The Department of Energy (DOE) currently has mercury (Hg) contaminated materials and soils at the various sites. Figure 1-1 (from http://www.ct.ornl.gov/stcg.hg/) shows the estimated distribution of mercury contaminated waste at the various DOE sites. Oak Ridge and Idaho sites have the largest deposits of contaminated materials. The majorities of these contaminated materials are soils, sludges, debris, and waste waters. This project concerns treatment of mercury contaminated soils. The technology is applicable to many DOE sites, in-particular, the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge Tennessee and Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). These sites have the majority of the soils and sediments contaminated with mercury. The soils may also be contaminated with other hazardous metals and radionuclides. At the Y12 plant, the baseline treatment method for mercury contaminated soil is low temperature thermal desorption (LTTD), followed by on-site landfill disposal. LTTD is relatively expensive (estimated cost of treatment which exclude disposal cost for the collect mercury is greater than $740/per cubic yard [cy] at Y-12), does not treat any of the metal or radionuclides. DOE is seeking a less costly alternative to the baseline technology. As described in the solicitation (DE-RA-01NT41030), this project initially focused on evaluating cost-effective in-situ …

The understanding of the physical mechanisms by which important biological inhibitors control the nucleation, growth, aggregation, and phase transformation of calcium oxalate crystals at fundamental level is of importance not only to the advances in biomineralization but also to the development of stone disease therapy. Of the three phases of calcium oxalate crystalline, calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) and dehydrate (COD) are found in the majority of stones formed in the urinary system. Only COM, a major inorganic component of kidney stones, produces adverse physiological effects to human, however. Although a great deal of research has been carried out on the modulation of nucleation, growth, aggregation, and phase transformation of calcium oxalates by biological molecules, the basic mechanism has not yet been determined due to inherent limitations of those techniques that have been utilized The invention of atomic force microscopy (AFM) has opened a new avenue for the study of the crystal growth in general. One can now probe the growth kinetics and dynamics, and morphology of crystal surfaces down to molecular levels as a typical AFM has a lateral resolution of nanometers. In this study, in situ AFM was used to monitor the COM surface under controlled growth conditions. The …

In its fundamental form, network analysis involves the measurement of incident, reflected, and transmitted waves that travel along transmission lines. Measuring both magnitude and phase of components is important for several reasons. First, both measurements are required to fully characterize a linear network and ensure distortion-free transmission. To design effective matching networks, complex impedances must be measured. In the development of computer-aided-design (CAD) circuit simulation programs, magnitude and phase data are required for accurate models. In addition, time-domain characterization requires magnitude and phase information in order to perform an inverse Fourier transform [1]. To acquire accurate data using network analyzers special care must be taken when performing calibrations and measurements. Various calibrations and measurement techniques using a vector network analyzer (HP8510C) will be discussed. The design of a WR340 waveguide rf window will be used as an example for explaining some of these techniques. A major problem encountered when making network measurements is the need to separate the effects of the transmission medium from the device characteristics. While it is advantageous to be able to predict how a device will behave in the environment of its final application, it can be difficult to measure this way. In most microwave measurements, …

Under the Science and Technology Implementing Arrangement for Cooperation on Radioactive and Mixed Waste Management (JCCRM), the Department of Energy (DOE) is helping to transfer waste treatment technology to international atomic energy commissions. In 1996, as part of the JCCRM, DOE established a collaborative research agreement with Argentina's Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica (CNEA). A primary mission of the CNEA is to direct waste management activities for Argentina's nuclear industry.

Both H.R. 5005 and S. 2452 propose a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which would have a number of responsibilities relating to state and local preparedness for potential terrorist attacks. This report discusses selected state and local preparedness issues that specifically pertain to the proposed Emergency Preparedness and Response Division of the new department.1 The report does not, however, discuss certain issues, such as the impact of integrating selected offices from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) into a new DHS,2 and the degree of authority the DHS would need to effectively evaluate state and local assistance programs.

This report discuss issues that received congressional attention in the 107th Congress, such as The impact of air quality regulations, key water quality issues, superfund, solid/hazardous wastes, multibillion dollar cleanup and compliance programs, climate change, pesticides, EPA budget, and Science and Technology.

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Legislation has been proposed in the 107th Congress to combat the use and abuse of Ecstasy (MDMA) and other “club drugs.” In a 2001 survey, 12% of 12th graders reported ever having taken the drug. The Ecstasy Anti-Proliferation Act of 2000, enacted by the 106th Congress, directed the U.S. Sentencing Commission to increase penalties for Ecstasy offenses. As of March 2001, MDMA penalties became more severe than for powder cocaine but less severe than for heroin.

Trade agreements such asthe NAFTA and the GATT Uruguay Round agreements have been approved by a majority vote of each House of Congress rather than by twothirds vote of the Senate — that is, they have been treated as congressional-executive agreements rather than treaties. The congressional-executive agreement has been the vehicle for implementing ingress' long-standing policy of seeking trade benefits for the United States through reciprocal trade negotiations. In a succession of statutes, Congress has authorized the President to negotiate and enter into tariff and nontariff barrier (NTB) agreements for limited periods, while mandating that NTB and free trade area agreements negotiated under this authority could enter into force for the United States only if approved by both Houses in a bill enacted into public law and other statutory conditions were met.

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) used large quantities of mercury in the uranium separating process from the 1950s until the late 1980s in support of national defense. Some of this mercury, as well as other hazardous metals and radionuclides, found its way into, and under, several buildings, soil and subsurface soils and into some of the surface waters. Several of these areas may pose potential health or environmental risks and must be dealt with under current environmental regulations. DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) awarded a contract ''Alternative Field Methods to Treat Mercury in Soil'' to IT Group, Knoxville TN (IT) and its subcontractor NFS, Erwin, TN to identify remedial methods to clean up mercury-contaminated high-clay content soils using proven treatment chemistries. The sites of interest were the Y-12 National Security Complex located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the David Witherspoon properties located in Knoxville, Tennessee, and at other similarly contaminated sites. The primary laboratory-scale contract objectives were (1) to safely retrieve and test samples of contaminated soil in an approved laboratory and (2) to determine an acceptable treatment method to ensure that the mercury does not leach from the soil above regulatory levels. The leaching requirements were to meet the …