A commercial graphite useful in nuclear reactor construction is described. A survey of all currently available sources on chemical and physical properties was made and the information listed. Some data on cost and available sizes are also included. (auth)

Pellet stoves that are considered exempt'' operate at an air-to-fuel ratio in excess of 35:1. They therefore qualify for exemption from the emissions certification process. A primary goal of this project was to determine how a sample of such stoves, operated in homes, would perform compared to their certified cousins,'' which were evaluated the previous year. In-home performance data documenting emissions from exempt stoves and net delivered efficiencies was particularly desired. This project evaluated six pellet stoves representing three major brands in Medford, Oregon. There were three Breckwell model P24FS, one Horizon Eclipse, one Horizon Destiny, and one Earth Stove TP40. The stoves were monitored for four week-long intervals in January and February 1991, for a total of 24 tests. Evaluations were conducted for particulate, CO (carbon monoxide) and PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) emissions and net efficiency. Monitoring was conducted using the AWES (automated woodstove emissions sampler) sampling system. A new data logger, developed for this project, was used to control the AWES and record real time data. 22 refs., 17 figs., 6 tabs.

Report that provides information on federal financial assistance provided to the Gulf States after major disasters were declared in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas in response to the widespread destruction that resulted from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in 2005 and Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008. This includes a brief summary of each hurricane and a discussion concerning federal to state cost-shares.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act gives Native American Indian tribes the option to administer Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs, either alone or as part of a consortium with other tribes, rather than receiving benefits and services from state TANF programs. Because of the difficult economic circumstances on many reservations, the law also gives tribal TANF programs more flexibility than it gives to states. Tribes have used various strategies to stimulate economic development, but despite these efforts, unemployment and poverty rates on reservations remain high and prospects for economic growth may be limited. To improve economic conditions on reservations, tribes operate enterprises in a range of commercial sectors. Nationally, the number of American Indian families receiving TANF assistance has declined in recent years; however, in some states, American Indians represent a large and increasing share of the state TANF caseload. To date, 174 tribes, either alone or as part of a consortium, are administering their own TANF programs and have used the flexibility in the act to tailor their tribal TANF programs to meet TANF requirements. However, many tribes have found …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress created the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant to replace the previous welfare program and help welfare recipients transition into employment. To this end, states are required to enforce work requirements, and face financial penalties if a minimum percentage of adults receiving cash assistance do not participate in work or work-related activities each year. This federal participation rate requirement has increased each year, reaching 50 percent for all families in fiscal year 2002, but it can be adjusted if caseload declines. In addition to work requirements, TANF places a 60 month lifetime limit on the amount of time families with adults can receive cash assistance. To receive TANF block grants, each state must also spend a specified amount of its own funds, referred to as state maintenance-of-effort (MOE) funds. The law allows states considerable flexibility to exclude families from work requirements and time limits. In addition, states may provide cash assistance to families and exempt them from work requirements and time limits by using state MOE in specified ways. States provided cash assistance funded by federal TANF or state MOE dollars to 2.1 …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Railroads have been a primary mode of freight transportation for many years, especially for bulk commodities such as coal and grain. Over the last 25 years, the freight railroad industry has undergone substantial consolidation largely to reduce costs and increase efficiency and competitiveness. Some companies that rely on rail shipments are concerned that the mergers have reduced railroad competition and led to higher rail rates and poorer service. This report reviews (1) the role the Surface Transportation Board plays in reviewing proposed railroad mergers and overseeing mergers that have been approved and how post-merger oversight is conducted, (2) how the Board mitigates potential harm to competition, and (3) how the Union Pacific/Southern Pacific merger affected rail rates in selected geographic areas. GAO found that the Board reviews railroad merger proposals and approves those that are consistent with the public interest, ensures that any potential merger-related harm to competition is mitigated to preserve competition, and oversees mergers that have been approved. The Board imposes conditions on mergers to mitigate potential harm to competition. The Board also focuses on the overall direction and magnitude of rate changes when …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) coverage to tribal contractors under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, focusing on: (1) the process for implementing FTCA coverage for tribal self-determination contracts; (2) the FTCA claims history for tribal self-determination contracts for fiscal years (FY) 1997 through 1999; and (3) FTCA coverage issues that are unique to tribal contractors."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) and the Durable Medical Equipment Regional Carriers' (DMERC) actions to implement a final rule for processing Medicare payments, focusing on whether: (1) it was proper for HCFA to issue its inherent reasonableness regulations as an interim final rule, and whether HCFA is authorized to delegate responsibility for making payment adjustments to the DMERCs; (2) the DMERCs' survey methods were adequate to support the proposed payment reductions; and (3) the proposed payment reductions will reduce patient access to the affected medical products."

