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A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

The objective of this study is to develop a predictive experimentally verified computational fluid dynamic (CFD) three phase model. It predicts the gas, liquid and solid hold-ups (volume fractions) and flow patterns in the industrially important bubble-coalesced (churn-turbulent) regime. The input into the model can be either particulate viscosities as measured with a Brookfield viscometer or effective restitution coefficient for particles. A combination of x-ray and {gamma}-ray densitometers was used to measure solid and liquid volume fractions. There is a fair agreement between the theory and the experiment. A CCD camera was used to measure instantaneous particle velocities. There is a good agreement between the computed time average velocities and the measurements. There is an excellent agreement between the viscosity of 800 {micro}m glass beads obtained from measurement of granular temperature (random kinetic energy of particles) and the measurement using a Brookfield viscometer. A relation between particle Reynolds stresses and granular temperature was found for developed flow. Such measurement and computations gave a restitution coefficient for a methanol catalyst to be about 0.9. A transient, two-dimensional hydrodynamic model for production of methanol from syn-gas in an Air Products/DOE LaPorte slurry bubble column reactor was developed. The model predicts downflow of …

The research carried out under this grant is a continuation of some of the authors previous experimental work on ICF target shells which focused on emissivity properties over a large temperature range, and on magnetic properties which could lead to successful levitation of target shells. Former methods in which contact-less shell temperature determination was achieved by accurate measurements of shell permeation rate are not workable at temperatures below about 230K, since the permeation rate becomes too slow. A new method explored here for emissivity determination at lower temperatures than in the preceding studies utilizes visual observation of phase changes between the liquid and gaseous phases as the shell warms up under the influence of black-body radiation absorption. The apparatus for this method was modified from its previously form by using cold flowing gas as coolant rather than a liquid N{sub 2} bath. Two gases, argon and methane, were principally employed. While the actual emissivities were not accurately measured here, proof of the method was established. CH{sub 4} (methane) gives the best results, thus extending the temperature range of emissivity determination down to about 140K. For emissivity determinations at still lower temperatures, another method discussed in previous work provides contact-less temperature …

This report will provide the findings of the demonstration test conducted on the Double-Shell Tank (DST) 241-SY-101 HMR Pump-3 in accordance with WHC-SDWM-TP-434 ``Test plan for run-in acceptance testing of hydrogen mitigation/retrieval pump-3`` at the 400 Area Maintenance and Storage Facility (MASF) building from 7 June 1996 through 30 July 1996 per work package 4A-96-92/W. The DST 241-SY-101 hydrogen mitigation retrieval Pump-3 is a 200-HP submersible electric driven pump that has been modified for use in the DST 241-SY-101 containing mixed waste located in the 200W area. The pump has a motor driven rotation mechanism that allows the pump column to rotate through 355{degree}. Prior to operation, pre-operational checks were performed which included loop calibration grooming and alignment of instruments, learning how plumb HMR-3 assembly hung in a vertical position and bump test of the motor to determine rotation direction. The pump was tested in the MASF Large Diameter Cleaning Vessel (LDCV) with process water at controlled temperatures and levels. In addition, the water temperature of the cooling water to the motor oil heat exchanger was recorded during testing. A 480-volt source powered a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD). The VFD powered the pump at various frequencies and voltages to control …

This paper describes three key processes used in deactivating the Plutonium Uranium Extraction (PUREX) Facility, a large, complex nuclear reprocessing facility, 15 months ahead of schedule and $77 million under budget. The organization was reengineered to refine its business processes and more effectively organize around the deactivation work scope. Multi-disciplined work teams were formed to be self-sufficient and empowered to make decisions and perform work. A number of benefits were realized by reengineering. A comprehensive process to develop end points which clearly identified specific results and the post-project facility configuration was developed so all areas of a facility were addressed. Clear and specific end points allowed teams to focus on completing deactivation activities and helped ensure there were no unfulfilled end-of-project expectations. The RCRA regulations require closure of permitted facilities within 180 days after cessation of operations which may essentially necessitate decommissioning. A more cost effective approach was adopted which significantly reduced risk to human health and the environment by taking the facility to a passive, safe, inexpensive-to-maintain surveillance and maintenance condition (deactivation) prior to disposition. PUREX thus became the first large reprocessing facility with active TSD [treatment, storage, and disposal] units to be deactivated under the RCRA regulations.

