A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Accurate credit reports are critical to the credit process--for consumers attempting to obtain credit and to lending institutions making decisions about extending credit. In today's sophisticated and highly calibrated credit markets, credit report errors can have significant monetary implications to consumers and credit granters. In recognition of the importance of this issue, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs asked GAO to (1) provide information on the frequency, type, and cause of credit report errors, and (2) describe the impact of the 1996 amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) on credit report accuracy and potential implications of reporting errors for consumers."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Centennial of Flight Commission (Commission) was created on November 13, 1998, by the Centennial of Flight Commemoration Act (Public Law 105-389, as amended by Public Law 106-68). The purpose of the Commission is to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903. The Commission is to provide recommendations and advice to the President, the Congress, and federal agencies on the most effective ways to encourage and promote national and international participation and sponsorships in commemoration of the centennial of powered flight. We are required by the act to audit the financial transactions of the Commission. This report presents the results of our audit of the Commission's fiscal year 2002 financial transactions, with cumulative information since the Commission's inception. We previously reported the results of our audits on Commission financial transactions for fiscal years 1999 and 2000, and 2001."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Testifying before Congress in 2002, military beneficiary groups described problems accessing care from TRICARE's civilian medical providers. Providers also testified on their dissatisfaction with the TRICARE program, specifying low reimbursement rates and administrative burdens. The Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act of 2003 required GAO to review the oversight of the TRICARE network of civilian providers. Specifically, GAO describes how the Department of Defense (DOD) oversees the adequacy of the civilian provider network, evaluates DOD's oversight of the civilian provider network, and describes the factors that have been reported to contribute to network inadequacy. GAO analyzed TRICARE Prime--the managed care component of TRICARE. To describe and evaluate DOD's oversight, GAO reviewed and analyzed information from reports on network adequacy and interviewed DOD and contractor officials in 5 of 11 TRICARE regions."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To better monitor children and families served by state child welfare agencies, Congress authorized matching funds for the development of statewide automated child welfare information systems (SACWIS) and required that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) compile information on the children served by state agencies. This report reviews (1) states' experiences in developing child welfare information systems and HHS's role in assisting in their development, (2) factors that affect the reliability of data that states collect and report on children served by their child welfare agencies and HHS's role in ensuring the reliability of those data, and (3) practices that child welfare agencies use to overcome challenges associated with SACWIS development and data reliability."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) faces major financial, operational, and human capital challenges that call for a transformation if USPS is to remain viable in the 21st century. Given these challenges, the President established a commission to examine the state of USPS and submit a report by July 31, 2003, with a proposed vision for USPS and recommendations to ensure the viability of postal services. The presidential commission has addressed worksharing (activities that mailers perform to obtain lower postage rates) in the course of its work. About three-quarters of domestic mail volume is workshared. Worksharing is fundamental to USPS operations, but is not well understood by a general audience. To help Congress and others better understand worksharing, GAO was asked to provide information on the key activities and the rationale for worksharing and the legal basis for worksharing rates. GAO discusses USPS's and the Postal Rate Commission's rationale for worksharing but did not assess the benefits that they claimed for worksharing. GAO will issue a second report later this year on worksharing issues raised by stakeholders. In commenting on this report, USPS and the Postal Rate …

Migratory and resident fish in the Columbia River Basin are exposed to stresses associated with hydroelectric power production, including pressure changes during turbine passage. The responses of fall chinook salmon and bluegill sunfish to rapid pressure change was investigated at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Previous test series evaluated the effects of passage through a vertical Kaplan turbine under the"worst case" pressure conditions and under less severe conditions where pressure changes were minimized. For this series of tests, pressure changes were modified to simulate passage through a horizontal bulb turbine, commonly installed at low head dams. The results were compared to results from previous test series. Migratory and resident fish in the Columbia River Basin are exposed to stresses associated with hydroelectric power production, including pressure changes during turbine passage. The responses of fall chinook salmon and bluegill sunfish to rapid pressure change was investigated at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Previous test series evaluated the effects of passage through a vertical Kaplan turbine under the"worst case" pressure conditions and under less severe conditions where pressure changes were minimized. For this series of tests, pressure changes were modified to simulate passage through a horizontal bulb turbine, commonly installed at low …

