This article discusses the 2003 Congress bipartisan E911 (Enhanced 911) legislation introduced in both chambers. Moreover, the article describes the difference in parallel provisions each bill contains that have significant implications for emergency communication policy. The article defines Enhanced 911 as the capability of identifying the phone number and location of a call to a PSAP (Public Safety Answering Points). This report characterizes the cost to PSAPs of upgrading systems and supporting expanded operations as an obstacle to this legislation.

This report is the latest in a continuing series that highlights the recent technical accomplishments associated with the work being performed within the Materials and Process Sciences Center. Our research and development activities primarily address the materials-engineering needs of Sandia's Nuclear-Weapons (NW) program. In addition, we have significant efforts that support programs managed by the other laboratory business units. Our wide range of activities occurs within six thematic areas: Materials Aging and Reliability, Scientifically Engineered Materials, Materials Processing, Materials Characterization, Materials for Microsystems, and Materials Modeling and Simulation. We believe these highlights collectively demonstrate the importance that a strong materials-science base has on the ultimate success of the NW program and the overall DOE technology portfolio.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The key to a successful census is meticulous planning as it helps ensure greater cost-effectiveness. However, the 2000 and previous censuses have been marked by poor planning, which unnecessarily raised the costs and risks of those efforts. GAO was asked to (1) review the U.S. Census Bureau's (Bureau) current plans for 2010 and whether they might address shortcomings of the 2000 Census, (2) analyze the Bureau's cost estimates, and (3) review the rigor of the Bureau's 2010 planning process."

The primary focus of this issue brief is legislative action with respect to abortion. However, discussion of those legislative proposals necessarily involves a brief discussion of the leading U.S. Supreme Court decisions concerning a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate her pregnancy. For a more detailed discussion of the relevant case law, see CRS Report 95-724, Abortion Law Development: A Brief Overview.

The power point presentation for the Natural Gas Technologies II Conference held on February 8-11, 2004 in Phoenix AZ, published the presentations made at the conference, therefore required all presenters to submit their presentation prior to November 2003. However in the remainder of year, significant new test data became available which were incorporated in the actual presentation made at the Natural Gas Technologies II Conference. The 6th progress report presents the updated actual slide show used during the paper presentation by Richard Guiler.

This document reports on risk reduction activities performed at the VNL during CY2003 as a part of the Lith-343 actinic inspection project funded by International SEMATECH. The risk reduction activities described in this document comprise deliverable items 3.1.3, 3.1.4, 3.1.5 and 3.1.6 of Amendment 6 to the VNL EUV mask blank technology transfer contract.

This report contains a summary of activities of Gnomon, Inc. and five subcontractors that have taken place during the second six months (July 1, 2003-December 31, 2003) under the DOE-NETL cooperative agreement: ''Adaptive Management and Planning Models for Cultural Resources in Oil & Gas Fields in New Mexico and Wyoming'', DE-FC26-02NT15445. Although Gnomon and all five subcontractors completed tasks during these six months, most of the technical experimental work was conducted by the subcontractor, SRI Foundation (SRIF). SRIF created a sensitivity model for the Loco Hills area of southeastern New Mexico that rates areas as having a very good chance, a good chance, or a very poor chance of containing cultural resource sites. SRIF suggested that the results of the sensitivity model might influence possible changes in cultural resource management (CRM) practices in the Loco Hills area of southeastern New Mexico.

Research is being conducted under United States Department of Energy (DOE) Contract DE-FC26-02NT41621 to develop a conceptual design and determine the performance characteristics of a new IGCC plant configuration that facilitates CO{sub 2} removal for sequestration. This new configuration will be designed to achieve CO{sub 2} sequestration without the need for water gas shifting and CO{sub 2} separation, and may eliminate the need for a separate sequestration compressor. This research introduces a novel concept of using CO{sub 2} as a working fluid for an advanced coal gasification based power generation system, where it generates power with high system efficiency while concentrating CO{sub 2} for sequestration. This project supports the DOE research objective of development of concepts for the capture and storage of CO{sub 2}.

The project objective was to create the communication and control system, the process and the economic procedures that will allow owners (e.g., residential, commercial, industrial, manufacturing, etc.) of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) connected in parallel to the electric distribution to have their resources operated in a manner that protects the electric utility distribution network and personnel that may be working on the network. The Distribution Engineering Workstation (DEW) (a power flow and short circuit modeling tool) was modified to calculate the real-time characteristics of the distribution network based on the real-time electric distribution network information and provide DER operating suggestions to the Detroit Edison system operators so that regional electric stability is maintained. Part of the suggestion algorithm takes into account the operational availability of DER’s, which is known by the Energy Aggregator, DTE Energy Technologies. The availability information will be exchanged from DTE Energy Technologies to Detroit Edison. For the calculated suggestions to be used by the Detroit Edison operators, procedures were developed to allow an operator to operate a DER by requesting operation of the DER through DTE Energy Technologies. Prior to issuing control of a DER, the safety of the distribution network and personnel needs to be …

