The objective of this study was (i) to assess the present state of technology of reformers that convert methanol (or other alternative fuels) to a hydrogen-rich gas mixture for use in a fuel cell, and (ii) to identify the R & D needs for developing reformers for transportation applications. Steam reforming and partial oxidation are the two basic types of fuel reforming processes. The former is endothermic while the latter is exothermic. Reformers are therefore typically designed as heat exchange systems, and the variety of designs used includes shell-and-tube, packed bed, annular, plate, and cyclic bed types. Catalysts used include noble metals and oxides of Cu, Zn, Cr, Al, Ni, and La. For transportation applications a reformer must be compact, lightweight, and rugged. It must also be capable of rapid start-up and good dynamic performance responsive to fluctuating loads. A partial oxidation reformer is likely to be better than a steam reformer based on these considerations, although its fuel conversion efficiency is expected to be lower than that of a steam reformer. A steam reformer better lends itself to thermal integration with the fuel cell system; however, the thermal independence of the reformer from the fuel cell stack is likely …

Aqueous biphasic extraction systems are being developed to treat radioactive wastes. The separation technique involves the selective partitioning of either solutes or colloid-size particles between two scible aqueous phases. Wet grinding of plutonium residues to an average particle size of one micron will be used to liberate the plutonium from the bulk of the particle matrix. The goal is to produce a plutonium concentrate that will integrate with existing and developing chemical recovery processes. Ideally, the process would produce a nonTRU waste stream. Coupling physical beneficiation with chemical processing will result in a substantial reduction in the volume of mixed wastes generated from dissolution recovery processes. As part of this program, we will also explore applications of aqueous biphasic extraction that include the separation and recovery of dissolved species such as metal ions and water-soluble organics. The expertise and data generated in this work will form the basis for developing more cost-effective processes for handling waste streams from environmental restoration and waste management activities within the DOE community. This report summarizes the experimental results obtained during the first year of this effort. Experimental efforts were focused on elucidating the surface and solution chemistry variables which govern partitioning behavior of plutonium …

This report discusses the standards for body-armor. The report describes the origin of the standard, the rationale for particular provisions, and the main points of controversy, which concern acceptable risks, the validity and discrimination of the test, and the reproducibility of results.

This report concludes that the value of the cystic fibrosis (CF) carrier test is the information it provides. No one can estimate in common terms what it means to an individual to possess information about his or her genetic status, especially when the value concerns reproductive decision-making. As our knowledge of the human genome increases, what we do with information such as CF carrier status will depend on the perceptions and beliefs of all Americans.

The report concludes that these technologies have the potential to provide new solutions to many agricultural problems. The challenge, however, will be whether government, industry, and the public can strike the proper balance of direction, oversight, and use to allow these technologies to flourish. Congress will be faced with many issues and choices as American agriculture moves into this new era.

This report analyzes the available information about special care units for people with dementia. It discusses ways in which the Federal Government could encourage and support what is positive about special care units and at the same time protect vulnerable patients and their families from special care units that actually provide nothing special for their residents.

This report is an extension of volume one, that discusses the standards for body-armor. The report describes the origin of the standard, the rationale for particular provisions, and the main points of controversy, which concern acceptable risks, the validity and discrimination of the test, and the reproducibility of results.

Predicting peak power and loads on a fixed-pitch wind turbine. How does the performance of the airfoil in the wind tunnel differ from the performance of an operating horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT)?

Building E5375 was one of ten potentially contaminated sites in the Canal Creek area of the Edgewood section of Aberdeen Proving Ground examined by a geophysical team from Argonne National Laboratory in April and May 1992. Noninvasive geophysical surveys, including magnetics, electrical resistivity, and ground-penetrating radar (GPR), were conducted around the perimeter of the building to guide a sampling program prior to decommissioning and dismantling. Several anomalies wear, noted: (1) An underground storage tank located 25 ft east of Building E5375 was identified with magnetic, resistivity, and GPR profiling. (2) A three-point resistivity anomaly, 12 ft east of the northeast comer of Building E5374 (which borders Building E5375) and 5 ft south of the area surveyed with the magnetometer, may be caused by another underground storage tank. (3) A 2,500-gamma magnetic anomaly near the northeast corner of the site has no equivalent resistivity anomaly, although disruption in GPR reflectors was observed. (4) A one-point magnetic anomaly was located at the northeast comer, but its source cannot be resolved. A chaotic reflective zone to the east represents the radar signature of Building E5375 construction fill.

