This Safety Analysis Report for Packaging (SARP) documents the analysis and testing performed on and for the 9977 Shipping Package, referred to as the General Purpose Fissile Package (GPFP). The performance evaluation presented in this SARP documents the compliance of the 9977 package with the regulatory safety requirements for Type B packages. Per 10 CFR 71.59, for the 9977 packages evaluated in this SARP, the value of ''N'' is 50, and the Transport Index based on nuclear criticality control is 1.0. The 9977 package is designed with a high degree of single containment. The 9977 complies with 10 CFR 71 (2002), Department of Energy (DOE) Order 460.1B, DOE Order 460.2, and 10 CFR 20 (2003) for As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) principles. The 9977 also satisfies the requirements of the Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material--1996 Edition (Revised)--Requirements. IAEA Safety Standards, Safety Series No. TS-R-1 (ST-1, Rev.), International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria (2000). The 9977 package is designed, analyzed and fabricated in accordance with Section III of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel (B&PV) Code, 1992 edition.

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We report an updated measurement of the top quark mass in the lepton plus jets channel of t{bar t} events from p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV. This measurement uses a dataset with integrated luminosity of 680 pb{sup -1}, containing 360 t{bar t} candidates separated into four subsamples. A top quark mass is reconstructed for each event by using energy and momentum constraints on the top quark pair decay products. We also employ the reconstructed mass of hadronic W boson decays W {yields} jj to constrain in situ the largest systematic uncertainty of the top quark mass measurement: the jet energy scale. Monte Carlo templates of the reconstructed top quark and W boson mass are produced as a function of the true top quark mass and the jet energy scale. The distribution of reconstructed top quark and W boson mass in the data are compared to the Monte Carlo templates using a likelihood fit to obtain: M{sub top} = 173.4 {+-} 2.8 GeV/c{sup 2}.

This report includes information regarding issues and policy challenges with U.S.-European trade relations. Growing strains, resolving longstanding disputes, and strengthening the multilateral trading system are among topics discussed in this report.

The major objectives of the proposed study are to 1) determine the leaching characteristics of Cr(VI) from contaminated sediments collected from 100 area spill sites, 2) elucidate possible Cr(VI) mineral and/or chemical associations that may be responsible for Cr(VI) retention in the Hanford site 100 areas through the use of i) macroscopic solubility studies and ii) microscale characterization of contaminated sediments, and 3) from these data construct a conceptual model of Cr(VI) geochemistry in the Hanford 100 area vadose zone. These objectives are based on locating and obtaining contaminated sediment with depth and at varying Cr(VI) concentrations as we hypothesize that mineral/chemical-Cr(VI) associations should be related to the total Cr concentration and other master geochemical variables (e.g., pH, counter-cation type and concentration, and water content). In addressing these objectives, additional benefits accrued will be (1) a fuller understanding of Cr(VI) entrained in the vadose zone that will that can be utilized in modeling potential Cr(VI) source terms, and 2) accelerating the Columbia River 100 area corridor cleanup by developing remedial action based on a fundamental understanding of Cr(VI) vadose zone geochemistry.

In light water reactors (LWRs), vessel internal components made of nickel-base alloys are susceptible to environmentally assisted cracking. A better understanding of the causes and mechanisms of this cracking may permit less conservative estimates of damage accumulation and requirements on inspection intervals. A program is being conducted at Argonne National Laboratory to evaluate the resistance of Ni alloys and their welds to environmentally assisted cracking in simulated LWR coolant environments. This report presents crack growth rate (CGR) results for Alloy 182 shielded-metal-arc weld metal in a simulated pressurized water reactor (PWR) environment at 320 C. Crack growth tests were conducted on 1-T compact tension specimens with different weld orientations from both double-J and deep-groove welds. The results indicate little or no environmental enhancement of fatigue CGRs of Alloy 182 weld metal in the PWR environment. The CGRs of Alloy 182 in the PWR environment are a factor of {approx}5 higher than those of Alloy 600 in air under the same loading conditions. The stress corrosion cracking for the Alloy 182 weld is close to the average behavior of Alloy 600 in the PWR environment. The weld orientation was found to have a profound effect on the magnitude of crack growth: …

The report emphasizes smooth transition from paper-based procedure systems (PBPSs) to computer-based procedure systems (CBPSs) for the existing commercial nuclear power plants in the U.S. The expected advantages and of the transition are mentioned including continued, safe and efficient operation of the plants under their recently acquired or desired extended licenses. The report proposes a three-stage survey to aid in developing a national strategic plan for the transition from PBPSs to CBPSs. It also includes a comprehensive questionnaire that can be readily used for the first stage of the suggested survey.