Final design of the mast was completed (Task 5). The mast is consisting of two welded plate girders, set next to each other, and spaced 14-inches apart. Fabrication of the boom will be completed in two parts solely for ease of transportation. The end pivot connection will be made through a single 2-inch diameter x 4 feet-8 inch long 316 SS bar. During installation, hard piping make-ups using Chiksan joints will connect the annular section and 4-inch return line to allow full movement of the mast from horizontal to vertical. Additionally, flexible hoses and piping will be installed to isolate both towers from piping loads and allow recycling operations respectively. Calibration of the prototype Foam Generator Cell has been completed and experiments are now being conducted. We were able to generate up to 95% quality foam. Work is currently underway to attach the Thermo-Haake RS300 viscometer and install a view port with a microscope to measure foam bubble size and bubble size distribution. Foam rheology tests (Task 13) were carried out to evaluate the rheological properties of the proposed foam formulation. After successful completion of the first foam test, two sets of rheological tests were conducted at different foam flow …

Steam condensation heat transfer on smooth horizontal tubes and enhanced tubes (TURBO-CDI and TURBO-CSL) along with nanoscale hydrophobic coated tubes was studied experimentally. Hydrophobic coatings have been created through self-assembled mono layers (SAMs) on copper alloy (99.9% Cu, 0.1% P) surfaces to enhance steam condensation through dropwise condensation. In general, a SAM system with a long-chain, hydrophobic group is nano-resistant, meaning that such a system forms a protective hydrophobic layer with negligible heat transfer resistance but a much stronger bond. When compared to complete filmwise condensation, the SAM coating on a plain tube increased the condensation heat transfer rate by a factor of 3 for copper alloy surfaces, under vacuum pressure (33.86 kPa) and by a factor of about 8 times when operated at atmospheric pressure (101 kPa). Lifetime of maintaining dropwise condensation is greatly dependent on the processing conditions.

The Hyperbaric Advanced Hot Section Materials & Coating Test Rig program initiated this quarter, provides design and implementation of a laboratory rig capable of simulating the hot gas path conditions of coal-gas fired industrial gas turbine engines. The principle activity during this first reporting period were preparing for and conducting a project kick-off meeting, working through plans for the project implementation, and beginning the conceptual design of the test section.

The objective of this project is to develop an environmentally benign, inexpensive, and efficient method for separating hydrogen from gas mixtures produced during industrial processes, such as coal gasification. Currently, this project is focusing on four basic categories of dense membranes: (1) mixed conducting ceramic/ceramic composites, (2) mixed conducting ceramic/metal (cermet) composites, (3) cermets with hydrogen permeable metals, and (4) layered composites with hydrogen permeable alloys. The primary technical challenge in achieving the goals of this project will be to optimize membrane composition to enable practical hydrogen separation rates and chemical stability. Other key aspects of this developing technology include catalysis, ceramic processing methods, and separation unit design operating under high pressure. To achieve these technical goals, Eltron Research Inc. has organized a consortium consisting of CoorsTek, Sued Chemie, Inc. (SCI), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), and NORAM. Hydrogen permeation rates in excess of 50 mL {center_dot} min{sup -1} {center_dot} cm{sup 2} at {approx}440 C were routinely achieved under less than optimal experimental conditions using a range of membrane compositions. Factors that limit the maximum permeation attainable were determined to be mass transport resistance of H{sub 2} to and from the membrane surface, as well as surface contamination. Mass transport resistance …

This document reviews the work performed during the quarter October-December 2003. Task 1 (Site Preparation) had been completed in the previous reporting period. In this reporting period, one week of combustion parameters optimization has been performed in Task 2 (experimental test performance) of the project. Under full-oxy conditions (100% air replacement with O{sub 2}-enriched flue gas) in 1.5MW{sub th} coal-fired boiler, the following parameters have been varied and their impact on combustion characteristics measured: the recirculated flue gas flow rate has been varied from 80% to 95% of total flue gas flow, and the total oxygen flow rate into the primary air zone of the boiler has been set to levels ranging from 15% to 25% of the total oxygen consumption in the overall combustion. In current reporting period, significant progress has also been made in Task 3 (Techno-Economic Study) of the project: mass and energy balance calculations and cost assessment have been completed on plant capacity of 533MW{sub e} gross output while applying the methodology described in previous reporting periods. Air-fired PC Boiler and proposed Oxygen-fired PC Boiler have been assessed, both for retrofit application and new unit. The current work schedule is to review in more details the …

The overall objective of this project is to demonstrate that a development program based on advanced reservoir management methods can significantly improve oil recovery at the Nash Draw Pool (NDP). The plan includes developing a control area using standard reservoir management techniques and comparing its performance to an area developed using advanced reservoir management methods. Specific goals are (1) to demonstrate that an advanced development drilling and pressure maintenance program can significantly improve oil recovery compared to existing technology applications and (2) to transfer these advanced methodologies to oil and gas producers in the Permian Basin and elsewhere throughout the U.S. oil and gas industry.