Cost savings are an integral part of Hanford site operations. Congressional actions towards establishing a balanced budget have resulted in reductions to funding for all federal agencies, including the Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Management (EM) cleanup mission. In September 1994 the DOE Richland Operations Office (RL) approved the FY 1995 multi-year baseline that included a cost estimate of $1.9 billion for FY 1996. However, Congress only appropriated $1.3 billion for that year. The shortfall of $600 million resulted in a significant challenge to accomplish the required workscope. Therefore, RL initiated an aggressive cost savings program to eliminate the shortfall by deleting workscope that was unnecessary and performing the remaining workscope more efficiently. RL initiated baseline planning actions (including deletions, deferrals, transfers, and additions) during the FY 1996 multi-year baseline development process to match workscope and anticipated funding and identified $205 million of workscope deletions. CFR (Contract Finance and Review Division) then reviewed over 200 cost baseline change requests during FY 1996 and documented an additional $95 million of FY 1996 cost savings. This included $73 million of workscope deletions and $22 million of efficiencies. Total savings as a result of FY 1996 initiatives, including baseline planning actions and current …

The objective of this project is to both transfer existing Hot Dry Rock two-dimensional fractured reservoir analysis capability to the geothermal industry and to extend the analysis concepts to three dimensions. In this quarter, the primary focus has been on interaction with industry, development of the Geocrack3D model, and maintenance of Geocrack2D. It is important to emphasize that the modeling is complementary to current industry modeling, in that they focus on flow in fractured rock and on the coupled effect of thermal cooling, while a primary focus of current modeling technology is multi-phase flow.

Nuclear fission power reactors represent a solution-in-principle to all aspects of global change possibly induced by inputting of either particulate or carbon or sulfur oxides into the Earth`s atmosphere. Of proven technological feasibility, they presently produce high- grade heat for electricity generation, space heating and industrial process-driving around the world, without emitting greenhouse gases or atmospheric particulates. However, a substantial number of major issues currently stand between nuclear power implemented with light- water reactors and widespread substitution for large stationary fossil fuel-fired systems, including long-term fuel supply, adverse public perceptions regarding both long-term and acute operational safety, plant decommissioning, fuel reprocessing, radwaste disposal, fissile materials diversion to military purposes and - perhaps more seriously - cost. We describe a GW-scale, high-temperature nuclear reactor heat source that can operate with no human intervention for a few decades and that may be widely acceptable, since its safety features are simple, inexpensive and easily understood. We provide first-level details of a reactor system designed to satisfy these requirements. Such a back-solving approach to realizing large-scale nuclear fission power systems potentially leads to an energy source capable of meeting all large-scale stationary demands for high- temperature heat. If widely employed to support such demands, …

In the second quarter of calendar year 1997, 9 days of combustor- boiler tests were performed, including 3 days of tests on a parallel DOE sponsored project on sulfur retention in a slagging combustor. Between tests, modifications and improvements that were indicated by these tests were implemented. This brings the total number of test days to the end of June 1997 in the task 5 effort to 83 days. This compares with a total of 63 test days needed to complete the task 5 test effort, and the number of tests days required to meet the task 5 project plan have been completed. The key project objectives in the areas of combustor performance and environmental performance have been exceeded. With sorbent injection in the combustion gas train, NO{sub x} emissions as low as 0.07 lb/MMBtu and SO{sub 2} emissions as low as 0.2 lb/MMBtu have been measured in tests in the previous quarter. The emphasis of tests in the present quarter have been on further optimizing post-combustion sorbent injection for SO{sub 2} and NO{sub x} control processes, with most of the test effort focused on the NO{sub x} control process. Many factors which control the NO{sub x} reduction were identified …

Traditionally, pollution prevention (P2) assessments have been performed on existing facilities and ongoing operations, well after the completion of design and construction. It has been theorized that more success can be achieved by moving P2 upstream into the design process, where an estimated 70% of a project`s total life cycle costs are initially fixed. Decisions made during design to prevent or minimize the amount of waste generated can reap benefits for many years to come. This is especially true when designing systems for handling hazardous and radioactive wastes for treatment, storage, and disposal. P2 assessments performed during design of such projects can uncover significant savings to be reaped during project construction, operations, and/or decommissioning. However, many project managers are still reluctant to include some type of P2 review or assessment as part of the design effort, because the immediate payback to the design entity is difficult to quantify. This paper presents the results of a P2 assessment performed on a design project at Hanford which identified close to $500,000 in construction savings while minimizing low-level and mixed radioactive waste generation. This paper describes the process used to per-form the assessment, discusses its results, and provides lessons-learned for future P2 design …

