Recent experimental investigations indicate that the repair welding of irradiated materials containing greater than 1 to 2.5 appm helium leads to catastrophic cracking in the heat affected zone of the weld. The high temperatures and cooling tensile stresses which occur during the welding process lead to enhanced helium bubble growth in the heat affected zone region, resulting in catastrophic cracking upon cooling. An investigation is proposed which seeks to determine the effect of stress state on the helium bubble growth process and develop engineering modifications to the welding process based upon this understanding in an attempt to alleviate or eliminate the weld cracking problem in type 316 stainless steel materials.

The internal dosimetry program at the Savannah River Site (SRS) consists of radiation protection programs and activities used to detect and evaluate intakes of radioactive material by radiation workers. Examples of such programs are: air monitoring; surface contamination monitoring; personal contamination surveys; radiobioassay; and dose assessment. The objectives of the internal dosimetry program are to demonstrate that the workplace is under control and that workers are not being exposed to radioactive material, and to detect and assess inadvertent intakes in the workplace. The Savannah River Site Internal Dosimetry Technical Basis Manual (TBM) is intended to provide a technical and philosophical discussion of the radiobioassay and dose assessment aspects of the internal dosimetry program. Detailed information on air, surface, and personal contamination surveillance programs is not given in this manual except for how these programs interface with routine and special bioassay programs.

The code RELAX is designed to calculate atomic relaxation spectra of X-rays and electrons due to bound-bound transitions. This calculation is based on the atomic transition data contained in the Livermore Evaluated Atomic Data Library (EADL). The results produced by this code for fluorescence yield vs. atomic number (Z) have been published in Tables and Graphs of Atomic Subshell and Relaxation Data Derived from the LLNL Evaluated Atomic Data Library (EADL), z = 1--100{double prime}, UCRL-50400, Vol. 30, October 31, 1991, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

The Knowledges and Abilities Catalog for Nuclear Power Plant Operations: Savannah River Site (SRS) Production Reactors, provides the basis for the development of content-valid certification examinations for Senior Reactor Operators (SROs) and Central Control Room Supervisors (SUP). The position of Shift Technical Engineer (STE) has been included in the catalog for completeness. This new SRS reactor operating shift crew position is held by an individual holding a CCR Supervisor Certification who has received special engineering and technical training. Also, the STE has a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering or a related technical field. The SRS catalog contains approximately 2500 knowledge and ability (K/A) statements for SROs and SUPs at heavy water moderated production reactors. Each K/A statement has been rated for its importance to the safe operation of the plant in a manner ensuring the health and safety of the public. The SRS K/A catalog is presently organized into five major sections: Plant Systems grouped by Safety Function, Plant Wide Generic K/As, Emergency Plant Evolutions, Theory and Components (to be developed).

The purpose of this study was to characterize typical levels and variability of 60Hz magnetic fields at the centerline and edge of right-of-way of Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) 230-kV and 500-kV transmission lines. This was accomplished by taking magnetic field measurements at over 800 spans in Oregon and Washington. The spans were sampled using a stratified random sampling procedure with region (East vs. West), voltage (230-kV vs 500-kV), and circuit configuration as strata. There were five different circuit configuration groups for each region/voltage category requiring a total of 200 strata. Magnetic field measurements were taken at 13 locations under each span using an EMDEX-C as a survey meter. Additional information recorded for each span included conductor height (at 10 locations), right-of-way width, longitudinal and lateral slope, time of day, vegetation, terrain, weather conditions, temperature, wind speed, span length and presence of other lines in the corridor. 9 refs., 17 figs., 26 tabs.

The objective of this research is to elucidate the role of various chemical additives on ethanol synthesis over Rh- and Ni-based catalysts. Chemical additives used for this study will include S, P, Ag, Cu, Mn, and Na which have different electronegativities. The effect of additives on the surface state of the catalysts, heat of adsorption of reactant molecules, reaction intermediates, reaction pathways, reaction kinetics, and product distributions is/will be investigated by a series of experimental studies of NO adsorption, reaction probing, study state rate measurement, and transient kinetic study. A better understanding of the role of additives on the synthesis reaction may allow us to use chemical additives to manipulate the catalytic properties of Rh- and Ni-based catalysts for producing high yields of ethanol from syngas. 27 refs. 7 figs., 2 tabs.

This project is designed to develop methods for pre-combustion coal remediation by implementing recent advances in enzyme biochemistry. The novel approach of this study is incorporation of hydrophilic oxidative enzymes in reverse micelles in an organic solvent. Enzymes from commercial sources or microbial extracts are being investigated for their capacity to remove organic sulfur from coal by oxidation of the sulfur groups, splitting of C-S bonds and loss of sulfur as sulfuric acid Dibenzothiophene (DBT) and ehtylphenylsulfide (EPS)are serving as serving as models of organic sulfur-containing components of coal in initial studies.

