions. In its first decade, the ASC strategy focused on demonstrating simulation capabilities of unprecedented scale in three spatial dimensions. In its second decade, ASC is …

The world-wide network of nuclear reaction data centers (NRDC) has, for about 40 years, provided data services to the scientific community. This network covers all types of nuclear reaction data, including neutron-induced, charged-particle-induced, and photonuclear data, used in a wide range of applications, such as fission reactors, accelerator driven systems, fusion facilities, nuclear medicine, materials analysis, environmental monitoring, and basic research. The now 13 nuclear data centers included in the NRDC are dividing the efforts of compilation and distribution for particular types of reactions and/or geographic regions all over the world. A central activity of the network is the collection and compilation of experimental nuclear reaction data and the related bibliographic information in the EXFOR and CINDA databases. Many of the individual data centers also distribute other types of nuclear data information, including evaluated data libraries, nuclear structure and decay data, and nuclear data reports. The network today ensures the world-wide transfer of information and coordinated evolution of an important source of nuclear data for current and future nuclear applications.

This work has followed two themes: (1) Developing and using the adjoint of the MIT ocean biogeochemistry model to examine the efficiency of carbon sequestration in a global configuration. We have demonstrated the power of the adjoint method for systematic ocean model sensitivity studies. We have shown that the relative efficiency of carbon sequestration in the Atlantic and Pacific basins changes with the period of interest. For decadal to centennial scales, the Pacific is more efficient. On longer timescales the Atlantic is more efficient . (2) We have developed and applied a high-resolution, North Atlantic circulation and tracer model to investigate the role of the mesoscale in controlling sequestration efficiency. We show that the mesoscale eddy field, and its explicit representation, significantly affects the estimated sequestration efficiency for local sources on the Eastern US seaboard.

The results of calculations are presented for the decay time required prior to LOFT ECCS shutdown bypass actuation following a reactor shutdown. These calculations are based on a LOCA occurring during hot shutdown which would void the core. Based on an operator response time of 20 minutes to manually establish ECC flow, the reactor decay time was calculated to prevent the fuel cladding temperature from exceeding 1100/sup 0/F. Results show that 211 hours are required following normal reactor shutdown from 55 MW reactor power before ECCS shutdown bypass actuation can be allowed if the reactor is not in cold shutdown condition. One hundred (100) seconds are required following a LOCE before ECCS shutdown bypass actuation can be allowed.

The Human Resources Staffing Plan quantified the equivalent staffing needs required for the Tank Farm Contractor (TFC) and its subcontractors to execute the readiness to proceed baseline between FY 2000-2008. The TFC staffing needs were assessed along with the staffings needs of Fluor Hanford and the privatization contractor. The plan then addressed the staffing needs and recruitment strategies required to execute the baseline.

The Cr-Ta alloy with an eutectic structure has a good combination of high strength and oxidation resistance at elevated temperatures up to 1,200 C. It is an ideal candidate for ultrahigh-temperature applications. However, the material shows low ductility and fracture toughness at room temperature. An effective way to improve the ductility and fracture toughness is to obtain an aligned microstructure of eutectic Cr-based alloys, using a directional-solidification (DS) process, in which the feed materials with eutectic compositions are preferred. In the present work, a quantitative technique was employed to assist in monitoring and controlling the composition of the Cr-based alloys throughout the processing stages at elevated temperatures. A colony structure related to the instable liquid/solid interface was observed in a DS Cr-Ta sample. A possible eutectic area was probed in the Cr-Mo-Ta system, which could facilitate the development of well-aligned lamellar structures by DS.