Of primary importance to this study are releases of radionuclides from slags. However, releases of other constituents also provide valuable information on releases of elements that may be toxic (e.g. Cr) or that may be used as analogs for radionuclides (e.g. K for Cs). In addition, leaching of bulk constituents from the slag gives information on weathering rates of the bulk material that can be used to estimate releases of non-leachable elements. Consequently, we have examined leaching of: radionuclides from those sloags that contain them; bulk elemental constituents of the slags; anionic constituents; trace elements, through spot checks of concentrations in leachates. Analysis by ICP of elemental constituents in leachates from radioactive samples was limited to those leachate samples that contained no detectable radionuclides, to avoid contamination of the ICP. In this data report we present leaching results for five slags that were produced by recycling steel. Two of the slags were generated at facilities that treat radioactively contaminated scrap, consequently the slag contains radionuclides. The slag from the other three was not contaminated. Because of this, we were able to examine the chemical composition of the slag and of the leachate generated during tests of these slags. For these …

The Environmental Management Science Program (EMSP) funds basic science research that will lead to reduced remediation cost, schedule, technical uncertainties, and risk for DOE’s environmental clean up. The Tanks Focus Area (TFA) has partnered with EMSP to accomplish those same objectives for DOE’s largest and most expensive remediation effort – to retrieve and immobilize the highly radioactive wastes that are our nation's chief nuclear defense program legacy. TFA has been tasked to facilitate success of the EMSP investment. The key for EMSP projects to contribute to this remediation effort is communication. First, the scientist needs to understand much more about how his scientific results would be used than he could ever learn from the original EMSP solicitation or by reading the referenced DOE needs statements. Second, the scientist’s results must be communicated to the site problem holders in a usable form and in a timely manner such that important information gaps can still be filled by the EMSP project. Research results can be used in a variety of ways besides deployment of new hardware or a new process. When results are USED the site problem holders become “users”. The important aspect that research results are to be used is captured …

The transverse mass spectra and mid-rapidity yields for {Xi}s and {Omega}s plus their anti-particles are presented. The 10% most central collision yields suggest that the amount of multi-strange particles produced per produced charged hadron increases from SPS to RHIC energies. A hydrodynamically inspired model fit to the spectra, which assumes a thermalized source, seems to indicate that these multi-strange particles experience a significant transverse flow effect, but are emitted when the system is hotter and the flow is smaller than values obtained from a combined fit to {pi}, K, p and {Lambda}s.

This calculation is a revision of a previous calculation (Ref. 7.5) that bears the same title and has the document identifier BBAC00000-01717-0210-00006 REV 01. The purpose of this revision is to remove TBV (to-be-verified) -41 10 associated with the output files of the previous version (Ref. 7.30). The purpose of this and the previous calculation is to generate source terms for a representative boiling water reactor (BWR) spent nuclear fuel (SNF) assembly for the first one million years after the SNF is discharged from the reactors. This calculation includes an examination of several ways to represent BWR assemblies and operating conditions in SAS2H in order to quantify the effects these representations may have on source terms. These source terms provide information characterizing the neutron and gamma spectra in particles per second, the decay heat in watts, and radionuclide inventories in curies. Source terms are generated for a range of burnups and enrichments (see Table 2) that are representative of the waste stream and stainless steel (SS) clad assemblies. During this revision, it was determined that the burnups used for the computer runs of the previous revision were actually about 1.7% less than the stated, or nominal, burnups. See Section 6.6 …

In most natural environments, a multitude of metabolic substrates are resent simultaneously. Organisms that can utilize uranium as a metabolic substrate for respiration also may have the ability to use a variety of other oxidized substrates as electron acceptors. Thus, these substrates are, in effect, competing for electrons that are being passed through the electron transport chain during respiration. To assess the feasibility of in situ immobilization of uranium in subsurface environments and to understand the cycling of uranium, it is necessary to discern the chemical and/or biological conditions dictating which terminal electron acceptor(s) will be utilized.

