The authors have measured the spectrum and diffuse reflection of various samples of Tyvek, a material to be used to line the inner walls of the Pierre Auger Observatory water crenkov tanks. These measurements were carried out with a Lambda 18 UV/VIS spectrometer over a wavelength range from 200 nm to 700 nm. The angular dependence of this scattering was a gaussian. They have also carried the measurements with the PASCO OS-8020 to find the reflectivity of Tyvek samples versus Incident and Reflected angles. The reflected angles range from -90{sup o} to -90{sup o}. Finally, information from these measurements was used to simulate Cosmic rays events in a Water Cerenkov detector.

Monthly report documenting contracts for road construction and maintentance in Texas, organized by county and district. It includes information about each project including contractor, dates, costs, and other relevant data.

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.

GWSCREEN was developed for assessment of the groundwater pathway from leaching of radioactive and non-radioactive substances from surface or buried sources. The code was designed for implementation in the Track I and Track II assessment of Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act sites identified as low probability hazard at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. The code calculates 1) the limiting soil concentration such that, after leaching and transport to the aquifer regulatory contaminant levels in groundwater are not exceeded, 2) peak aquifer concentration and associated human health impacts, and 3) aquifer concentrations and associated human health impacts as a function of time and space. The code uses a mass conservation approach to model three processes: contaminant release from a source volume, vertical contaminant transport in the unsaturated zone, and 2D or 3D contaminant transport in the saturated zone. The source model considers the sorptive properties and solubility of the contaminant. In Version 2.5, transport in the unsaturated zone is described by a plug flow or dispersive solution model. Transport in the saturated zone is calculated with a semi-analytical solution to the advection dispersion equation in groundwater. Three source models are included; leaching from a surface or buried source, infiltration …

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This Streamlined Approach for Environmental Restoration plan addresses the action necessary for the clean closure of Corrective Action Unit 461 (Test Area Joint Test Assembly Sites) and Corrective Action Unit 495 (Unconfirmed Joint Test Assembly Sites). The Corrective Action Units are located at the Tonopah Test Range in south central Nevada. Closure for these sites will be completed by excavating and evaluating the condition of each artillery round (if found); detonating the rounds (if necessary); excavating the impacted soil and debris; collecting verification samples; backfilling the excavations; disposing of the impacted soil and debris at an approved low-level waste repository at the Nevada Test Site

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.

This report addresses the problem of determining the layer thickness of a wall probed with a monostatic, hand-held implementation of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Micropower Impulse Radar (MIR). Our goal is to locate the layers of the wall, and measure its overall thickness. The physical constraints require the device to be held fixed or swept rapidly over the wall. Thus an insufficient amount of backscattered data are collected to use diffraction tomographic [3] techniques to form images. The problem is therefore one of determining the wall layers from a set of time series reflection data. We develop two channel signal processing algorithms to determine the location of the layers of a wall, using as inputs the time series returned from the wall and the incident pulse. We study the problem using a finite difference time domain (FDTD) computer code to simulate the electromagnetic propagation within and scattering from a wall probed with five pulses. We use the results to develop and test signal processing procedures for locating the individual layers. We study two classes of algorithms: a deconvolution approach to determine a layered impulse response, and a correlation approach. After testing the algorithms on the FDTD results, we down-select to …

This project provides coal samples and accompanying analytical data for research by DOE contractors and others. All 56 samples have been purged with argon before storage, and the 33 samples in the DECS series are heat-sealed in foil laminate bags and stored under refrigeration. Eleven DECS samples have been collected under the current contract. Basic characterization, standardized liquefaction analyses and organic geochemical analyses have been completed. Distribution of samples and data is continuing, with processing of samples being performed as needed. Nineteen samples, 90 data printouts, and individual data items from 416 samples were distributed during the quarter. Trends and relationships observed in liquefaction and organic geochemical analyses performed under the contract are summarized in this report. Liquefaction results using tetralin were similar to those using 1-methylnaphthalene under the same run conditions. Properties of individual coals, such as maceral composition and corresponding organic chemical components, were important in explaining liquefaction behavior. NMR and py/gc/ms results illustrated trends based on coal rank, and revealed outliers which might be of special interest, for example low-phenolic coals which limit retrogressive reactions and permit greater liquefaction conversion.

The results of the various monitoring programs for 1997 indicated that radioactivity from the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) operations could generally not be distinguished from worldwide fallout and natural radioactivity in the region surrounding the INEEL. Although some radioactive materials were discharged during INEEL operations, concentrations in the offsite environment and doses to the surrounding population were far less than state of Idaho and federal health protection guidelines. The maximum potential population dose from submersion, ingestion, inhalation, and deposition to the approximately 121,500 people residing within an 80-km (50-mi) radius from the geographical center of the INEEL was estimated to be 0.2 person-rem (2 x 10-3 person-Sv) using the MDIFF air dispersion model. This population dose is less than 0.0005% of the estimated 43,700 person-rem (437 person-Sv) population dose from background radioactivity.

The thermal-hydraulic design of the target for the Isotope Production Facility (IPF) is reviewed. In support of the technical review, scoping calculations are performed. The results of the review and scoping calculations are presented in this report.

This report outlines a distribution kinetics approach to macromolecular reactions that has been applied to several processes. The objective was to develop an understanding of high-temperature, dense-phase thermolytic processes for complex macromolecular systems, such as coal. Experiments and theory are described for chemical models that simulate depolymerization of coal. The approach has been exceptionally successful for the model macromolecular systems. Development of a novel chemical reaction engineering analysis, based on distribution kinetics, was a major accomplishment of the current research.

