The purpose of this publication is not to assess the causes of the 1973 energy crisis or the measures that were adopted to resolve it. The intent is to present some data on which such analyses can be based. Many of the trends presented here fall into two distinct periods. From 1973 to the mid-1980`s, prices continued at very high levels, in part because of a second oil shock in 1979--80. During this period, rapid progress was made in raising American oil production, reducing dependence on oil imports, and improving end-use efficiency. After the oil price collapse of the mid-1980`s, however, prices retreated to more moderate levels, the pace of efficiency gains slowed, American oil production fell, and the share of imports rose. 30 figs.

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Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) operates the Tonopah Test Range for the Department of Energy's (DOE) Weapons Ordnance Program. Thes annual report (calendar year 1997) summarizes the compliance status to environmental regulations applicable at the site including those statutes that govern air and water quality, waste management, cleanup of contaminated areas, control of toxic substances, and adherence to requirements as related to the National Environmental Policy Act. In compliance with DOE orders, SNL also conducts environmental surveillance for radiological and nonradiological contaminants. SNL's responsibility for environmental surveillance extends only to those activities performed by SNL or under its direction. Annual radiological and nonradiological routine releases and unplanned releases (occurrences) are also summarized. This report has been prepared as required by DOE Order 5400.1, General Environmental Protection Program.

Each year the National Low-Level Waste Management Program publishes a state-by-state assessment report. This report provides both national and state-specific disposal data on low-level radioactive waste commercially disposed in the United States. Data in this report are categorized according to disposal site, generator category, waste class, volumes, and radionuclide activity. Included in this report are tables showing the distribution of waste by state for 1997 and a comparison of waste volumes and radioactivity by state for 1993 through 1997; also included is a list of all commercial nuclear power reactors in the United States as of December 31, 1997.

The US Department of Energy`s Hanford Site has the most diverse and largest amounts of radioactive waste in the US. The majority of the liquid waste was disposed to the soil column where much of it remains today. This document provides the rationale and general framework for vadose zone monitoring at cribs, ditches, trenches and other disposal facilities to detect new sources of contamination and track the movement of existing contamination in the vadose zone for the protection of groundwater. The document provides guidance for subsequent site-specific vadose zone monitoring plans and includes a brief description of past vadose monitoring activities (Chapter 3); the results of the Data Quality Objective process used for this plan (Chapter 4); a prioritization of liquid waste disposal sites for vadose monitoring (Chapter 5 and Appendix B); a general Monitoring and Analysis Plan (Chapter 6); a general Quality Assurance Project Plan (Appendix A), and a description of vadose monitoring activities planned for FY 1999 (Appendix C).

Different hypothetical accident sequences have been simulated at Unit 1 of the Juragua nuclear power plant in Cuba, a plant with two VVER-440 V213 units under construction. The computer code MELCOR was employed for these simulations. The sequences simulated are: (1) a design-basis accident (DBA) large loss of coolant accident (LOCA) with the emergency core coolant system (ECCS) on, (2) a station blackout (SBO), (3) a small LOCA (SLOCA) concurrent with SBO, (4) a large LOCA (LLOCA) concurrent with SBO, and (5) a LLOCA concurrent with SBO and with the containment breached at time zero. Timings of important events and source term releases have been calculated for the different sequences analyzed. Under certain weather conditions, the fission products released from the severe accident sequences may travel to southern Florida.

In 1993, a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) was undertaken between Oak Ridge National Laboratory and ABB Combustion Engineering t examine advanced alloys for fossil power systems. Specifically, the use of advanced austenitic stainless steels for superheater/reheater construction in supercritical boilers was examined. The strength of cold-worked austenitic stainless steels was reviewed and compared to the strength and ductility of advanced austenitic stainless steels. The advanced stainless steels were found to retain their strength to very long times at temperatures where cold-worked standard grades of austenitic stainless steels became weak. Further, the steels exhibited better long-time stability than the stabilized 300 series stainless steels in either the annealed or cold worked conditions. Type 304H mill-annealed tubing was provided to ORNL for testing of base metal and butt welds. The tubing was found to fall within range of expected strength for 304H stainless steel. The composite 304/308 stainless steel was found to be stronger than typical for the weldment. Boiler tubing was removed from a commercial boiler for replacement by newer steels, but restraints imposed by the boiler owners did not permit the installation of the advanced steels, so a standard 32 stainless steel was used as a replacement. The …

Major accomplishments by AGTSR during this reporting period are highlighted and then amplified in later sections of this report. Main areas of research are combustion, heat transfer, and materials. Gas turbines are used for power generation by utilities and industry and for propulsion.

