This report presents the issues considered by the 108th Congress related to the civil works program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). The Corps plans, constructs, and operates water resources facilities primarily for flood control, navigation, and environmental purposes.

This Annual Progress Report describes the work performed and summarizes some of the key observations to date on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s project Assessment of Food Chain Pathway Parameters in Biosphere Models, which was established to assess and evaluate a number of key parameters used in the food-chain models used in performance assessments of radioactive waste disposal facilities. Section 2 of this report describes activities undertaken to collect samples of soils from three regions of the United States, the Southeast, Northwest, and Southwest, and perform analyses to characterize their physical and chemical properties. Section 3 summarizes information gathered regarding agricultural practices and common and unusual crops grown in each of these three areas. Section 4 describes progress in studying radionuclide uptake in several representative crops from the three soil types in controlled laboratory conditions. Section 5 describes a range of international coordination activities undertaken by Project staff in order to support the underlying data needs of the Project. Section 6 provides a very brief summary of the status of the GENII Version 2 computer program, which is a “client” of the types of data being generated by the Project, and for which the Project will be providing training to …

To determine the neutrino mixing amplitudes and phase accurately, as well as the CP violation parameters, a very long base line super neutrino beam facility is needed. This is possible due to the long distance and wideband nature of the neutrino beam for the observation of several oscillations from one species of the neutrino to the other [1,2]. BNL plans to upgrade the AGS proton beam from the current 0.14 MW to higher than 1.0 MW and beyond for such a neutrino facility which consists of three major subsystems. First is a 1.5 GeV superconducting linac to replace the booster as injector for the AGS, second is the performance upgrade for the AGS itself for the higher intensity and repetition rate, and finally is target and horn system for the neutrino production. The major contribution for the higher power is from the increase of the repetition rate of the AGS form 0.3 Hz to 2.5 Hz, with moderate increase from the intensity [3]. The design consideration to achieve high intensity and low losses for the linac and the AGS will be reviewed. The target horn design for high power operation and easy maintenance will also be presented.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Brownfields are properties whose use may be hindered by the threat of contamination. Cleaning up and redeveloping these properties can protect human health and the environment and provide economic benefits. Under the Brownfields Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides grants to state and local governments and others for site assessments, job training, revolving loans, and cleanups and to assist state efforts. GAO was asked to (1) obtain stakeholders' views on EPA's contribution to brownfield cleanup and redevelopment, (2) determine the extent to which EPA measures program accomplishments, and (3) obtain views on options to improve or complement EPA's program. Stakeholders GAO surveyed included grant recipients, state program officials, interest groups, and others."

Two proof-of-principle large-scale tests were performed to simulate the flow of grout into Hanford single-shell HLW Tanks and into cascade lines which interconnect the HLW tanks. The goal of the testing was to determine whether the HLW tank grout can enter the cascade line and solidify prior to flowing into an adjacent tank. Two tests were performed as part of this task. The tests were conducted using the Phase 2 Structural Grout, SRG2, the structural grout mix that was used during scale-up testing last year.

The River Protection Project - Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant will use cesium ion exchange to remove 137Cs from Low Activity Waste down to 0.3 Ci/m3 in the Immobilized LAW, ILAW product. The project baseline for cesium ion exchange is the elutable SuperLig, R, 644, SL-644, resin registered trademark of IBC Advanced Technologies, Inc., American Fork, UT or the Department of Energy approved equivalent. SL-644 is solely available through IBC Advanced Technologies. To provide an alternative to this sole-source resin supply, the RPP-WTP initiated a three-stage process for selection and qualification of an alternative ion exchange resin for cesium removal in the RPPWTP. It was recommended that resorcinol formaldehyde RF be pursued as a potential alternative to SL-644.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLNL) designed and constructed an innovative containerized wetlands (bioreactor) system that began operation in November 2000 to biologically degrade perchlorate and nitrate under relatively low-flow conditions at a remote location at Site 300 known as Building 854. Since initial start-up, the system has processed over 3,463,000 liters of ground water and treated over 38 grams of perchlorate and 148 kilograms of nitrate. Site 300 is operated by the University of California as a high-explosives and materials testing facility supporting nuclear weapons research. The 11-square mile site located in northern California was added to the NPL in 1990 primarily due to the presence of elevated concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in ground water. At the urging of the regulatory agencies, perchlorate was looked for and detected in the ground water in 1999. VOCs, nitrate and perchlorate were released into the soil and ground water in the Building 854 area as the result of accidental leaks during stability testing of weapons or from waste discharge practices that are no longer permitted at Site 300. Design of the wetland bioreactors was based on earlier studies showing that indigenous chlorate-respiring bacteria could effectively …

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Cuba under Fidel Castro remains a hard-line communist state with a poor record on human rights that has deteriorated significantly since 2003. With the cutoff of assistance from the former Soviet Union, Cuba experienced severe economic deterioration from 1989 to 1993. While there has been some improvement since 1994, as Cuba has implemented limited reforms, the economy remains in poor shape. This report discusses the most recent development in Cuba, including political and economic conditions and the U.S. policy towards Cuba. It also considers the issues in U.S.-Cuban Relations.

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The interaction of SO{sub 2} with oxygen-sputtered Au(111) surfaces ({theta}{sub oxygen} {le} 0.35 ML) was studied by monitoring the oxygen and sulfur coverages as a function of SO{sub 2} exposure. Two reaction regimes were observed: oxygen depletion followed by sulfur deposition. An enhanced, transient sulfur deposition rate is observed at the oxygen depletion point. This effect is specifically pronounced if the Au surface is continuously exposed to SO{sub 2}. The enhanced reactivity towards S deposition seems to be linked to the presence of highly reactive, under-coordinated Au atoms. Adsorbed oxygen appears to stabilize, but also to block these sites. In absence of the stabilization effect of adsorbed oxygen, i.e. at the oxygen depletion point, the enhanced reactivity decays on a timescale of a few minutes. These observations shed a new light on the catalytic reactivity of highly dispersed gold nanoparticles.