The status of groundwater level monitoring at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in 2005 is provided in this report. The Groundwater Level Monitoring Project was instituted in 2005 to provide a framework for the collection and processing of quality controlled groundwater level data. This report summarizes groundwater level data for 137 monitoring wells, including 41 regional aquifer wells, 22 intermediate wells, and 74 alluvial wells. Pressure transducers were installed in 118 monitoring wells for continuous monitoring of groundwater levels. Time-series hydrographs of groundwater level data are presented along with pertinent construction and location information for each well.

This report provides a brief analysis of the proposal for change introduced or discussed in the 109th Congress and will be updated as events warrant.

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To reduce the effect of global warming on our climate, the levels of CO{sub 2} emissions should be reduced. One way to do this is to increase the efficiency of electricity production from fossil fuels. This will in turn reduce the amount of CO{sub 2} emissions for a given power output. Using US practice for efficiency calculations, then a move from a typical US plant running at 37% efficiency to a 760 C /38.5 MPa (1400 F/5580 psi) plant running at 48% efficiency would reduce CO2 emissions by 170kg/MW.hr or 25%. This report presents a literature review and roadmap for the materials development required to produce a 760 C (1400 F) / 38.5MPa (5580 psi) steam turbine without use of cooling steam to reduce the material temperature. The report reviews the materials solutions available for operation in components exposed to temperatures in the range of 600 to 760 C, i.e. above the current range of operating conditions for today's turbines. A roadmap of the timescale and approximate cost for carrying out the required development is also included. The nano-structured austenitic alloy CF8C+ was investigated during the program, and the mechanical behavior of this alloy is presented and discussed as an …

The Regional HEP Team (RHT) and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) staff conducted a follow-up habitat evaluation procedures (HEP) analysis on the Ladd Marsh Wildlife Management Area (LMWA) in May 2005. The 2005 HEP assessment resulted in a total of 647.44 HUs, or 0.76 HUs/acre. This is an increase of 420.34 HUs (0.49 HUs/acre) over 2001 HEP survey results. The most significant increase in HUs occurred on the Wallender and Simonis parcels which increased by 214.30 HUs and 177.49 HUs respectively. Transects were established at or near 2001 HEP analysis transect locations whenever possible. ODFW staff biologists assisted the RHT re-establish transect locations and/or suggested areas for new surveys. Since 2001, significant changes in cover type acreage and/or structural conditions have occurred due to conversion of agriculture cover types to emergent wetland and grassland cover types. Agricultural lands were seeded to reestablish grasslands and wetlands were restored through active management and manipulation of extant water sources including natural stream hydrology/flood regimes and available irrigation. Grasslands increased on the Wallender parcel by 21% (65 acres), 23% (71 acres) at the Simonis site, and 39% (62 acres) at Conley Lake. The emergent wetland cover type also changed significantly increasing 60% …

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The authors describe searches for decays of B mesons to the charmless final states {eta}'{eta}'K. The data consist of 228 million B{bar B} pairs produced in e{sup +}e{sup -} annihilation, collected with the BABAR detector at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. The 90% confidence level upper limits for the branching fractions are {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} {eta}'{eta}'K{sup 0}) < 31 x 10{sup -6} and {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} {eta}'{eta}'K{sup +}) < 25 x 10{sup -6}.

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The authors present a search for the rare B-meson decay B{sup 0} {yields} {alpha}{sub 1}{sup {+-}}{rho}{sup {-+}} with {alpha}{sub 1}{sup {+-}} {yields} {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup {+-}}. We use (110 {+-} 1.2) x 10{sup 6} {Upsilon}(4S) {yields} B{bar B} decays collected with the BABAR detector at the PEp-II asymmetric-energy B Factory at SLAC. They obtain an upper limit of 30 x 10{sup -6} (90% C.L.) for the branching fraction product {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} {alpha}{sub 1}{sup {+-}}{rho}{sup {-+}}) {Beta}({alpha}{sub 1}{sup {+-}} {yields} {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup {+-}}), where they assume that the {alpha}{sub 1}{sup {+-}} decays exclusively to {rho}{sup 0}{pi}{sup {+-}}.

