A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO analyzed the potential budgetary and economic effects of several Social Security reform proposals."

This report summarizes significant technical accomplishments of the Mound Waste and Hazard Minimization Program for FY 1991. The accomplishments are in one of eight major areas: environmentally responsive cleaning program; nonhalogenated solvent trials; substitutes for volatile organic compounds; hazardous material exposure minimization; nonhazardous plating development; explosive processing waste reduction; tritium capture without conversion to water; and robotic assembly. Program costs have been higher than planned.

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The scope of this quality assurance project plan (Plan) is sampling and analytical services including, but not limited to, sample receipt, handling and storage, analytical measurements, submittal of data deliverables, archiving selected portions of samples, returning unneeded sample material to Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC), and/or sample disposal associated with candidate feed samples and process condensate compliance samples. Sampling and shipping activities are also included within the scope. The purpose of this project is to provide planning, implementation, and assessment guidance for achieving established data quality objectives measurement parameters. This Plan requires onsite and offsite laboratories to conform to that guidance. Laboratory conformance will help ensure that quality data are being generated and therefore, that the 242-A evaporator is operating in a safe and compliant manner. The 242-A evaporator feed stream originates from double-shell tanks (DSTs) identified as candidate feed tanks. The 242-A evaporator reduces the volume of aqueous waste contained in DSTs by boiling off water and sending it to the Liquid Effluent Retention Facility (LERF) storage basin before further treatment. The slurry product is returned to DSTs. Evaporation results in considerable savings by reducing the volume of mixed waste for disposal.

This report documents the verification and validation of two decision support programs: EXPERT CHOICE{trademark} and PCM{trademark}. Both programs use the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) -- or pairwise comparison technique -- developed by Dr. Thomas L. Saaty. In order to provide an independent method for the validating the two programs, the pairwise comparison algorithm was developed for a standard mathematical program. A standard data set -- selecting a car to purchase -- was used with each of the three programs for validation. The results show that both commercial programs performed correctly.

This report documents the functional and integration testing process performed to verify functionality of the Release 1.1, Release 2.0, Release 3.0 and Release 3.1 software for the Waste Receiving and Processing Facility (WRAP) Data Management Systems (DMS) Release 2.

This report documents the procedures used to convert archaeological data for the INEL to digital format, lists the equipment used, and explains the verification and validation steps taken to check data entry. It also details the production of an engineered interface between ARC/INFO and Oracle.

The Waste Contaminants at Military Bases Working Group has screened six prospective demonstration projects for consideration by the Federal Advisory Committee to Develop On-Site Innovative Technologies (DOIT). These projects include the Kirtland Air Force Base Demonstration Project, the March Air Force Base Demonstration Project, the McClellan Air Force Base Demonstration Project, the Williams Air Force Base Demonstration Project, and two demonstration projects under the Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence. A seventh project (Port Hueneme Naval Construction Battalion Center) was added to list of prospective demonstrations after the September 1993 Working Group Meeting. This demonstration project has not been screened by the working group. Two additional Air Force remediation programs are also under consideration and are described in Section 6 of this document. The following information on prospective demonstrations was collected by the Waste Contaminants at Military Bases Working Group to assist the DOIT Committee in making Phase 1 Demonstration Project recommendations. The remainder of this report is organized into seven sections: Work Group Charter`s mission and vision; contamination problems, current technology limitations, and institutional and regulatory barriers to technology development and commercialization, and work force issues; screening process for initial Phase 1 demonstration technologies and sites; demonstration descriptions -- …

We have developed an expert system based on fuzzy logic theory to fuse the data from multiple sensors and make classification decisions for objects in a waste reprocessing stream. Fuzzy set theory has been applied in decision and control applications with some success, particularly by the Japanese. We have found that the fuzzy logic system is rather easy to design and train, a feature that can cut development costs considerably. With proper training, the classification accuracy is quite high. We performed several tests sorting radioactive test samples using a gamma spectrometer to compare fuzzy logic to more conventional sorting schemes.