The Alvarez lens (US Patent No. 3,305,294 [1]) is a compact aberration corrector. The original design emphasized in the patent consists of a pair of adjacent optical elements that provide a variable focus. A lens system with a variable effective focal length is nothing new. Such systems are widely used in cameras, for example. It is the compactness and simplicity of operation that is the key advantage of the Alvarez lens. All of the complexity is folded into the design and fabrication of the optical elements. As mentioned in the Alvarez patent [1] and elaborated upon in Palusinski et al. [2], if one is willing to fold even more complexity into the optical elements, it is possible to correct higher-order aberrations as well. There is no theoretical limit to the number or degree of wavefront distortions that can be corrected. The only limitation is that there must be a fixed relative magnitude of the aberrations. Independent correction of each component of the higher-order aberrations can not be performed without additional elements and degrees of freedom [3]. Under some circumstances, coupling may be observed between different aberrations. This can be mitigated with the appropriate choice of design parameters. New methods are …

Congress has broad plenary authority to determine classes of aliens who maybe admitted into the United States and the grounds for which they may be removed. Pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended, certain conduct may either disqualify an alien from entering the United States (“inadmissibility”) or provide grounds for his or her removal/deportation. Prominently included among this conduct is criminal activity. “Criminal activity” comprises acts violative of federal, state, or, in many cases, foreign criminal law. It does not cover violations of the INA that are not crimes, most notably, being in the U.S. without legal permission. Thus, the term “illegal alien” – an alien without legal status – is not synonymous with “criminal alien.”

This report discusses the debate over government policy regarding industrial competitiveness and technological advancement. Background, legislative initiatives, and different approaches are among topics discussed in this report.

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This report provides an overview of major tax issues. It begins by describing three aspects of the economic context in which the tax policy debate during 2004 is likely to occur: the general state of the U.S. economy; the position of the federal budget; and the level of taxes in the United States.

A mission of foremost importance to the Department of Energy and our contractors is to provide our stakeholders with a complete understanding of the consequences of our operations, both past and present. To do this, an extensive annual multimillion-dollar monitoring and surveillance program collects and analyzes tens of thousands of samples from air, surface and groundwater, soil, mud, plants, and animals. The results are published in a detailed Annual Site Environmental Report available to all. We also publish a separate Data Volume for those who wish to see the raw data. Though these documents present all the facts and figures, they are long, technical, and not always easy to read. Thus, I team with a local high school each year and ask students to write an Annual Site Environmental Report Summary specifically for the public. These documents are perhaps the most important reports the Department of Energy produces. Why? First, they lay out the environmental monitoring programs and the consequences of Department of Energy operations in great detail to our legislatures, stakeholders, and the public; second, they represent the efforts of many dedicated environmental scientists who carry out these extensive programs and work hard to protect and enhance the environment; …

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During a news conference on November 4, 2004, President George W. Bush stated that he “would like to see the President have a line-item veto again, one that passed constitutional muster. I think it would help the executive branch work with the legislative branch to make sure that we’re able to maintain budget discipline.” The Supreme Court struck down an earlier version of item-veto authority (the Line Item Veto Act of 1996) in Clinton v. City of New York, 524 U.S. 417 (1998), but several statutory alternatives are available. Options to the Line Item Veto Act have been proposed over the years, including an amendment to the Constitution to grant the President item-veto authority. The line-item veto is listed among several budget reform proposals included in the FY2005 budget, but a more specific recommendation is expected to be developed by the Administration and submitted to Congress at the start of the 109th Congress. This report analyzes the statutory and constitutional alternatives that are likely to be considered and will be updated as necessary.

The main objective of the Depleted UO{sub 2} Kernels Production Task at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) was to conduct two small-scale production campaigns to produce 2 kg of UO{sub 2} kernels with diameters of 500 {+-} 20 {micro}m and 3.5 kg of UO{sub 2} kernels with diameters of 350 {+-} 10 {micro}m for the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative Program. The final acceptance requirements for the UO{sub 2} kernels are provided in the first section of this report. The kernels were prepared for use by the ORNL Metals and Ceramics Division in a development study to perfect the triisotropic (TRISO) coating process. It was important that the kernels be strong and near theoretical density, with excellent sphericity, minimal surface roughness, and no cracking. This report gives a detailed description of the production efforts and results as well as an in-depth description of the internal gelation process and its chemistry. It describes the laboratory-scale gel-forming apparatus, optimum broth formulation and operating conditions, preparation of the acid-deficient uranyl nitrate stock solution, the system used to provide uniform broth droplet formation and control, and the process of calcining and sintering UO{sub 3} {center_dot} 2H{sub 2}O microspheres to form dense …

This report characterizes commercially available wireless technologies that are already being used in building applications or that are suitable for use in commercial buildings. The discussion provides an overview of fundamental concepts of radial broadcasting systems, as well as mesh networks, and will highlight the opportunities and challenges in their integration into existing wired control networks. This report describes two demonstration projects of wireless sensors and their integration into existing control networks and discusses their cost per sensor, their ease of installation, and their reliability. It also describes the load control strategies implemented as a consequence of having the additional data provided by the wireless sensors and provides estimates of the resulting energy and cost savings. The report concludes with presentation of some general future prospects for wireless technologies in buildings applications.

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