This report describes activities for the third quarter of work performed under this agreement. Atmospheric testing was conducted as scheduled on June 5 through June 13, 2003. The test results were encouraging, however, the rate of carbon dissolution was below expectations. Additional atmospheric testing is scheduled for the first week of September 2003. Phase I of the work to be done under this agreement consists of conducting atmospheric gasification of coal using the HyMelt technology to produce separate hydrogen rich and carbon monoxide rich product stream. In addition smaller quantities of petroleum coke and a low value refinery stream will be gasified. DOE and EnviRes will evaluate the results of this work to determine the feasibility and desirability of proceeding to Phase II of the work to be done under this agreement, which is gasification of the above-mentioned feeds at a gasifier pressure of approximately 5 bar. The results of this work will be used to evaluate the technical and economic aspects of producing ultra-clean transportation fuels using the HyMelt technology in existing and proposed refinery configurations.

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A 4-strap ICRF antenna was designed and fabricated for plasma heating and current drive in the Alcator C-Mod tokamak. Initial upgrades were carried out in 2000 and 2001, which eliminated surface arcing between the metallic protection tiles and reduced plasma-wall interactions at the antenna front surface. A boron nitride septum was added at the antenna midplane to intersect electric fields resulting from radio-frequency sheath rectification, which eliminated antenna corner heating at high power levels. The current feeds to the radiating straps were reoriented from an E||B to E parallel B geometry, avoiding the empirically observed {approx}15 kV/cm field limit and raising antenna voltage holding capability. Further modifications were carried out in 2002 and 2003. These included changes to the antenna current strap, the boron nitride tile mounting geometry, and shielding the BN-metal interface from the plasma. The antenna heating efficiency, power, and voltage characteristics under these various configurations will be presented.

Eltron Research Inc. and team members CoorsTek, Sued Chemie, and Argonne National Laboratory are developing an environmentally benign, inexpensive, and efficient method for separating hydrogen from gas mixtures produced during industrial processes, such as coal gasification. This project was motivated by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) Vision 21 initiative, which seeks to economically eliminate environmental concerns associated with the use of fossil fuels. Currently, this project is focusing on four basic categories of dense membranes: (1) mixed conducting ceramic/ceramic composites, (2) mixed conducting ceramic/metal (cermet) composites, (3) cermets with hydrogen permeable metals, and (4) layered composites containing hydrogen permeable alloys. Ultimately, these materials must enable hydrogen separation at practical rates under ambient and high-pressure conditions, without deactivation in the presence of feedstream components such as carbon dioxide, water, and sulfur. This report presents hydrogen permeation data during long term tests and tests at high pressure in addition to progress with cermet, ceramic/ceramic, and thin film membranes.

This report summarizes a literature review to assess the acidity characteristics of the older mineral oil and newer polyolester (POE) refrigeration systems as well as to evaluate acid measuring techniques used in other non-aqueous systems which may be applicable for refrigeration systems. Failure in the older chlorofluorocarbon/hydrochlorofluorocarbon (CFC/HCFC) / mineral oil systems was primarily due to thermal degradation of the refrigerant which resulted in the formation of hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acids. These are strong mineral acids, which can, over time, severely corrode the system metals and lead to the formation of copper plating on iron surfaces. The oil lubricants used in the older systems were relatively stable and were not prone to hydrolytic degradation due to the low solubility of water in oil. The refrigerants in the newer hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)/POE systems are much more thermally stable than the older CFC/HCFC refrigerants and mineral acid formation is negligible. However, acidity is produced in the new systems by hydrolytic decomposition of the POE lubricants with water to produce the parent organic acids and alcohols used to prepare the POE. The individual acids can therefore vary but they are generally C5 to C9 carboxylic acids. Organic acids are much weaker and far less …

No abstract prepared.

