A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal, state, and local governments share responsibility for terrorist attacks. However, local government, including police and fire departments, emergency medical personnel, and public health agencies, is typically the first responder to an incident. The federal government historically has provided leadership, training, and funding assistance. In the aftermath of September 11, for instance, one-quarter of the $40 billion Emergency Response Fund was earmarked for homeland security, including enhancing state and local government preparedness. Because the national security threat is diffuse and the challenge is highly intergovernmental, national policymakers must formulate strategies with a firm understanding of the interests, capacity, and challenges facing those governments. The development of a national strategy will improve national preparedness and enhance partnerships between federal, state, and local governments. The creation of the Office of Homeland Security is an important and potentially significant first step. The Office of Homeland Security's strategic plan should (1) define and clarify the appropriate roles and responsibilities of federal, state, and local entities; (2) establish goals and performance measures to guide the nation's preparedness efforts; and (3) carefully choose the most appropriate tools of government to implement …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Air Force launched an acquisition program to develop and produce a revolutionary laser weapon system, known as the Airborne Laser, in 1996. Being developed for installation in a modified Boeing 747 aircraft, it is intended to destroy enemy ballistic missiles almost immediately after their launch. The Air Force originally estimated development costs at $2.5 billion and projected fielding of the system in 2006. However, by August 2001, the Air Force determined that the development cost estimate rose 50 percent to $3.7 billion, and the fielding date slipped to 2010. The Department of Defense transferred responsibility for the Airborne Laser in October 2001 to the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization. Subsequently, the Defense Secretary designated the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization as the Missile Defense Agency and granted the agency expanded responsibility and authority. The Air Force was unable to meet the Airborne Laser's original cost and schedule goals because it did not fully understand the level of effort that would be required to develop the critical system technology needed to meet the user's requirements. The Missile Defense Agency's new strategy for developing the Airborne Laser incorporates some knowledge-based practices …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) hazardous waste ombudsman was first established within the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response as a result of the 1984 amendments to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Over time, EPA expanded the national ombudsman's jurisdiction to include Superfund and other hazardous waste programs managed by the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, and, by March 1996, EPA had designated ombudsmen in each of its 10 regional offices. Although the national ombudsman's activities ranged from providing information to investigating the merits of complaints, in recent years, the ombudsman played an increasingly prominent role through his investigations of citizen complaints. Pending legislation would reauthorize an office of the ombudsman within EPA. In November 2001, the EPA Administrator announced that the national ombudsman would be relocated from the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) and would address concerns across the spectrum of EPA programs. Although there are no federal requirements or standards specific to the operation of ombudsman offices, several professional organizations have published standards of practice relevant to ombudsmen who deal with inquiries from …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Small Business Administration (SBA) has made organizational structure and service delivery changes during the past 10 years. However, ineffective lines of communication, confusion over the mission of district offices, complicated and overlapping organizational relationships, and a field structure not consistently matched with mission requirements all combine to impede SBA staff efforts to deliver services effectively. SBA's structural inefficiencies stem in part from realignment efforts during the mid-1990s that changed SBA's functions but left aspects of the previous structure intact, congressional influence over the location of field offices and centers, and legislative requirements such as specified reporting relationships. In response to GAO's findings and additional challenges identifies by the Office of Management and Budget and the SBA Inspector General, SBA recently announced a draft 5-year workforce transformation plan that discusses many of GAO's findings regarding the difficulties posed by its current structure. Organizational alignment is crucial if an agency is to maximize its performance and accountability. As SBA executes its workforce transformation plan, it should employ strategies common to successful transformation efforts both here and abroad. Successful efforts begin with instilling senior-level leadership, responsibility, and accountability for organizational …

A comprehensive carbon management program to sequester excess CO{sub 2} includes the maximization of the carbon sink potential of the terrestrial ecosystem. The establishment of sustainable vegetation on semi-arid or damaged land is necessary to increase the carbon inventory in the terrestrial ecosystem, as it is increasing the depth of the soil carbon sink. The availability of water for sustained growth at acceptable costs, when or where precipitation is too scarce or unpredictable, may, however, significantly affect the cost and sustainability of the revegetation efforts. We tested an innovative technology that enables the establishment of 'plantations' that are independent of erratic water supplies or irrigation by developing deep root systems that tap into deeper groundwater. Applied Natural Sciences (ANS) patented technologies (TreeMediation{reg_sign} and TreeWell{reg_sign} systems) overcome soil conditions unfavorable to deep rooting and 'engineer' the growth of phreatophytic tree roots into soil to reliably reach the groundwater. Carbon sinks can then be increased by increasing rooting depths and especially by enabling vegetative growth altogether. We collected soil cores from three phytoremediation sites where these technologies have been previously deployed. From these, we developed detailed information on root density and soil conditions at increasing depths to estimate C gains. The largest …

The authors present measurements of recoil proton polarization for {sup 1}H({rvec {gamma}},{rvec p}){pi}{sup 0} in and above the resonance region. These are the first data in this reaction for polarization transfer with circularly polarized photons. The results are compared to phase shift analyses and quark model calculations.