A search has been made for the decays B{sup +} {yields} {psi}{pi}{sup +} and B{sup 0} in a data sample of approximately 232 x 10{sup 6} B{bar B} pairs recorded at the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II B-meson Factory at SLAC. No significant signals have been observed, and therefore upper limits have been set on the branching fractions: {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} {psi}{pi}{sup +}) < 2.4 x 10{sup -7} and {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} {psi}{pi}{sup 0}) < 2.8 x 10{sup -7} at 90% probability.

Thermal spray coating is usually applied through directing molten or softened particles at very high velocities onto a substrate. An eddy current non-destructive inspection technique is presented here for thermal spray coating interface quality characterization. Several high-velocity-oxy-fuel (HVOF) coated steel plates were produced with different surface preparation conditions before applying the coating, e.g., grit-blasted surface, wire-brush cleaned surface, and a dirty surface. A quad-frequency eddy current probe was used to manually scan over the coating surface to evaluate the bonding quality. Experimental results show that the three surface preparation conditions can be successfully differentiated by looking into the impedance difference observed from the eddy current probe. The measurement is fairly robust and consistent. More specimens are also prepared with variations of process parameters, such as spray angle, stand-off distance, and application of corrosion protective sealant, etc. They are blindly tested to evaluate the reliability of the eddy current system. Quantitative relations between the coating bond strength and the eddy current response are also established with the support of destructive testing. This non-contact, non-destructive, easy to use technique has the potential for evaluating the coating quality immediately after its application so that any defects can be corrected immediately.

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A reflection mode fiber optic oxygen sensor that can operate at high temperatures for power plant applications is being developed. The sensor is based on the {sup 3}O{sub 2} quenching of the red emission from hexanuclear molybdenum chloride clusters. Previously we described a particle-in-binder approach to immobilizing the potassium salt of the molybdenum cluster, K{sub 2}Mo{sub 6}Cl{sub 14}, at the tips of optical fibers. Compared to previous methods, the particle-in-binder approach affords fibers with greatly improved mechanical properties. The response of the sensor to oxygen at 40, 70 and 100 C was measured in 2-21% gas phase oxygen. The normalized sensor signal is linear with molar oxygen concentration and fits the theoretical Stern-Volmer relationship. Although the sensitivity decreases with temperature, at 100 C the sensitivity is 160 [O{sub 2}]{sup -1}. These are promising results for a high temperature fiber optical oxygen sensor based on molybdenum chloride clusters.

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The primary activities associated with maintenance of the Subsurface Microbial Culture Collection (SMCC) were designed to ensure that the collection served as a valuable resource to DOE-funded and other scientists, especially DOE-funded scientists associated with the NABIR Program. These activities were carried out throughout the period covered by this report and in-cluded: (1) assistance in the selection of cultures for research, (2) distribution of cultures and/or data on request, (3) incorporation of newly isolated microbial strains, (4) preservation of newly isolated strains, (5) partial characterization of newly isolated strains, (6) development and main-tenance of representative subsets of cultures, (6) screening of SMCC strains for specific charac-teristics, (7) phylogenetic characterization of SMCC strains, (8) development and maintenance of a SMCC website, (9) maintenance of the SMCC databases, (10) archiving of SMCC records, and (11) quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) activities. We describe in the Final Technical Report our accomplishments related to these activities during the period covered by this report.

In the spring of 2006, crude oil prices were exceeding $70/barrel (bbl) in response to tight markets and uncertainty over the security of world oil supply. A number of developments have placed additional pressure on world markets, including Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (in late August and late September 2005), the phaseout of the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and a renewable fuels mandate, and a continuing high and worldwide demand for oil. Energy policy issues for continuing interest include opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for leasing; Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards (CAFE) for passenger vehicles; improving U.S. energy infrastructure, including pipelines and refineries; seeking effective means to promote energy conservation using currently available technologies, and developing new technologies and alternative fuels.

In this quarter a systematic analysis on the decomposition behavior of the OTM membranes at air and nitrogen were initiated to understand the structural and stoichiometric changes associated with elevated temperatures. Evaluation of the flexural strengths using 4-point bend test was also started for the dual phase membranes. Initial results on the synthesis of dual phase composite materials have been obtained. The measurements have focused on the compatibility of mixed conductors with the pure ionic conductors yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and gadolinium doped ceria (GDC). The initial results obtained for three different mixed conductors suggest that (GDC) is the better choice. A new membrane permeation system has been designed and tested and sintering studies of biphasic systems are in progress.