This report provides an overview of the six grant types with criteria for defining a block grant and a list of current block grants. It also examines competing perspectives concerning the use of block grants versus other grant mechanisms to achieve national goals, provides an historical overview of the role of block grants in American federalism, and discusses recent changes to existing block grants and proposals to create new ones.

In previous studies, 11 elements (Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn) were determined in 30-minute aerosol samples collected with the University of Maryland Semicontinuous Elements in Aerosol Sampler (SEAS; Kidwell and Ondov, 2001, 2004; SEAS-II) in several locations in which air quality is influenced by emissions from coal- or oil-fired power plants. At this time resolution, plumes from stationary high temperature combustion sources are readily detected as large excursions in ambient concentrations of elements emitted by these sources (Pancras et al. ). Moreover, the time-series data contain intrinsic information on the lateral diffusion of the plume (e.g., {sigma}{sub y}), which Park et al. (2005 and 2006) have exploited in their Pseudo-Deterministic Receptor Model (PDRM), to calculate emission rates of SO{sub 2} and 11 elements (mentioned above) from four individual coal- and oil-fired power plants in the Tampa Bay area. In the current project, we proposed that the resolving power of source apportionment methods might be improved by expanding the set of maker species and that there exist some optimum set of marker species that could be used. The ultimate goal was to determine the utility of using additional elements to better identify and isolate …

Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) technology has been pioneered at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for applications in personnel radiation dosimetry and commercially has become highly successful in replacing older technologies such as Thermoluminescence Dosimeters (TLDs) and film. OSL phosphors are used to measure radiation exposure by illuminating them with light after ionizing radiation exposure and measuring the amount of light emitted by the OSL phosphor. By using a two-dimensional plate of OSL material and raster scanning a light beam across the OSL plate a radiation pattern or image can be measured. The Arms Control community requires an electrons-free medium to measure the attributes of extent and symmetry on Pu pits in storage containers. OSL technology, used in the two-dimensional imaging mode, provides a means to measure these attributes with exposure times on the order of an hour. A special OSL reader has been built by PNNL to measure OSL imaging plates with a size of 20 cm by 30 cm. The reader uses 10 light emitting diode clusters with 10 corresponding photomultiplier tubes to measure an OSL imaging plate in less than 5 minutes. The resolution of each of the 10 measurement assemblies is 1 square-centimeter. A collimator assembly …

Several methods for cleaning uranium samples prior to carbon analysis, using a Leco Carbon Analyzer, were evaluated. Use of Oakite Aluminum NST Cleaner followed by water and acetone rinse was found to be the best overall technique.

Abstract: "Refinement of grain size of the base uranium-chromium eutectic alloy (uranium-5 w/o chromium) by ternary additions is discussed. Thirteen additions to the base alloy were investigated, and three additions were found to exhibit worthwhile grain-refinement tendencies. The three alloys, uranium-5 w/o chromium-0.2 w.o molybdenum, uranium-5 w/o chromium-0.2 w/o germanium, and uranium-5 w/o chromium-0.2 w/o niobium, were heat treated to produce final grain-size structures of between 0.015 and 0.033 mm."

This report provides an overview of Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which provides the President with the ability to impose restrictions on certain imports based on an affirmative determination by the U.S. Department of Commerce that the product under investigation "is being imported into the United States in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security." It also analyzes the Trump Administration's Section 232 investigations and actions, and considers potential policy and economic implications and issues for Congress.

This report describes what types of agency actions can be overturned using the Congressional Review Act (CRA) by providing a close examination and discussion of the statutory definition of "rule." It also explains how Members can use the CRA to overturn agency rules that have not been submitted to Congress.

Shipping cans containing product from plant runs completed in the latter half of April and in May showed, in general, definitely higher levels of radiation than had been observed previously. Likewise, containers for the transfer of the F-10-P solution from the 224 Bldg. to 231 Bldg. (during May) exhibited higher radiation levels than could be attributed to higher power levels and increased batch sizes. These higher radiation levels were indicative that some radioactive element (or elements) was present in an amount greater than previously as would be expected from the shorter cooler periods, or that decontamination of elements previously present was less complete. It was considered essential to identify the source of these radiations and the cause for their presence has been investigated. The radioactive contaminant present in the final product has been identified rather definitely as Np{sup 239} which has 2.3d half-life a 0.25 MeV gamma ray and a weak beta ray. The amount of Np has increases as a result of the brand toward shorter cooling periods and the law decontamination factor for Np in the Separation Process.