This environmental assessment (EA) has been prepared to assess potential environmental impacts associated with the U.S. Department of Energy's proposed action: the transfer of the 1100 Area, southern rail connection and rolling stock to a non-federal entity. Impact information contained herein will be used by the U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office Manager, to determine if the proposed action is a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. If the proposed action is determined to be major and significant, an environmental impact statement will be prepared. If the proposed action is determined not to be major and significant, a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) will be issued and the action can proceed. Criteria used to evaluate significance can be found in Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1508.27. This EA was prepared in compliance with the ''National Environmental Policy Act'' (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR 1500-1508), and the U.S. Department of Energy Implementing Procedures for NEPA (10 CFR 1021). The following is a description of each section of the EA. (1) Purpose and Need for Action. This …

The main objective of this research project during this quarter is to investigate effects of temperature, moisture, and space time of reaction gas mixtures on initial absorption of H₂S into the TU-188 sorbent at 530 o C.

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The objective of this contract is to research, develop and demonstrate a novel ceramic membrane reactor system for the low-cost conversion of natural gas to synthesis gas and hydrogen for liquid transportation fuels: the ITM Syngas process. Through an eight-year, three-phase program, the technology will be developed and scaled up to obtain the technical, engineering, operating and economic data necessary for the final step to full commercialization of the Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) conversion technology. This report is a summary of activities through July 1999.

A new class of efficient electrocatalytic materials based on platinum - metal oxide systems has been synthetized and characterized by several techniques. Best activity was found with NiWO{sub 4}-, CoWO{sub 4}-, and RuO{sub 2}- sr¡pported platinum catalysts. A very similar activity at room temperature was observed with the electrodes prepared with the catalyst obtained from International Fuel Cells Inc. for the same Pt loading. Surprisingly, the two tungstates per se show a small activity for methanol oxidation without any Pt loading. Synthesis of NiWO{sub 4} and CoWO{sub 4} were carried out by solid-state reactions. FTIR spectroscopy shows that the tungstates contain a certain amount of physically adsorbed water even after heating samples at 200{degrees}C. A direct relationship between the activity for methanol oxidation and the amount of adsorbed water on those oxides has been found. The Ru(0001) single crystal shows a very small activity for CO adsorption and oxidation, in contrast to the behavior of polycrystalline Ru. In situ extended x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS) and x-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) showed that the OH adsorption on Ru in the Pt-Ru alloy appears to be the limiting step in methanol oxidation. This does not occur for Pt-RuO{SUB 2} …

This project is funded by the US Department of Energy's Federal Energy Technology Center (DOE/FETC) under a cost-sharing PRDA with Radian International. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) is providing co-funding and technical oversight. The project is part of FETC's Advanced Power Systems Program, whose mission is to accelerate the commercialization of affordable, high-efficiency, low emission, coal-fueled electric generating technologies. This project was submitted in response to Area 4 of DOE's Mega-PRDA: Advanced High-Performance SO{sub 2} Control Concepts. The goals of this research area are to develop advanced flue gas desulfurization (FGD) processes that achieve greater than 99% SO{sub 2} removal efficiency, are 25% cheaper than commercial FGD systems, and provide a valuable byproduct that will be recycled rather than disposed. Area 4 also included the development of a byproduct process that could be added to FGD systems to produce high value byproducts for reuse rather than disposal.

During the six months of this reporting period, we did more experiments on the study of the behavior of the sulfidation of precalcined limestones in the presence of small amounts of oxygen. Sulfidation experiments in the presence of oxygen were carried out because in past experiments we had observed that leaks of oxygen into the feed mixture led to completely different results from those obtained in the absence of oxygen. The new experiments reaffirmed the observations that we had made in our previous studies. The behavior of the sulfidation of limestone was found to depend strongly, in both a qualitative and a quantitative sense, on the level of the oxygen concentration in the feed. For small concentration of oxygen, the weight gained by the calcined sample during sulfidation in a N{sub 2}-H{sub 2}S atmosphere presented a maximum, whereas for concentrations above 0.5-0.8%, it increased continuously, reaching in some cases values that corresponded to complete conversion of CaO to CaSO{sub 4}. The maximum in the variation of the weight gain with time tended to become more pronounced as the intraparticle diffusional limitations were decreased. The use of different sample sizes showed that the interparticle diffusional limitations had a similar effect, and …

From July 1994 through May 1997, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperations with the Department of Energy, sampled 86 wells completed in the Snake River Plain aquifer at and near the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). The wells were sampled for a variety of constituents including one- and two-carbon halocarbons. Concentrations of dichlorodifluoromethane (CFC-12), trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11), and trichlorotrifluororoethane (CFC-113) were determined. The data will be used to evaluate the ages of ground waters at INEEL. The ages of the ground water will be used to determine recharge rates, residence time, and travel time of water in the Snake River Plain aquifer in and near INEEL. The chromatograms of 139 ground waters are presented showing a large number of halomethanes, haloethanes, and haloethenes present in the ground waters underlying the INEEL. The chromatograms can be used to qualitatively evaluate a large number of contaminants at parts per trillion to parts per billion concentrations. The data can be used to study temporal and spatial distribution of contaminants in the Snake River Plain aquifer. Representative compressed chromatograms for all ground waters sampled in this study are available on two 3.5-inch high density computer disks. The data and the program required to …

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