Entrainment (i.e., withdrawal of fish larvae and eggs in cooling water) at the SRS Savannah River intakes is greatest when periods of high river water usage coincide with low river dischargeduring the spawning season. American shad and striped bass are the two species of greatest concern because of their recreational and/or commercial importance and because they produce drifting eggs and larvae vulnerable to entrainment. In the mid-reaches of the Savannah River, American shad and striped bass spawn primarily during April and May. An analysis of Savannah River discharge during April and May 1973--1989 indicated the potential for entrainment of 4--18% of the American shad and striped bass larvae and eggs that drifted past the SRS. This analysis assumed the concurrent operation of L-, K-, and P-Reactors. Additional scenarios investigated were: (1) shutting down L- and P-Reactors, and operating K-Reactor with a recycle cooling tower; and (2) shutting down L- and P-Reactors, eliminating minimum flows to Steel Creek, and operating K-Reactor with a recycle cooling tower. The former scenario reduced potential entrainment to 0.7--3.3%, and the latter scenario reduced potential entrainment to 0.20.8%. Thus, the currently favored scenario of operating K-Reactor with a cooling tower and not operating L- and P-Reactors …

TeV Superconducting Linear Accelerator (TESLA) cryostats consist of eight, 1-meter-long radio frequency (RF) cavity modules cryogenically connected in series with one focusing quadrupole. Each module contains one, 9-cell superconducting RF cavity operating at 1.3 GHz in a 1.8K helium bath. Individual modules are self-contained in the that they have their own input couplers, high order mode couplers, and tuning mechanisms. Services common to the entire cryostat consist of 70K and 4.5K thermal radiation shields, shield supply and return lines, a 1.8K helium supply line, and a gas helium return pipe. All cavity modules, the quadrupole, and cryogenic seances are contained in a single 12-meter-long vacuum vessel. The goal of the present work on TESLA is the successful fabrication and test of four complete cryostat assemblies. These cryostats will be installed in a string cooled to operating temperature, and powered. This test will address problems which may arise when modules are installed in a tunnel environment It will also permit testing of the basic cooling concepts, measurement of static heat losses, and measurement of the RF performance of all cavities.

The coke plant at the Sparrows Point Plant consist of three coke oven batteries and two coal chemical plants. The by-product coke oven gas (COG) consists primarily of hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, nitrogen and contaminants consisting of tars, light oils (benzene, toluene, and xylene) hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, water vapor and other hydrocarbons. This raw coke oven gas needs to be cleaned of most of its contaminants before it can be used as a fuel at other operations at the Sparrows Point Plant. In response to environmental concerns, BSC decided to replace much of the existing coke oven gas treatment facilities in the two coal chemical Plants (A and B) with a group of technologies consisting of: Secondary Cooling of the Coke oven Gas; Hydrogen Sulfide Removal; Ammonia Removal; Deacification of Acid Gases Removed; Ammonia Distillation and Destruction; and, Sulfur Recovery. This combination of technologies will replace the existing ammonia removal system, the final coolers, hydrogen sulfide removal system and the sulfur recovery system. The existing wastewater treatment, tar recovery and one of the three light oil recovery systems will continue to be used to support the new innovative combination of COG treatment technologies.

We are preparing progestins and androgens, labeled with the single photon emitters technetium-99m and rhenium-186 and the positron-emitting radionuclide fluorine-18. In both cases, ligands selected have very high affinity for the respective receptor, low affinity for blood and non-specific binders and to be reasonably resistant to metabolism: The progestins will be derivatives of the potent progestins ORG2058, norgestrel, RU486, and an unusual retroprogestin and the androgens will be derivatives of the high affinity analogs of natural and synthetic androgens. Radiometal labeling will involve carefully designed steroid conjugates with N[sub 2]S[sub 2] or related chelates, or novel metal linkages, and metal complexes that themselves mimic a steroid. Fluorine substitution will be made at positions where bulk and polarity are tolerated and metabolic defluorination is minimal. In vitro competitive binding studies will be performed on the unlabeled analogs to determine their binding characteristics towards a series of steroid receptors and blood binding proteins, and Log P values will be estimated from BPLC. Tissue distribution studies with the radiolabeled progestins will be done in estrogen-primed rats using the uterus as a target, and with the radioandrogens in estrogen-treated rats using the prostate as a target. Ultimately, in collaborative studies, these radiopharmaceuticals are to …

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has used an automated system between 1983 and 1987 to collect and analyze primary system noise data at the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) located in Hanford, Washington, System operation and data handling are described, data collection efforts are summarized, and principal findings are presented.