The last six cycles of a 25-cycle sorbent durability test were completed, final installation of the flame photometric detector was accomplished, and fifteen tests whose aim was to determine the minimum prebreakthrough H{sub 2}S concentration over reduced CeO{sub 2} were performed. There was little, if any, evidence of sorbent deterioration in the durability test. During the durability test the author confirmed that, when using pre-reduced sorbent and a clean system, the prebreakthrough H{sub 2}S concentration was less than 100 ppmv, the detection limit of the thermal conductivity detector (TCD). Consequently, a more sensitive flame photometric detector (FPD) which permitted measurements of H{sub 2}S concentrations of 1 ppmv or less was installed. The FPD and TCD were connected in parallel so that, when desired, the entire H{sub 2}S breakthrough curve could be measured. Most of the quarter was devoted to conducting reduction-sulfidation tests to determine the minimum prebreakthrough H{sub 2}S concentrations which could be achieved using prereduced CeO{sub 2}. Fifteen runs involving variations in reduction-sulfidation temperature, H{sub 2}S concentration in the feed gas, and feed gas volumetric flow rate were completed. In all tests the prebreakthrough H{sub 2}S concentration was less than 10 ppmv, and in many of the tests the …

The overall objectives of this program are to investigate potential technologies for the conversion of synthesis gas to oxygenated and hydrocarbon fuels and industrial chemicals, and to demonstrate the most promising technologies at DOE's LaPorte, Texas, Slurry Phase Alternative Fuels Development Unit (AFDU). The program will involve a continuation of the work performed under the Alternative Fuels from Coal-Derived Synthesis Gas Program and will draw upon information and technologies generated in parallel current and future DOE-funded contracts.

The aims of this project were to develop improved methods for computational genome annotation and to apply these methods to improve the annotation of genomic sequence data with a specific focus on human genome sequencing. The project resulted in a substantial body of published work. Notable contributions of this project were the identification of basecalling and lane tracking as error processes in genome sequencing and contributions to improved methods for these steps in genome sequencing. This technology improved the accuracy and throughput of genome sequence analysis. Probabilistic methods for physical map construction were developed. Improved methods for sequence alignment, alternative splicing analysis, promoter identification and NF kappa B response gene prediction were also developed.

Borehole USW G-2 is located north of Yucca Mountain in a large-hydraulic-gradient area. Two single-borehole aquifer tests were conducted in the borehole during 1996. A 54.9-hour pumping period was conducted February 6--8, 1996, and a 408-hour pumping period was conducted April 8--25, 1996. The purpose of testing was to obtain estimates of the aquifer-system transmissivity and to determine if perched water was affecting the observed water level in borehole USW G-2. This report presents and analyzes data collected between February 6 and December 17, 1996. Analysis of the aquifer-test data indicated that fracture flow, dual-porosity flow, and boundary-affected flow conditions were observed in the drawdown and recovery data. Transmissivity estimates ranged from 2.3 to 12 meters squared per day. The most representative transmissivity estimate for the interval tested is the early-time mean transmissivity of 9.4 meters squared per day. The Calico Hills Formation was the primary formation tested, but the top 3 meters of the nonpumping water column was within the overlying Topopah Spring Tuff. Persistent residual drawdown following pumping more than 6 million liters of water during aquifer testing may indicate that the bore-hole intersected a perched water body. After 236 days of recovery, residual drawdown was 0.5 meter. …

This report describes the results of an analysis to determine the economic and operational value of battery storage to wind and photovoltaic (PV) generation technologies to the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) system. The analysis approach consisted of performing a benefit-cost economic assessment using established SMUD financial parameters, system expansion plans, and current system operating procedures. This report presents the results of the analysis. Section 2 describes expected wind and PV plant performance. Section 3 describes expected benefits to SMUD associated with employing battery storage. Section 4 presents preliminary benefit-cost results for battery storage added at the Solano wind plant and the Hedge PV plant. Section 5 presents conclusions and recommendations resulting from this analysis. The results of this analysis should be reviewed subject to the following caveat. The assumptions and data used in developing these results were based on reports available from and interaction with appropriate SMUD operating, planning, and design personnel in 1994 and early 1995 and are compatible with financial assumptions and system expansion plans as of that time. Assumptions and SMUD expansion plans have changed since then. In particular, SMUD did not install the additional 45 MW of wind that was planned for 1996. Current SMUD …

This is a proposal to measure the Analyzing Power $A_n$ in Proton-Proton Elestic Scattering at High P-Transverse Squared of 1 to 12 (GeV/c)² using a 120 GeV unpolarized extracted proton beam from Fermilab's Main Injector starting in 2001.

