This report gives methods and results of the 1981 radiation monitoring program at LLL for both radioactive and non-radioactive contamination from gaseous and liquid effluents. Off-site monitoring includes various radionuclides but especially tritium in the ecosystems. (PSB)

Mass and energy balance errors noted in a number of IBM-executed problems are caused by the lack of precision in computing total mass and energy values for a domain. This problem is evident in domains constructed with highly variable mesh sizes during the early time of simulation. The machine round-off was corrected by double-precisioning certain calculations for mass and energy balance. Small differences that exist between the improved INTERCOMP code operating on an IBM machine and the old version on a CDC machine seem unimportant. The noted differences are greatest at an onset of physical system perturbation. These differences diminish rapidly with each succeeding time step. Comparisons with numerical and analytical solutions appear to prove authenticity of code results. Numerical comparisons with the CCC computer code on the Mobile experiment data demonstrate the advantage of using aquifer influence functions in place of an infinitely large mesh. The one-dimensional heat transfer in the overburden and underburden appears sufficiently accurate to describe aquifer heat losses.

We provide a synthesis of our Thomson-scattering measurements of electron temperature (T/sub e/) and density (n/sub e/) for the Tandem Mirror Experiment (TMX). TMX operated in two modes - high and low T/sub e/. When performing in the high T/sub e/ mode (in general > 100 eV), heating the central-cell ions with neutral beams raised T/sub e/ in the end plug. We achieved a maximum T/sub e/ of 260 eV in the east end plug. Specifically, our experiments demonstrated that in the end plug, the radial T/sub e/ profiles were flat to r = 5 cm; the ratio of potential (phi/sub p/) to T/sub e/ ranged between four and six. In addition, we found that although T/sub e/ in the central cell was generally comparable to that in the plug, it was often not constant along a magnetic field line. Under some conditions a non-Maxwellian electron distribution may have been present.

This interim report for the FY82 Fusion Breeder Program covers work performed during the scoping phase of the study, December, 1981-February 1982. The goals for the FY82 study are the identification and development of a reference blanket concept using the fission suppression concept and the definition of a development plan to further the fusion breeder application. The context of the study is the tandem mirror reactor, but emphasis is placed upon blanket engineering. A tokamak driver and blanket concept will be selected and studied in more detail during FY83.

Ultrasonic nondestructive examination (NDE) will detect three mil deep underbead cracks in welds joining thin walled iridium hemishells. A correlation was developed to relate the amplitude of the signal reflected from the crack with crack wall area. The observed cracks occur in the weld underbead in the arc taper area during encapsulation of /sup 238/PuO/sub 2/ pellets for thermoelectric generators used in deep space exploration.

A comprehensive safety analysis was performed on the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Heavy Element Facility, Building 251. The purpose of the analysis was to evaluate the building and its operations in order to inform LLNL and the Department of Energy of the risks they assume at Building 251. This was done by examining all of the energy sources and matching them with the physical and administrative barriers that control, prevent, or mitigate their hazards. Risk was evaluated for each source under both normal and catastrophic circumstances such as fire, flood, high wind, lighting, earthquake, and criticality. No significant safety deficiencies were found; it is concluded that the operation of the facility presents no unacceptable risk.

New advances in high-powered glass lasers, particularly the NOVA system, have resulted in a need for lenses having higher damage threshold values than those now available. It is currently thought that surface contaminants on the lenses are responsible for initiating part of the damage. These contaminants are apparently introduced during the final polishing stages. In this study, we used ion-scattering spectrometry (ISS) to identify contaminants arising through the use of different polishing techniques. Five lenses were studied, each having undergone different polishing procedures. The first lens was not polished after receiving it from the manfacturer (No. 381). Ion microprobe data were available for this lens, and they were compared to ISS results. The second lens had been polished with rouge, a polishing compound no longer in use (No. 796). This sample served as a further check on the ISS results. The third lens was studied as received from the manufacturer - with no handling or cleaning (No. 802). The final two lenses had both been polished using high-purity ceria, cerium oxide (No. 800 and No. 801). The difference between these two was that No. 800 was polished using a nylon lap, and No. 801 was polished using pitch as a …

This report discusses the safety.of shipping radioactive waste to Building 643-G at the Savannah River Plant for storage. It was conservatively recommended that the sum of nuclear safety fractions for a shipment be two or less. For Pu-239 this means 390 grams or less per shipment, which was found to be too restrictive for JB-Line operations. This study was undertaken to study shipping configurations of 55 gal drums containing up to the drum limit of 195g Pu-239 and provide limits based on these calculations.

Tensile strength tests were conducted on Inconel 718 specimens following a variety of heat treatments, and on as-received and heat-treated specimens of Inconel 625. A heat treatment cycle for Inconel 718 was found that represents an acceptable compromise between a thermal cycle that yields the strongest metal and one that least taxes a glass-ceramic material to which the Inconel 718 is bonded. Heat treating resulted in a moderate decrease in the tensile strength of the as-received Inconel 625.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has emplaced eleven spent nuclear-reactor fuel assemblies in the Climax granite at the Nevada Test Site as part of the DOE Nevada Nuclear-Waste Storage Investigations. One of our objectives is to study radiation effects on the rock. The neutron and gamma-ray doses to the rock have been determined by MORSE-L Monte Carlo calculations and measurements using optical absorption and thermoluminescence dosimeters and metal foils. We compare the results to date. Generally, good agreement is found in the spatial and time dependence of the doses, but some of the absolute dose results appear to differ by more than the expected uncertainties. Although the agreement is judged to be adequate for radiation effects studies, suggestions for improving the precision of the calculations and measurements are made.

This report provides basic firearms-related issues and a summary of legislative action.

The basic United States law governing immigration and naturalization is contained in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1101 -- et seq.). This report provides questions and answers to explain the way in which the Immigration and Nationality Act as amended through 1981 regulates the entry of aliens for permanent and temporary residence in the United States, and other major provisions of the law. Emphasis is placed on subjects which have been of particular interest to the Congress in recent years. This supersedes CRS Report No. 81-65 EPW.

There appears to be a growing controversy concerning whether a state has the authority to prevent the federal government from disposing of nuclear wastes within it and transporting nuclear wastes through it. Several states have statutes purporting to veto the federal government's action in these areas. This report investigates whether these state statutes may be unconstitutional and preempted by federal statutes and regulations.