The purpose of this analysis and model report (AMR) for the Ventilation Model is to analyze the effects of pre-closure continuous ventilation in the Engineered Barrier System (EBS) emplacement drifts and provide heat removal data to support EBS design. It will also provide input data (initial conditions, and time varying boundary conditions) for the EBS post-closure performance assessment and the EBS Water Distribution and Removal Process Model. The objective of the analysis is to develop, describe, and apply calculation methods and models that can be used to predict thermal conditions within emplacement drifts under forced ventilation during the pre-closure period. The scope of this analysis includes: (1) Provide a general description of effects and heat transfer process of emplacement drift ventilation. (2) Develop a modeling approach to simulate the impacts of pre-closure ventilation on the thermal conditions in emplacement drifts. (3) Identify and document inputs to be used for modeling emplacement ventilation. (4) Perform calculations of temperatures and heat removal in the emplacement drift. (5) Address general considerations of the effect of water/moisture removal by ventilation on the repository thermal conditions. The numerical modeling in this document will be limited to heat-only modeling and calculations. Only a preliminary assessment of …

1. Temporal dispersion at 351-nm was measured in the following: a 35-m bundle of 19 each 50-µm-core fibers, a companion 35-m single fiber, a 100-µm-core single fiber (at 4 lengths), and a 50-µm-core single fiber (two samples, 7 lengths). The 50-µm-core fiber was from preform #24; the 100-µm-core fiber was a prototype version having a thick cladding. All of the fibers were developed and manufactured at the Vavilov State Optical Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia. 2. Dispersion measurements were made by propagating a 20-ps 351-nm pulse through the fiber under test and recording the output on an S20 streak camera. The width of the pulse transmitted by the fiber was compared to that of a fraction of the pulse that had propagated over an air path. Values of dispersion were calculated as, D = {radical}(F² - A²) , where F and A are the full widths at half maximum (FWHM) for, respectively, the fiber-path and the air-path streaks. 3. In each of the experiments, the measured dispersion increased with counts in the streak record, which in principle, are proportional to intensity in the fiber. Measured values of dispersion ranged from about 0.6 to 1.0 ps/m for the single fibers. 4. The …

Metallic uranium Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) is currently stored within two water filled pools, 105-KE Basin (KE Basin) and 105-KW Basin (KW Basin), at the United States Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) Hanford Site, in southeastern Washington State. The Spent Nuclear Fuel Project (SNF Project) is responsible to DOE for operation of these fuel storage pools and for the 2100 metric tons of SNF materials that they contain. The SNF Project mission includes safe removal and transportation of all SNF from these storage basins to a new storage facility in the 200 East Area. To accomplish this mission, the SNF Project modifies the existing KE Basin and KW Basin facilities and constructs two new facilities: the 100 K Area Cold Vacuum Drying Facility (CVDF), which drains and dries the SNF; and the 200 East Area Canister Storage Building (CSB), which stores the SNF. The purpose of this document is to describe the design basis feed compositions for materials stored or processed by SNF Project facilities and activities. This document is not intended to replace the Hanford Spent Fuel Inventory Baseline (WHC 1994b), but only to supplement it by providing more detail on the chemical and radiological inventories in the fuel …

Improved understanding and performance of the alkaline-side CSEX process has been obtained through the characterization of impurity effects that hinder complete stripping of cesium from the solvent. It is shown in this report that tests of the alkaline-side CSEX process conducted in the summer and fall of 1998 were complicated by the presence of common surfactant anions, undecyl- and dodecylsulfonate, as trace impurities in the two simulants tested. This conclusion was drawn from the results of a series of systematic extraction tests followed by a definitive identification by electrospray mass spectrometry (ES-MS). Based on this understanding, a straightforward preventative measure involving the addition of a lipophilic tertiary amine extractant at a small concentration to the solvent is proposed and demonstrated. As part of the task ''Fission Product Solvent Extraction'' supported by the Efficient Separations and Processing Crosscutting Program within the USDOE Office of Environmental Management, the alkaline-side CSEX process has been developed for removal of radio-cesium ({sup 137}Cs) from alkaline high-level wastes stored in underground tanks at the Hanford Site and Savannah River Site (SRS). As described in a previous report, tests conducted in Fiscal Year 1998 generally demonstrated performance meeting the requirements for cesium removal from the waste to …