This report discusses federal government funding for the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, which provides funding for the planning, design, construction, alteration, and improvement of facilities used by active and reserve military components worldwide.

This report is an introduction to selected House rules and practices governing the consideration of offset amendments to appropriations measures considered in the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union (or Committee of the Whole).

This report looks at four issues dominating wildfire funding debates: the high cost of fire management, funding for fuel reduction, the federal role in protecting nonfederal lands, and post-fire rehabilitation. The Forest Service (FS) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) are responsible for protecting most federal lands from wildfires, however, many in Congress are concerned that wildfire costs are spiraling upward without a reduction in damages.

This report discusses the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and their attempts to define the term "supervisor" in the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) so that such employees can join or form a labor union as regular employees.

In 1955 the Fuels Development Operation began irradiation testing of fuel elements in high temperature water. It was assumed that if a new reactor were built at Hanford, it would be cooled by high-temperature, pressurized water. Corrosion tests showed that aluminum-clad production fuel elements could not be used in high-temperature water. Therefore, while work to improve the resistance of aluminum to high-temperature water proceeded, the Fuel Design Operation began irradiation of stainless steel- and Zircaloy-2-clad fuel elements. During 1956 and 1957, stainless steel-clad elements were tested in the Materials Testing Reactor (MTR), Hanford H Reactor Loop, and the KE Reactor Recirculating (KER) Loops. During 1957, a coextrusion method for cladding uranium rods with Zircaloy-2 was developed. The first irradiation of Zircaloy-2-clad fuel from an off-site supplier began in late 1958. The objective of the irradiation was to study the dimensional stability of the fuel rods and a seven-rod fuel assembly. Two coextruded, seven-rod elements were irradiated in KER Loop l.

The nuclear heat generation rate in the first capsule irradiated was higher by a factor of two than was calculated. The original capsule was irradiated in a dry bore with cooling water in the annulus only. The new capsule will be irradiated in a water-cooled bore facility with additional cooling coils around the lithium containing tube. This will keep the inner capsule temperature below 150 C during the initial tritium buildup period prior to outgassing. This Supplement authorizes the irradiation of an additional capsule and the removal of the present facility and installation of a single tube general purpose facility. All remaining provisions of the original development test are in force except for minor exceptions due to the water flow in the bore which have been changed in the following writeup.

This document discusses high radiation levels which are being encountered in the reactor discharge areas during outages. Rear face dosage rates in B, D, F, DR and H Reactors now average 100 mr per hour. These high radiation rates seriously jeopardize desirable projects which require extensive work on the rear face of these reactors. Evidence has been obtained which indicates that a large source of the radiation is on the interior of the rear face piping and can be removed by chemical solutions. Reference one presents data which indicates that up to 85 per cent of the gamma activity is caused by the contaminated film deposited inside the rear face piping. Reference two discusses the results of chromic acid removal of process tube corrosion products. Reference three more fully describes the possible advantages of purging a reactor with chromic acid and concludes a chromic acid purge should remove the film without adverse effects on reactor structural materials or process tube loadings.

This Progress Report describes the experimental work carried out, and the work in progress, at the Cornell EBIS Laboratory during the period 7/1/1991 to 6/30/1992. During this period, a number of experiments were carried out. The absolute values of the total, one, two and three electron transfer cross sections for highly charged argon ions (8{le}q{le}16) colliding with argon at 2.3 qkev laboratory energy were measured. The distribution of recoil ions and molecular fragments formed in highly charged ion atom and molecule collisions was measured in order to help the interpretation of electron spectra in the 40--320 eV energy range emitted in Ar{sup q+}+Ar(8{le}q{le}16) collisions at 2.3 qkeV that were measured in our laboratory. The interpretation of the electron spectra is still under way. A new collision chamber was built which contains an ion decelerating lens system and a high resolution monochromator-analyzer combination. Ions extracted from the Cornell Electron Beam Ion Source were successfully decelerated from 2.3 qkeV down to 30 qeV Preliminary 0{degree} translational energy spectra for Ar{sup l2+} on Ar at a collision energy of 38.6 qeV show a 0.56 qeV resolution. Work is in progress to extend measurements of cross sections and recoil ion charge state distributions down …