We present experimental results of impurity and self-diffusion in an isotopically controlled silicon heterostructure extrinsically doped with phosphorus. As a consequence of extrinsic doping, the concentration of singly negatively charged native defects is enhanced and the role of these native defect charge states in the simultaneous phosphorus and Si self-diffusion can be determined. Multilayers of isotopically controlled {sup 28}Si and natural silicon enable simultaneous analysis of {sup 30}Si self-diffusion into the {sup 28}Si enriched layers and phosphorus diffusion throughout the multilayer structure. An amorphous 260 nm thick Si cap layer was deposited on top of the Si isotope heterostructure. The phosphorus ions were implanted to a depth such that all the radiation damage resided inside this amorphous cap layer, preventing the generation of excess native defects and enabling the determination of the Si self-diffusion coefficient and the phosphorus diffusivity under equilibrium conditions. These samples were annealed at temperatures between 950 and 1100 C to study the diffusion. Detailed analysis of the diffusion process was performed on the basis of a P diffusion model which involves neutral and positively charged mobile P species and neutral and singly negatively charged self-interstitial.

In order to develop FeCrAl-based ODS alloy tubing with the coarse, high aspect ratio, appropriately oriented grain structures likely to deliver enhanced high temperature (11000C) hoop creep strength compared to conventionally formed ODS alloy tubing, flow forming techniques were explored in a European funded programme. The evolution of microstructure in PM2000 alloy tubing formed by warm flow forming techniques has been the subject of continuing investigation and more detailed study in the current work. The warm flow formed tubes investigated were produced by reverse flow forming using three, 1200 opposed rollers described around a tube preform supported on a driven mandrel. This produced a complex pattern of shape changing deformation, driven from the outer surface of the tube preforms. The grain size and shape together with the pattern of nucleation and growth of secondary recrystallization that developed through the thickness of the tube wall during the subsequent high temperature annealing (13800C) of these warm flow formed samples is described, as are the textures that formed. The unusual pattern and shape of secondary recrystallized grain structures that formed on the outer surfaces of the flow formed tubes closely follows the pattern and pitch of the flow forming rollers. The local texture, …

Comparing complete animal mitochondrial genome sequences is becoming increasingly common for phylogenetic reconstruction and as a model for genome evolution. Not only are they much more informative than shorter sequences of individual genes for inferring evolutionary relatedness, but these data also provide sets of genome-level characters, such as the relative arrangements of genes, that can be especially powerful. We describe here the protocols commonly used for physically isolating mtDNA, for amplifying these by PCR or RCA, for cloning,sequencing, assembly, validation, and gene annotation, and for comparing both sequences and gene arrangements. On several topics, we offer general observations based on our experiences to date with determining and comparing complete mtDNA sequences.

The "Coal Ash Corrosion Resistant Materials Testing Program" is being conducted by The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Ohio Coal Development Office (OCDO) at Reliant Energy’s Niles plant in Niles, Ohio to provide full-scale, in-situ testing of recently developed boiler superheater materials. Fireside corrosion is a key issue for improving efficiency of new coal fired power plants and improving service life in existing plants. In November 1998, B&W began development of a system to permit testing of advanced tube materials at metal temperatures typical of advanced supercritical steam temperatures (1100°F and higher) in a boiler exhibiting coal ash corrosive conditions. Several materials producers including Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) contributed advanced materials to the project. In the spring of 1999 a system consisting of three identical sections, each containing multiple segments of twelve different materials, was installed. The sections are cooled by reheat steam, and are located just above the furnace entrance in Niles’ Unit #1, a 110 MWe unit firing high sulfur Ohio coal. In November 2001 the first section was removed for thorough metallurgical evaluation after 33 months of operation. The second and third sections remain in service and the …

We use data from a unique 40-year record of 150 urban and rural stations in the ''Black Smoke and SO2 Network'' in Great Britain to infer information about sources of atmospheric black carbon (BC). The data show a rapid decline of ambient atmospheric BC between 1962 and the early 1990s that exceeds the decline in official estimates of BC emissions based only on amount of fuel use and mostly fixed emission factors. This provides empirical confirmation of the existence and large impact of a time-dependent ''technology factor'' that must multiply the rate of fossil fuel use. Current ambient BC amounts in Great Britain comparable to those in western and central Europe, with diesel engines being the principal present source. From comparison of BC and SO2 data we infer that current BC emission inventories understate true emissions in the U.K. by about a factor of two. The results imply that there is the potential for improved technology to achieve large reduction of global ambient BC. There is a need for comparable monitoring of BC in other countries.