The Hanford Facility Dangerous Waste Permit Application is considered to 10 be a single application organized into a General Information Portion (document 11 number DOE/RL-91-28) and a Unit-Specific Portion. The scope of the 12 Unit-Specific Portion is limited to Part B permit application documentation 13 submitted for individual, `operating` treatment, storage, and/or disposal 14 units, such as the Liquid Effluent Retention Facility and 200 Area Effluent 15 Treatment Facility (this document, DOE/RL-97-03). 16 17 Both the General Information and Unit-Specific portions of the Hanford 18 Facility Dangerous Waste Permit Application address the content of the Part B 19 permit application guidance prepared by the Washington State Department of 20 Ecology (Ecology 1987 and 1996) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 21 (40 Code of Federal Regulations 270), with additional information needs 22 defined by the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments and revisions of 23 Washington Administrative Code 173-303. For ease of reference, the Washington 24 State Department of Ecology alpha-numeric section identifiers from the permit 25 application guidance documentation (Ecology 1996) follow, in brackets, the 26 chapter headings and subheadings. A checklist indicating where information is 27 contained in the Liquid Effluent Retention Facility and 200 Area Effluent 28 Treatment …

Approximately 15% of the Low Level Waste (LLW) produced at Los Alamos consists of scrap metal equipment and materials. The majority of this material is produced by decommissioning and modification of existing facilities. To address this waste stream, Los Alamos has developed a scrap metal recycling program that is operated by the Environmental Stewardship Office to minimize the amount of LLW metal sent for LLW landfill disposal. Past practice has supported treating all waste metals generated within RCA`s as contaminated. Through the metal recycling project, ESO is encouraging the use of alternatives to LLW disposal. Diverting RSM from waste landfill, disposal protects the environment, reduces the cost of operation, and reduces the cost of maintenance and operation at landfill sites. Waste minimization efforts also results in a twofold economic reward: The RSM has a market value and decontamination reduces the volume and therefore the amount of the radioactive waste to be buried within landfills.

We show that the conventionally defined partonic cross section for the production of isolated prompt photons is not an infrared safe quantity. We work out the case of e{sup +}e{sup -} {yields} {gamma} + X in detail, and we discuss implications for hadron reactions such as p{bar p} {yields} {gamma} + X.

Only one well remains on production in the Port Neches C0{sub 2} project; Kuhn number 14. Production from this project is approaching economic limit and the project is nearing termination at this point. The workover to return Kuhn number 38 to production failed and the well is currently shut in. All produced C0{sub 2} is currently being reinjected in the reservoir. The C0{sub 2} recycled volume is 2 MMCFD.

In September 1994 the DOE Richland Operations Office (RL) approved the FY 1995 multi-year baseline that included a cost estimate of $1.9 billion for FY 1996. However, Congress only appropriated $1.3 billion for that year. The shortfall of $600 million resulted in a significant challenge to accomplish the required workscope. Therefore, RL initiated an aggressive cost savings program to eliminate the shortfall by deleting workscope that was unnecessary and performing the remaining workscope more efficiently. RL initiated baseline planning actions (including deletions, deferrals, transfers, and additions) during the FY 1996 multi-year baseline development process to match workscope and anticipated funding and identified $205 million of workscope deletions. CFR (Contract Finance and Review Division) then reviewed over 200 cost baseline change requests during FY 1996 and documented an additional $95 million of FY 1996 cost savings. This included $73 million of workscope deletions and $22 million of efficiencies. Total savings as a result of FY 1996 initiatives, including baseline planning actions and current year initiatives, were $300 million. This report contains tables which enumerate the savings realized within each program at Hanford.

In March 1995, the Department awarded a cost-plus-award-fee contract to DynCorp valued at approximately $246 million over 5 years for ADP support services at Headquarters. The performance period for the contract was a 3-year base period with two 1-year options. The contract statement of work identified 24 information management functional areas that required technical support services, including Automated Office Systems Support and Local Area Network support. The purpose of the audit was to evaluate the cost-plus-award-fee contract for ADP support services at Headquarters. The objective was to determine whether the Department`s program offices at Headquarters were managing their ADP support services contract costs.