The RESRAD-BUILD computer code is a pathway analysis model designed to evaluate the potential radiological dose incurred by an individual who works or lives in a building contaminated with radioactive material. The transport of radioactive material within the building from one compartment to another is calculated with an indoor air quality model. The air quality model considers the transport of radioactive dust particulates and radon progeny due to air exchange, deposition and resuspension, and radioactive decay and ingrowth. A single run of the RESRAD-BUILD code can model a building with up to three compartments, four source geometries (point, line, area, and volume), 10 distinct source locations, and 10 receptor locations. The volume source can be composed of up to five layers of different materials, with each layer being homogeneous and isotropic. A shielding material can be specified between each source-receptor pair for external gamma dose calculations. The user can select shielding material from eight different material types. Seven exposure pathways are considered in the RESRAD-BUILD code: (1) external exposure directly from the source, (2) external exposure to materials deposited on the floor, (3) external exposure due to air submersion, (4) inhalation of airborne radioactive particulates, (5) inhalation of aerosol indoor …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 2002, when major U.S. airlines posted net operating losses of almost $10 billion, they paid over $7 billion to distribute tickets to consumers. Of these total distribution expenses, airlines paid hundreds of millions of dollars in booking fees to global distribution systems--the companies who package airline flight schedule and fare information so that travel agents can query it to "book" (i.e., reserve and purchase) flights for consumers. Each time a consumer purchases an airline ticket through a travel agent, the global distribution system used by the travel agent charges the airline a set booking fee. Concerns have been raised that the global distribution systems may exercise market power over the airlines because most carriers are still largely dependent on each of the global distribution systems for distributing tickets to different travel agents and consumers and therefore must subscribe and pay fees to each. Market power would allow global distribution systems to charge high, noncompetitive fees to airlines, costs that may be passed on to consumers. GAO was asked to examine changes in the airline ticket distribution industry since the late 1990s and the effects on …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress established the Superfund program in 1980 to clean up highly contaminated hazardous waste sites. Among other things, the law established a trust fund to help the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pay for cleanups and related program activities. The trust fund was financed primarily by three dedicated taxes until 1995, when the taxing authority expired. EPA continues to discover sites eligible for cleanup under the Superfund program. GAO was asked to examine the current status of the Superfund program, the factors guiding EPA's selection of sites to be placed on its National Priorities List, and the program's future outlook."

This report provides information on the 33 Asian Pacific Americans who have served in the United States Congress from 1903 to the present, including 13 Resident Commissioners from the Philippine Islands.

Consistent with its current mission, the U.S. Department of Energy Richland Operations Office (DOE-RL) plans to transfer ownership of large tracts of the Hanford Site in the next 3 to 5 years. Specifically, DOE-RL plans to transfer ownership of a large portion of the Hanford Reach National Monument to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Before DOE can transfer ownership of these tracts, a radiological clearance of the lands must be performed. Fluor Hanford, Inc., (FHI) is responsible for the radiological clearance for DOE-RL. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is supporting FHI on this effort through various work agreements.

In this quarter, an FEM simulation has been performed to compare the shape of the deformed slab after the 8th reduction pass with the experimental metrology data provided by Alcoa Technical Center (ATC). Also, a bug in the thermal contact algorithm used in parallel processing have been identified and corrected for consistent thermal solutions between the rollers and the slab. The overall shape of the slab at the end of the 8th pass is shown in Figure 1. Comparison of the sectional views at the center plane along the length of the slab for both experiment and simulation, shows that the curvature at the slab mouth at the centerline is slightly higher than the experimental result as shown in Figure 2. We are currently focusing on tuning the parameter values used in the simulation and a more complete parametric study for validation is underway. Also, unexpected fracture occurred along the surface of the slab in the 9th pass as shown in Figure 3. We believe that the reason is due to previously noted inadequacies in the fracture model at low strain rates and high stress triaxiality. We are expecting to receive a modified fracture model based on additional experiment shortly …

This report summarizes the results of a research effort that evolved during the course of the project. The objective of this project was to develop, implement, and test new methods for detecting pre-cursors of impending problems in the California electric power system. The approach pursued in this project utilized information that is measurable at the wall outlet anywhere in California. The approach deliberately focused on methods that do not require communication from an outside source, but rather be fully autonomous by relying on a local frequency sensor that measures the frequency in the AC power supply at the wall outlet and some control intelligence that can ultimately be implemented at low-cost in commonly used appliances for homes and business.