The production of comprehensive cDNA clone collections is an important goal of the human and model organism genome projects. cDNA sequences are used to determine the structures of transcripts, including splice junctions, polyadenylation sites, and 5' and 3' untranslated regions (UTRs). cDNA collections are also valuable resources for functional studies of genes and proteins. Expressed Sequence Tag (EST)sequencing is the method of choice for recovering cDNAs representing a majority of the transcripts encoded in a eukaryotic genome. However, EST sequencing samples a library at random, so it realizes diminishing returns as the project progresses. To drive cDNA collections toward completion new methods are needed to recover cDNAs representing specific genes and alternative transcripts, including transcripts with low expression levels. We describe a simple and effective inverse-PCR-based method for screening plasmid libraries to recover intact cDNAs for specific transcripts. We tested the method by screening libraries used in our Drosophila EST projects for 153 transcription factor genes that were not yet represented by full-length cDNAs. We recovered target-specific clones for 104 of the genes: 46 exactly match, 30 improve and 28partially match current gene annotations. Successful application of the screening method depends on cDNA library complexity and quality of the gene …

This document is a plan presenting the process, strategies and approaches for vendor contracting by the Tank Farm Contractor. The plan focuses on contracting structures, practices, methods, and desired approaches in contracting. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of River Protection (ORP) has contracted with the CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc. (CHG), as the Tank Farm Contractor (TFC), to support vitrification of Hanford Site tank waste by the Privatization Contractor. During Waste Feed Delivery Phase 1, waste will be retrieved from certain double-shell tanks and delivered to the Privatization Contractor to meet contract feed delivery requirements. Near-term project goals include upgrading infrastructure systems; retrieving and delivering the waste; and accepting the waste packages for interim onsite storage and disposal. Project Delivery includes individual projects assigned to provide the infrastructure and systems responsible to provide engineering, design, procurement, installation/construction, and testing/turnover of systems for retrieval of waste from Hanford double-shell tanks. This plan sets the requirements for projects work scope, contracting practices, structures, methods, and performance measurements. The plan is designed to integrate Life-Cycle Projects acquisitions and provide a consistent contracting approach. This effort will serve as a step improvement in contract reform implementing commercial practices into DOE projects.

The purpose of the Financial Analysis for Phase 1 Privatization for the Tank Farm Contractor is to provide a third-party quantitative and qualitative cost and schedule risk analysis of HNF-1946. The purpose of this Financial Analysis for Phase 1 Privatization for the Tank Farm Contractor (TFC) is to document the results of the risk-based financial analysis of HNF-1946, Programmatic Baseline Summary for Phase 1 Privatization f o r the Tank Farm Contractor (Diediker 2000). This analysis was performed to evaluate how well the proposed baseline meets the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of River Protection (ORP) Letter OO-MSO-009, ''Contract NO. DE-AC06-99RL14047--The US Department of Energy, Office of River Protection (ORP) Mission Planning Guidance for Fiscal Year (FY) 2002--Revision 1'' (Short 2000). The letter requires a confidence level in the baseline schedule that is consistent with the Phase 1A readiness-to-proceed (RTP) assessment conducted in fiscal year (FY) 1998. Because the success of the project depends not only on the budget but also on the schedule, this risk analysis addresses both components of the baseline.

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Several approaches to ASP performance can be contemplated. Perhaps the ideal would be a full cost/benefit analysis (which is probably utterly infeasible). Another approach would be a test-based figure-of-merit (FOM), this approach has the virtue of being quantitative and the challenge that each customer and application would be characterized by a different FOM. The alternative proposed here is an approach that uses information about the limits of detection of real instruments to support informed judgments.