This report discusses three major vehicle technologies — electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles — as well as advanced component technologies. Each technology is discussed in terms of cost, fueling and maintenance infrastructure, and performance. The report also discusses key legislation in the 108th Congress, as well as federal, state, and local activity relevant to these technologies. This report will be updated as events warrant.

Affirmative action remains a focal point of public debate as the result of legal and political developments at the federal, state, and local levels. This report discusses legislation related to affirmative action, as well as legal rulings on the topic and the federal government's role in first establishing and, later, attempting to curb affirmative action policies.

This report discusses the African cotton initiative, over which disagreement has blocked progress on an agreement on agriculture in the current round of multilateral trade negotiations known as the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). In World Trade Organization (WTO) Negotiations on agriculture, a group of African countries have proposed that all subsidies for cotton be eliminated by the end of four years. The proposal also advocates compensating African cotton producing countries for revenues estimated to be lost due to cotton subsidies.

This research was conducted in support of two branches of the EPA ENERGY STAR program, whose overall goal is to reduce, through voluntary market-based means, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted in the U.S. The primary objective was to collect data for the ENERGY STAR Office Equipment program on the after-hours power state of computers, monitors, printers, copiers, scanners, fax machines, and multi-function devices. We also collected data for the ENERGY STAR Commercial Buildings branch on the types and amounts of ''miscellaneous'' plug-load equipment, a significant and growing end use that is not usually accounted for by building energy managers. This data set is the first of its kind that we know of, and is an important first step in characterizing miscellaneous plug loads in commercial buildings. The main purpose of this study is to supplement and update previous data we collected on the extent to which electronic office equipment is turned off or automatically enters a low power state when not in active use. In addition, it provides data on numbers and types of office equipment, and helps identify trends in office equipment usage patterns. These data improve our estimates of typical unit energy consumption and savings for each …

This report reviews several issues relating to alternative fuels and vehicles, mainly to combat dependence on petroleum imports and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The report discusses the advantages and drawbacks of various alternative fuels and vehicles, as well as related legislation.

The goals of the project were to isolate mutants that are deficient in metal reduction, identify components of the electron transport chain that are involved in this process, and purify some of these proteins for biochemical analyses. In the 3-year period since the start of the project, we have accomplished many of these goals. We have isolated several new S. oneidensis mutants that are deficient in metal reduction, and have initiated the development of vectors for the overexpression of cytochromes and other proteins in S. oneidensis. We have also overexpressed CymA, one of the c cytochromes that are involved in metal reduction.

This report provides a concise summary of the information collected and analyzed regarding the leak characteristics which define them as applicable candidates for pressure activated sealant technology. This information covers Office of Pipeline Safety reported incidents from 1985 to 1997 and was collected from existing data sources as well as operator and service company input.

CO{sub 2} emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels have been linked to global climate change. Proposed carbon management technologies include geologic sequestration of CO{sub 2}. A possible, but untested, sequestration strategy is to inject CO{sub 2} into organic-rich shales. Devonian black shales underlie approximately two-thirds of Kentucky and are thicker and deeper in the Illinois and Appalachian Basin portions of Kentucky than in central Kentucky. The Devonian black shales serve as both the source and trap for large quantities of natural gas; total gas in place for the shales in Kentucky is estimated to be between 63 and 112 trillion cubic feet. Most of this natural gas is adsorbed on clay and kerogen surfaces, analogous to methane storage in coal beds. In coals, it has been demonstrated that CO{sub 2} is preferentially adsorbed, displacing methane. Black shales may similarly desorb methane in the presence of CO{sub 2}. The concept that black, organic-rich Devonian shales could serve as a significant geologic sink for CO{sub 2} is the subject of current research. To accomplish this investigation, drill cuttings and cores were selected from the Kentucky Geological Survey Well Sample and Core Library. Methane and carbon dioxide adsorption analyses are being performed …

LOCO is a code for analysis of the linear optics in astorage ring based on the closed orbit response to steering magnets. Theanalysis provides information on focusing errors, BPM gain and rotationerrors,and local coupling. Here, we report the results of an applicationof LOCO to the KEK-ATF. Although the analysis appears to have provideduseful information on the optics of the machine, it appears that one ofthe main aims of the study to reduce the vertical emittance by correctingthe local coupling was not successful, and we discuss some possiblereasons for this.