The authors present the formalism of anomalous x-ray scattering as applied to partial structure analysis of disordered materials, and give an example of how the technique has been applied, together with that of neutron diffraction, to investigate short-, intermediate- and extended-range order in vitreous germania and rubidium germanate.

A system based on the metal-binding kidney protein, metallothionein, bound with a trace quantity of radioactive metal, has been shown to be capable of detecting parts-per-million (ppm) to parts-per-billion (ppb) concentrations of some heavy metals in liquid solution. The main objective of this study was to determine if this type of system has adequate sensitivity and selectivity for application in detecting a number of metallic species of concern to DOE, such as mercury, lead, and chromium. An affinity-displacement study is reported here using the heavy metal radiotracers {sup 65}Zn and {sup 109}Cd bound to metallothionein immobilized on an Affi-Gel 10 filter support. When a heavy metal solution with a greater affinity than the tracer for the protein is poured through the filter the radiotracer is displaced by a mechanism similar to ion exchange. The main objective of this study was to verify previous internal experimental parameters and results, and to determine the specific affinities of metallothionein for the metallic species of most concern to DOE.

During this research period, researchers at International Solar Electric Technology (ISET) concentrated their efforts on three different areas of research. Within the National CIS R and D Team, ISET participated in the substrate/Mo interactions working group and investigated issues such as Na diffusion from the soda-lime glass substrate into the Mo layers and CIS films. Researchers determined that the Na content within the Mo layers was not a strong function of the nature of the Mo film. However, they found that diffusion through the Mo layers was a function of the Mo film characteristics as well as a very strong function of the CIS growth process itself. Researchers showed conclusively that the Na resided on the grain boundaries of CIS layers. Another team activity involved evaluation of CdS-free CIS solar cells. ZnO/CIS junctions prepared by the two-stage process showed light-soaking effects. Cells left under illumination improved in efficiency and were similar to the CdS/CIS junctions. After storage in the dark, however, efficiency deteriorated greatly for the ZnO/CIS device, most of the decline coming from the open-circuit voltage values. Much of the effort during this period was spent on developing a low-cost, non-vacuum CIS deposition technique. The method developed involves particulate …

This package of information is intended to provide background information to developers of geothermal aquaculture projects. The material is divided into eight sections and includes information on market and price information for typical species, aquaculture water quality issues, typical species culture information, pond heat loss calculations, an aquaculture glossary, regional and university aquaculture offices and state aquaculture permit requirements. A bibliography containing 68 references is also included.

The objective of this audit was to determine whether architect and engineering (A-E) costs at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories were reasonable in comparison with industry standards.

The overarching goal of the research supported by this grant was investigation of the structure and properties of interfaces in multicomponent systems by atomistic modeling. Initially, the research was devoted to studies of segregation to grain boundaries in binary disordered alloys. The next step was then studies of the structure and properties of grain boundaries in ordered compounds, specifically Ni3Al and NiAl, and grain boundary segregation in these compounds in the case of off-stoichiometry. Finally, the structure of Nb/sapphire interfaces, in particular the core configurations of the misfit dislocations, was studied.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to Texas entities' leave accounting practices, specifically those concerning Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime and state compensatory time, being generally in compliance with state and federal regulations. The report notes some areas of improvement for the four state agencies that were audited.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to the management controls at the Department of Health's (Department) Licensing and Certification Division (Division) and opportunities for improvements in efficiency and effectiveness. The objective of the audit was to determine if the Department and Division have implemented controls which will allow the Division to fulfill its mission.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to status updates from various state agencies regarding their progress in implementing significant State Auditor's Office (SAO) audit recommendations.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to ways to improve accountability to help Texas Woman's University management better protect the State's resources and achieve its goals, particularly in the areas of internal financial reporting, student loans, Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) requirements, and personnel processes.