The modulus of the mutual coherence function, {vert bar}g{sub 12}({tau}){vert bar}, has been measured for two physically separated laser diode arrays that were simultaneously injection locked to the same master laser. The measured value {vert bar}g{sub 12}({tau}){vert bar} = 0.96 {plus minus} 0.06, is close to ideal. 2 figs.

The project was a joint research effort between the U. S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Kansas City Plant (KCP) and Brandon Research, Inc. to develop ways to improve implants used for orthopedic surgery for joint replacement. The primary product produced by this study is design information, which may be used to develop implants that will improve long-term fixation and durability in the host bone environment.

Room-temperature tensile tests were conducted on B-doped (300 wppm) and B-free polycrystalline FeAl alloys containing 37, 40, 45, and 48 at. % aluminum in pure hydrogen gas at pressures in the range of 10 sup minus 8 to 10 sup 3 Pa. The ductilities of both B-free and B-doped FeAl decreased with increasing Al content. However, at a given Al level, the ductility of B-doped FeAl was higher than that of its B-free counterpart. Fracture mode was independent of environment and dependent mainly on stoichiometry. Ductility was found to be very sensitive to environment, particularly in the lower Al alloys. Alloys that exhibited >10% ductility in UHV showed a decrease in elongation to fracture with increasing hydrogen pressure. Tests conducted in dry hydrogen gas result in greater ductilities than those conducted in air, indicating that water vapor is more detrimental than H sub 2 to the ductility of FeAl alloys.

The Transportable Vitrification System (TVS) is a large scale, fully integrated, vitrification system for the treatment of low-level and mixed wastes in the form of sludges, soils, incinerator ash, and many other waste streams. It was demonstrated on surrogate waste at Clemson University and at the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) prior to treating actual mixed waste. Treatment of a combination of dried B and C Pond sludge and CNF sludge was successfully demonstrated at ORR in 1997. The demonstration produced 7,616 kg of glass from 7,328 kg of mixed wastes with a 60% reduction in volume. Glass formulations for the wastes treated were developed using a combination of laboratory crucible studies with the actual wastes and small melter studies at Clemson with both surrogate and actual wastes. Initial characterization of the B and C Pond sludge had not shown the presence of carbon or fluoride, which required a modified glass formulation be developed to maintain proper glass redox and viscosity. The CNF sludge challenges the glass formulations due to high levels of phosphate and iron. The demonstration was delayed several times by permitting problems, a glass leak, and electrical problems. The demonstration showed that the two wastes could be successfully …

Between 8 and 50 metric tonnes of excess plutonium are currently planned to be immobilized in a glass or ceramic waste form in the US. The immobilized Pu would then be encased in HLW glass (the can-in-canister alternative), which would provide a radiation barrier to enhance the proliferation resistance of the material. Associated with the plutonium are about 15 metric tonnes of uranium primarily {sup 238}U and a variety of other impurities (primarily Ga, Mo, Al, Mg, Si, and Cl) totaling about 1 metric tonne or less. Immobilization of this material is complicated by the fact that the uranium content in the various feed streams varies widely, from 0 to about 95%. The proposed ceramic form is composed of about 90% zirconolite (CaZrTi{sub 2}O{sub 7}) and/or pyrochlore (CaPuTi{sub 2}O{sub 7}) with about 10% other phases, typically hollandite (BaAl{sub 2}Ti{sub 6}O{sub 16}) and rutile (TiO{sub 2}). The form is a variation of Synroc-C, which contains nominally 30% zirconolite, 30% perovskite, 30% hollandite, and 10% rutile and noble metal alloys. Zirconolite and perovskite are the actinide host phases in Synroc-C with zirconolite being the more durable phase. The pyrochlore structure is closely related to zirconolite and forms at higher actinide loadings. Thus, …

This report evaluates the closure activities at the 105-DR Large Sodium Fire Facility. The closure activities discussed include: the closure activities for the structures, equipment, soil, and gravel scrubber; decontamination methods; materials made available for recycling or reuse; and waste management. The evaluation compares these activities to the regulatory requirements and closure plan requirements. The report concludes that the areas identified in the closure plan can be clean closed.