This Corrective Action Investigation Plan contains the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Operations Office's approach to collect the data necessary to evaluate corrective action alternatives appropriate for the closure of Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 410 under the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order. Corrective Action Unit 410 is located on the Tonopah Test Range (TTR), which is included in the Nevada Test and Training Range (formerly the Nellis Air Force Range) approximately 140 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada. This CAU is comprised of five Corrective Action Sites (CASs): TA-19-002-TAB2, Debris Mound; TA-21-003-TANL, Disposal Trench; TA-21-002-TAAL, Disposal Trench; 09-21-001-TA09, Disposal Trenches; 03-19-001, Waste Disposal Site. This CAU is being investigated because contaminants may be present in concentrations that could potentially pose a threat to human health and/or the environment, and waste may have been disposed of with out appropriate controls. Four out of five of these CASs are the result of weapons testing and disposal activities at the TTR, and they are grouped together for site closure based on the similarity of the sites (waste disposal sites and trenches). The fifth CAS, CAS 03-19-001, is a hydrocarbon spill related to activities in the area. This site …

The objective of this project, shared between NIH and DOE, has been and remains to enable the medical genetics communities to use common names for genes that are discovered by different gene hunting groups, in different species. This effort provides consistent gene nomenclature and approved gene symbols to the community at large. This contributes to a uniform and consistent understanding of genomes, particularly the human as well as functional genomics based on comparisons between homologous genes in related species (human and mice).

The Mie model is widely used to analyze light scattering from particulate aerosols. The Diesel Particle Scatterometer (DPS), for example, determines the size and optical properties of diesel exhaust particles that are characterized by measuring three angle-dependent elements of the Mueller scattering matrix. These elements are then fitted using Mie calculations with a Levenburg-Marquardt optimization program. This approach has achieved good fits for most experimental data. However, in many cases, the predicted real and imaginary parts of the index of refraction were less than that for solid carbon. To understand this result and explain the experimental data, we present an assessment of the Mie model by use of a light scattering model based on the coupled dipole approximation. The results indicate that the Mie calculation can be used to determine the largest dimension of irregularly shaped particles at sizes characteristic of Diesel soot and, for particles of known refractive index, tables can be constructed to determine the average porosity of the particles from the predicted index of refraction.

For the first time, a superconducting solenoid (SCM) was used to increase the remnant magnetization of sintered NdFeB permanent magnets (PMs). In particular, improved magnetic alignment of commercial-grade PM powder was achieved, as it was axial die pressed into 12.7-mm diameter cylindrical compacts in the 76.2-mm warm bore of a 9-T SCM. The press used to compact the powder is unique and was specifically designed for use with the SCM. Although the press was operated in the batch mode for this proof of concept study, its design is intended to enable automated production. In operation, a simple die and punch set made of nonmagnetic materials was filled with powder and loaded into a nonmagnetic press tube. The cantilevered press tube was inserted horizontally, on a carrier manually advanced along a track, into the SCM. The robustness of the mechanical components and the SCM, in its liquid helium dewar, were specifically designed to allow for insertion and extraction of the magnetic powder and compacts, while operating at 9 T. Compaction was achieved by pressing the punches between the closed end of the press tube and the hydraulic cylinder mounted on the opposite end. Improvements up to 10% in magnetization and 20% …

The stabilization of transuranics (TRU) in a PWR fuel cycle was evaluated for the CORAIL assembly. Alternative assembly designs (a highly moderated and modified CORAIL-TRU assembly and a homogeneous Thorium-TRU assembly) were also investigated to assess the potential of obtaining a near-zero TRU mass balance (i.e., the net TRU production per assembly) and low power peaking factor. The radiotoxicity of the nuclear waste sent to the repository environment and the impact of TRU stabilization on the future TRU stockpile were also evaluated. Assembly level mass flow analyses have shown that TRU mass balances in the range of 0.2 to 1.4 kg/assembly are achievable within 7 recycles of the TRU, compared with 6.5 kg/assembly for a reference UO{sub 2} assembly. The study also revealed that the radiotoxicity of the repository waste generated by these TRU-containing assemblies at 10 years after disposal is roughly half that of a reference UO{sub 2} assembly; furthermore, the radiotoxicity falls below that of natural uranium ore after about 500 years because only a small fraction of the TRU (0.1%) is passed to the waste repository. Finally, the future TRU stockpile could be reduced by implementation of TRU multi-recycling in the CORAIL or alternative assemblies in a …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO studied the implications of converting the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to a self-funded entity. Congress has created a range of self-funding structures, or other sources of funding, other than appropriations for the Department of the Treasury's general fund. The variations among these agencies depend on how and when Congress makes the fees available to an agency and how much flexibility Congress gives an agency in using its collected fees without further legislative action. Moving SEC to a more self-controlled funding structure has implications for two important areas. First, SEC would have more control over its own budget and funding level, which some SEC and industry officials believe may better enable SEC to address its increasing workload and some of its human capital challenges, such as its ability to recruit and retain quality staff. The second result would be a loss of checks and balances currently provided by the federal budget and appropriations processes. Moving SEC to a self-controlled funding structure would diminish congressional and executive branch oversight. On the other hand, the congressional authorizing committees would maintain or else could choose to increase their …