The Pennsylvania Source Term Tracking System tabulates surveys received from radioactive waste generators in the Commonwealth of radioactive waste is collected each quarter from generators using the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Quarterly Report Form (hereafter called the survey) and then entered into the tracking system data base. This personal computer-based tracking system can generate 12 types of tracking reports. The first four sections of this reference manual supply complete instructions for installing and setting up the tracking system on a PC. Section 5 presents instructions for entering quarterly survey data, and Section 6 discusses generating reports. The appendix includes samples of each report.

To verify the operation of the Product Composition Control System (PCCS), a test case specific to DWPF operation was developed. The values and parameters necessary to demonstrate proper DWPF product composition control have been determined and are presented in this paper. If this control information (i.e., for transfers and analyses) is entered into the PCCS as illustrated in this paper, and the results obtained correspond to the independently-generated results, it can safely be said that the PCCS is operating correctly and can thus be used to control the DWPF. The independent results for this test case will be generated and enumerated in a future report. This test case was constructed along the lines of the normal DWPF operation. Many essential parameters are internal to the PCCS (e.g., property constraint and variance information) and can only be manipulated by personnel knowledgeable of the Symbolics[reg sign] hardware and software. The validity of these parameters will rely on induction from observed PCCS results. Key process control values are entered into the PCCS as they would during normal operation. Examples of the screens used to input specific process control information are provided. These inputs should be entered into the PCCS database, and the results …

Waste Management Technology has requested SRTC to maintain and extend a previously developed computer model, TRUGAS, which calculates hydrogen gas concentrations within the transuranic (TRU) waste drums. TRUGAS was written by Frank G. Smith using the BASIC language and is described in the report A Computer Model of gas Generation and Transport within TRU Waste Drums (DP- 1754). The computer model has been partially validated by yielding results similar to experimental data collected at SRL and LANL over a wide range of conditions. The model was created to provide the capability of predicting conditions that could potentially lead to the formation of flammable gas concentrations within drums, and to assess proposed drum venting methods. The model has served as a tool in determining how gas concentrations are affected by parameters such as filter vent sizes, waste composition, gas generation values, the number and types of enclosures, water instrusion into the drum, and curie loading. The success of the TRUGAS model has prompted an interest in the program's maintenance and enhancement. Experimental data continues to be collected at various sites on such parameters as permeability values, packaging arrangements, filter designs, and waste contents. Information provided by this data is used to …

The analysis of the deuterium content in the CD target used in an experiment to study the [pi] + d [yields] 2p reaction at incident pion energies from 4 to 20 MeV was completed. The final paper describing this experiment will be submitted for publication this summer. Analysis of LAMPF Exp. on pion absorption in [sup 4]He is continuing. In 1991, we collaborated with D. Pocanic from the Univ. of Virginia on a measurement at LAMPF of the [pi][sup 0] production in [pi] + p interactions. This run proved the validity of the method and additional data were obtained in a second run during the summer of 1992, using a new target. Current collaborations at LAMPF include the search for the decay [mu][sup +] [yields] e[sup +] + [gamma](MEGA) and a measurement of the Michel [rho] parameter in the decay [mu] [yields] e + v + v. A U.Va.--PSI collaboration is measuring pion beta decay to an accuracy of less than 1%, using a large acceptance CsI detector to measure the [pi][sup 0] following decay of stopped [pi][sup +] mesons. Most of the U.Va. effort is devoted to the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) program to the construction of the …

This is a new thrust in the Ceramic Technology project. This effort represents an expansion of the program and an extension through FY 1997. Moderate temperature applications in conventional automobile and truck engines will be included along with high-temp. gas turbine and low heat rejection diesel engines. The reliability goals are expected to be met on schedule by end of FY 1993. Ceramic turbine rotors have been run (in DOE's ATTAP program) for 1000 h at 1370C and full speed. However, the cost of ceramic components is a deterrrent to near-term commercialization. A systematic approach to reducing this cost includes the following elements: economic cost modeling, ceramic machining, powder synthesis, alternative forming and densification processes, yield improvement, system design studies, standards development, and testing and data base development. A draft funding plan is outlined. 6 figs, 1 tab.