Simple scaling models indicate that quite high radiation temperatures can be achieved in hohlraums driven with the National Ignition Facility. A scaling estimate for the radiation temperature versus pulse duration for different size NIF hohlraums is shown in Figure 1. Note that a radiation temperature of about 650 ev is projected for a so-called scale 1 hohlraum (length 2.6mm, diameter 1.6mm). With such high temperature hohlraums, for example, opacity experiments could be carried out using more relevant high Z materials rather than low Z surrogates. These projections of high temperature hohlraums are uncertain, since the scaling model does not allow for the very strongly-driven laser plasma coupling physics. Lasnex calculations have been carried out to estimate the plasma and irradiation conditions in a scale 1 hohlraum driven by NIF. Linear instability gains as high as exp(100) have been found for stimulated Brillouin scattering, and other laser-driven instabilities are also far above their thresholds. More understanding of the very strongly-driven coupling physics is clearly needed in order to more realistically assess and improve the prospects for high temperature hohlraums. Not surprisingly, this regime has been avoided for inertial fusion applications and so is relatively unexplored.

This is the first Technical Progress Report for DOE Contract No. DE-AC02-94CE50389 awarded to Ford Motor Company on July 1, 1994. The overall objective of this contract is to advance the Proton-Exchange-Membrane (PEM) fuel cell technology for automotive applications. Specifically, the objectives resulting from this contract are to: (1) develop and demonstrate on a laboratory propulsion system within 2-1/2 years a fully functional PEM Fuel Cell Power System (including fuel cell peripherals, peak power augmentation and controls), this propulsion system will achieve, or will be shown to have the growth potential to achieve, the weights, volumes, and production costs which are competitive with those same attributes of equivalently performing internal combustion engine propulsion systems; (2) select and demonstrate a baseline onboard hydrogen storage method with acceptable weight, volume, cost, and safety features and analyze future alternatives; (3) analyze the hydrogen infrastructure components to ensure that hydrogen can be safely supplied to vehicles at geographically widespread convenient sites and at prices which are less than current gasoline prices per vehicle-mile; (4) identify any future R and D needs for a fully integrated vehicle and for achieving the system cost and performance goals.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) oversight programs of state agencies' nursing home survey process, focusing on the: (1) effectiveness of HCFA's approaches to assessing state agency performance; (2) extent to which HCFA's regional offices vary in their application of these approaches; and (3) the corrective actions available to HCFA when it identifies poor state agency performance."

Scoping benzene release measurements were conducted on 4 wt percent KTPB `DEMO` formulation slurry using a round, flat bottomed 100-mL flask containing 75 mL slurry. The slurry was agitated with a magnetic stirrer bar to keep the surface refreshed without creating a vortex. Benzene release measurements were made by purging the vapor space at a constant rate and analyzing for benzene by gas chromatography with automatic data acquisition. Some of the data have been rounded or simplified in view of the scoping nature of this study.

The Waste Receiving and Processing Module 1 (WRAP 1) will be used to receive, sample, treat, and ship contact-handled (CH) transuranic (TRU), low-level waste (LLW), and low-level mixed waste (LLMW) to storage and disposal sites both on the Hanford site and off-site. The primary mission of WRAP 1 is to characterize and certify CH waste in 55-gallon and 85-gallon drums; and its secondary function is to certify CH waste standard waste boxes (SWB) and boxes of similar size for disposal. The WRAP 1 will provide the capability for examination (including x-ray, visual, and contents sampling), limited treatment, repackaging, and certification of CH suspect-TRU waste in 55-gallon drums retrieved from storage, as well as newly generated CH LLW and CH TRU waste drums. The WRAP 1 will also provide examination (X-ray and visual only) and certification of CH LLW and CH TRU waste in small boxes. The decision to perform an Operational Readiness Review (ORR) was made in accordance with WHC-CM-5-34, Solid Waste Disposal Operations Administration, Section 1.4, Operational Readiness Activities. The ORR will ensure plant and equipment readiness, management and personnel readiness, and management programs readiness for the initial startup of the facility. This implementation plan is provided for defining …

The scope of this report is to document the final location for equipment currently located in the 105 K-East discharge chute before beginning installation of the isolation barriers and equipment that will/may be left after completion of installation. The isolation barriers are to be installed at each basin in the openings between the discharge chute and the main basin. Once installed, the isolation barriers will remain in place, permanently isolating the discharge chute from direct communication with the main basin. After the isolation barriers are installed, the equipment left in the discharge chute will not be able to be moved out of the chute without being totally removed from the water. The equipment that will be addressed by this Supporting Document includes: Crusher, Dump Table, Packager, Seal Conveyor, Old Cofferdam Doors, Joint Cover and Location Bars, Canister Basket, Air Operated Sludge Pump and Discharge Hose, Fuel Segregation Canister Table, Seal Preparation Tool, and Miscellaneous tools and equipment.