To benchmark the incompressible flow model in ALE3D, two test cases are conducted. The first case of two-dimensional flow over a flat plate is selected because it provides a straightforward example to determine whether or not ALE3D can grow a boundary layer by viscous diffusion. The benefit of the flat plate problem is that under certain conditions, the governing Navier-Stokes equations can be simplified and solved with numerical techniques, providing an independent result that can be compared with the solution from ALE3D. The second test case is that of two-dimensional, laminar flow about a circular cylinder. This test case is selected because it provides the complexity of an unsteady bluff-body wake in which vorticity is periodically shed from the surface of the cylinder. Since this canonical flow problem has been studied extensively both experimentally and computationally, the results from ALE3D can be compared with those presented in the literature. The results for the flat plate case demonstrate that the implicit time integration scheme results in an approximate twenty-four-fold reduction of the simulation time over that of the explicit time integration scheme. On the other hand, a problematic trend is observed in the explicit time integration scheme used in the flat …

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In 1999, Argonne National Laboratory-East (ANL-E) designed and installed a series of engineered plantings consisting of a vegetative cover system and approximately 800 hybrid poplars and willows rooting at various predetermined depths. The plants were installed using various methods including Applied Natural Science's TreeWell{reg_sign} system. The goal of the installation was to protect downgradient surface and groundwater by hydraulic control of the contaminated plume. This goal was to be accomplished by intercepting the contaminated groundwater with the tree roots, removing moisture from the upgradient soil area, reducing water infiltration, preventing soil erosion, degrading and/or transpiring the residual VOCs, and removing tritium from the subsoil and groundwater. The U.S. EPA Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation Program (SITE) and ANL-E evaluated the demonstration. The effectiveness of the various plantings was monitored directly through groundwater measurements and samples, and indirectly via soil moisture probes, plant tissue analysis, microbial studies, geochemical analysis, and sap flow monitoring. A weather station with data logging equipment was installed. ANL-E modeled the predicted effect of the plants on the groundwater using MODFLOW. The demonstration has lasted three growing seasons and continues. This paper presents the results of the sampling, monitoring, and modeling efforts to date. The project was not …

We review predictions, based on the nonrelativistic QCD factorization framework, for the polarizations of prompt J={psi}'s and {Upsilon}(nS)'s produced at the Fermilab Tevatron. We also discuss the effect of relativistic corrections on the theoretical prediction for the polarization of prompt J={psi}'s at the Tevatron.

The authors present IV and CV curves for irradiated prototype n{sup +}/n/p{sup +} silicon pixel sensors, intended for use in the BTeV experiment at Fermilab. They tested pixel sensors from various vendors and with two pixel isolation layouts: p-stop and p-spray. Results are based on exposure with 200 MeV protons up to 6 x 10{sup 14} protons/cm{sup 2}.

OAK B188 Nuclear Energy Research Initiative Cooperative Agreement DE-FC03-99SF21902 Technical Progress Report 1Q00.

This report details the constitutional standards that currently apply to indirect aid programs and summarizes all of the pertinent state and federal court decisions, including the Ohio case that will be heard by the Supreme Court. On September 25, 2001, the Supreme Court agreed to review a case raising the controversial issue of the constitutionality of education vouchers. In Zelman v. Simmons-Harris the Sixth Circuit held Ohio’s Pilot Scholarship Program, which provided up to $2500 to help low-income students in Cleveland’s public schools attend private schools in the city, to violate the establishment of religion clause of the First Amendment.

This report provides a context for evaluating legislative proposals through examples of how science has been used in selected cases, a discussion of the nature and role of science in general, and its role in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) process in particular, together with general and agency information quality requirements and policies, and a review of how the courts have viewed agency use of science.

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