The DWPF is currently carrying out a Startup Test Program which will lead to radioactive operations in the facility. The objective of a significant portion of this program is to demonstrate that the DWPF can reliably make glass which satisfies DOE's product specifications. This objective will be achieved through a series of integrated process campaigns using feeds of various compositions (the Qualification Runs).2 During these campaigns, the DWPF Glass Product Control Programs (GPCP) will be used to ensure that glass is made which meets specifications. The GPCP uses a correlation between glass composition and leach test results to determine whether a particular batch of feed will make acceptable glass (i.e., glass which will meet the specifications).

The objective of the Healy Clean Coal Project is to demonstrate the integration of an advanced combustor and a heat recovery system with both high and low temperature emission control processes. Resulting emission levels of SO[sub 2], NO[sub x], and particulates are expected to be significantly better than the federal New source Performance standards. During this past quarter, engineering and design continued on the boiler, combustion flue gas desulfurization (FGD), and turbine/generator systems. Balance of plant equipment procurement specifications continue to be prepared. Construction activities commenced as the access road construction got under way. Temporary ash pond construction and drilling of the supply well will be completed during the next quarter.

As a condition of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) on April 1, 1986, a Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) was developed for White Oak Creek (WOC); selected tributaries of WOC, including Fifth Creek, First Creek, Melton Branch, and Northwest Tributary; and the Clinch River. BMAP consists of seven major tasks that address both radiological and nonradiological contaminants in the aquatic and terrestrial environs on-site and the aquatic environs off-site. These tasks are (1) toxicity monitoring; (2) bioaccumulation monitoring of nonradiological contaminants in aquatic biota; (3) biological indicator studies; (4) instream ecological monitoring; (5) assessment of contaminants in the terrestrial environment; (6) radioecology of WOC and White Oak Lake (WOL); and (7) contaminant transport, distribution, and fate in the WOC embayment-Clinch River-Watts Bar Reservoir system. This document, the first of a series of annual reports presenting the results of BMAP, describes studies that were conducted from March through December 1986.

This report presents the results of engineering scale dust control experiments using soil fixative for contamination control during handling of transuranic waste. These experiments focused on controlling dust during retrieval operations of buried waste where waste and soil are intimately mixed. Sources of dust generation during retrieval operations include digging, dumping, and vehicle traffic. Because contaminants are expected to attach to soil particles and move with the generated dust, control of the dust spread may be the key to contamination control. Dust control techniques examined in these experiments include the use of soil fixatives to control generation of fugitive dusts during vehicle traffic operations. Previous experiments conducted in FY 1990 included testing of the soil fixative, ENTAC. These experiments showed that ENTAC was effective in controlling dust generation but had several undesirable properties such as slow cure times and clogged the pumps and application nozzles. Therefore, other products would have to be evaluated to find a suitable candidate. As a result, two soil fixatives were tested in these present experiments, COHEREX-PM, an asphalt emulsion product manufactured by Witco Corporation and FLAMBINDER, a calcium lignosulfonate product manufactured by Flambeau Corporation. The results of the experiments include product performance and recommended application …

The objective of this Chemical Hygiene and Safety Plan (CHSP) is to provide specific guidance to all LBL employees and contractors who use hazardous chemicals. This Plan, when implemented, fulfills the requirements of both the Federal OSHA Laboratory Standard (29 CFR 1910.1450) for laboratory workers, and the Federal OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200) for non-laboratory operations (e.g., shops). It sets forth safety procedures and describes how LBL employees are informed about the potential chemical hazards in their work areas so they can avoid harmful exposures and safeguard their health. Generally, communication of this Plan will occur through training and the Plan will serve as a the framework and reference guide for that training.