The objective of this research is to elucidate the role of various chemical additives on ethanol synthesis over Rh- and Ni-based catalysts. Chemical additives used for this study will include S, P, Ag, Cu, Mn, and Na which have different electronegativities. The effect of additives on the surface state of the catalysts, heat of adsorption of reactant molecules, reaction intermediates, reaction pathways, reaction kinetics, and product distributions is/will be investigated by a series of experimental studies of NO adsorption, reaction probing, study state rate measurement, and transient kinetic study. A better understanding of the role of additives on the synthesis reaction may allow us to use chemical additives to manipulate the catalytic properties of Rh- and Ni-based catalysts for producing high yields of ethanol from snygas. 27 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed four areas related to the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) use of personally identifiable health information, focusing on: (1) HCFA's need for personally identifiable health information to manage the Medicare program and accomplish other purposes; (2) HCFA's policies and practices regarding disclosure of information on Medicare beneficiaries; (3) the adequacy of HCFA's safeguards for protecting the confidentiality of electronic information and HCFA's monitoring of others' protection of beneficiary information; and (4) the effect on HCFA of state restrictions on the disclosure of confidential health information."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the experiences of foreign countries that are consolidating their food safety responsibilities, focusing on the: (1) reasons for and approaches taken to consolidation, the costs and savings, if any, associated with consolidation, and efforts to assess the effectiveness of the revised food safety systems; and (2) lessons that the United States might learn from these countries' experiences in consolidating their food safety functions."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the reasons for the reported military pilot shortages, focusing on: (1) the services' reported and projected estimates of their pilot shortages; (2) the basis for the services' pilot requirements; (3) key factors that account for the reported pilot shortages; and (4) concerns that are causing pilots to consider leaving the military."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the federal paperwork burden, focusing on the: (1) paperwork burden associated with federal agencies' general purpose statistics and research (GPS/R) surveys that are directed towards businesses; (2) nature, use, and burden of selected GPS/R surveys; and (3) agencies' efforts to reduce the burden associated with the selected surveys."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the readiness of the insurance industry to meet the year 2000 date change, focusing on: (1) an updated assessment, as of September 30, 1999, of state regulatory oversight of the insurance industry's year 2000 preparations; and (2) the status of the industry's year 2000 readiness."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed federally created or facilitated programs for helping schools and libraries with their telecommunications and information technology efforts."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO determined whether the Customs Service's Office of Investigations (OI) follows its case management policies and procedures. GAO visited two Special Agent in Charge (SAC) offices to determine whether: (1) agents were entering statistics in the case management database; (2) first-line supervisors were reviewing investigative case files quarterly; (3) agents completed reports documenting their opening reports of investigation on time; and (4) the two SAC offices were maintaining and storing their case files appropriately."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Department of Energy's (DOE) efforts to improve the storage of spent nuclear fuel from its nuclear reactors at DOE's Hanford Site in Washington State, focusing on: (1) its status; (2) what problems might affect achieving cost and schedule estimates; and (3) whether changes have been sufficient to address management weaknesses."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Financial Management Service's (FMS) internal controls over cash receipts collected on behalf of the federal government, focusing on testing the effectiveness of FMS' internal controls over lockbox collections."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on defense transportation, focusing on the: (1) progress in reengineering defense transportation financial management processes; (2) challenges associated with implementing these reengineered processes agencywide; and (3) the extent to which the Department of Defense (DOD) is assessing the infrastructure required to support the reengineered processes."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the: (1) standards and processes under which mergers between local telephone companies are evaluated and approved by governmental bodies; and (2) implementation of this process in the Bell Atlantic-NYNEX merger, and the effects of the merger that can be observed."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request concerning the privatization in place of select Department of Defense industrial facilities, GAO focused on: (1) determining how contractors are responding to decreasing workloads at these privatized facilities; (2) comparing the cost-effectiveness of the privatization-in-place operations to the former government-run operations; and (3) identifying the impact of privatization on excess capacity in the Department's industrial infrastructure."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the fiscal year (FY) 2000 performance plans of the 24 agencies covered by the Chief Financial Officers Act, focusing on the: (1) extent to which the agencies' plans include the three key elements of informative performance plans: (a) clear pictures of intended performance; (b) specific discussions of strategies and resources; and (c) confidence that performance information will be credible; and (2) degree of improvement the FY 2000 performance plans represent over the FY 1999 plans."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO determined: (1) what efforts the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) and its grantees have made to correct problems with case service reporting; and (2) whether these efforts are likely to resolve the case reporting problems that occurred in 1997."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) management of identical repairable parts used by more than one DOD component, focusing on: (1) DOD's progress in correcting problems in the management of identical parts; and (2) opportunities to improve management of these parts."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) information security program, focusing on: (1) whether NASA's mission-critical information systems are vulnerable to unauthorized access; (2) whether NASA is effectively managing information systems security; and (3) what NASA is doing to address the risk of unauthorized access to mission-critical systems."