The purpose of this program is to determine the centers of the high-energy linac (HEL) BPMs using beam information, and to compare this information with the existing surveying information. It measures directly and quantitatively the amount of quad steering in each of the HEL quads. It is hoped that this program is all that is needed to make this measurement This procedure is based on the observation of the beam position in a BPM downstream of a quad while changing the magnetic field in that quad. If the beam is centered in the quad, then this change will have no effect on the trajectory of the beam. However, if the beam is off center at the quad, changing the field will steer the beam. This measurement therefore can be used to measure the position of the beam in the quad under examination.

To prove that two-layer, TBP-nitric acid mixtures can be safely stored in the Canyon evaporators, it must be demonstrated that a runaway reaction between TBP and nitric acid will not occur. Previous bench-scale experiments showed that, at typical evaporator temperatures, this reaction is endothermic and therefore cannot run away, due to the loss of heat from evaporation of water in the organic layer. However, the reaction would be exothermic and could run away if the small amount of water in the organic layer evaporates before the nitric acid in this layer is consumed by the reaction. Provided that there is enough water in the aqueous layer, this would occur if the organic layer is sufficiently thick so that the rate of loss of water by evaporation exceeds the rate of replenishment due to mixing with the aqueous layer. Bubbles containing reaction products enhance the rate of transfer of water from the aqueous layer to the organic layer. These bubbles are generated by the oxidation of TBP and its reaction products in the organic layer and by the oxidation of butanol in the aqueous layer. Butanol is formed by the hydrolysis of TBP in the organic layer. For aqueous-layer bubbling to …

This analysis evaluates the structural design adequacy of the shielded receiver lifting frame (SRLF) for the rotary mode core sampler truck number 2 (RMCST{number_sign}2). The analysis considers the loads expected during operation of the SRLF. Most of the existing welds were not in conformance with those specified on the drawings, H-2-91715 and -91716 (RHO 1988a and RHO 1988b). Stress analysts and engineers examined the configuration of the welds connecting the frame members of the SRLF and those connecting the SRLF to the drill rig. In comparison to those shown on the drawing, some of the actual welds appear stronger and others undersized. For example, the actual fillet welds completely encircle the junctures of members, although the drawings show some welds to be on two sides only. Attempts to find the original design calculations were unsuccessful. To resolve the nonconformance, the critical welds were identified by analysis and subsequently inspected to ensure they are as large or larger than the minimum is defined by weld leg size. A required weld size, as determined by stress analysis, of 0.1 inch or larger is considered to be critical. This size was selected because no existing welds were found to be less than 0.125 …

A magnetic survey was conducted at the Hydroflouric Acid Spill Area to evaluate the possibility of buried metal containers or other ferric objects. A proton precession gradiometer with the bottom sensor 2 ft and the top sensor 4 ft from the ground surface was used to sample the survey area on a grid defined by 1 meter grid nodes in a square array. The survey area was surrounded on three sides by a metal fence and metal recycling facility. The fence and metal objects adjacent to the fence, in addition to metal associated with hydrologic monitoring well heads, waste unit marker balls and metal signs caused significant magnetic field and gradient anomalies that extended throughout most of the survey area. In addition to these easily explained anomalies, several anomalies were detected which probably result from buried ferric objects. Some of these anomalies are of limited aerial extent and magnitude and probably represent small shallow objects. However, at least one of the anomalies is of sufficient magnitude and extent that it may represent a large metal container such as a metal drum.

This project is a major step in the Department of Energy`s program to show that ultra-clean coal-water slurry fuel (CWF) can be produced from selected coals and that this premium fuel will be a cost-effective replacement for oil and natural gas now fueling some of the industrial and utility boilers in the United States. The replacement of oil and gas with CWF can only be realized if retrofit costs are kept to a minimum and retrofit boiler emissions meet national goals for clean air. These concerns establish the specifications for maximum ash and sulfur levels and combustion properties of the CWF. This cost-share contract is a 48-month program which started on September 30, 1992. This report discusses the technical progress made during the 4th quarter of the project from July 1 to September 30, 1993.