A mobile melt-dilute (MMD) module for the treatment of aluminum research reactor spent fuel is being developed jointly by the Savannah River National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory. The process uses a closed system approach to retain fission products/gases inside a sealed canister after treatment. The MMD process melts and dilutes spent fuel with depleted uranium to obtain an isotopic content of less than 20 percent. The final ingot is solidified inside the sealed canister and can be stored safely either wet or dry until final disposition or reprocessing. The MMD module can be staged at or near the research reactor fuel storage sites to facilitate the melt-dilute treatment of the spent fuel into a stable non-proliferable form.

The Northwest region of Mexico has a deficit of potable water, along this necessity is the region growth, which requires of additional energy capacity. The IRIS reactor offers a very suitable source of energy given its modular size of 300 MWe and it can be coupled with a desalination plant to provide the potable water for human consumption, agriculture and industry. The present paper assess the water and energy requirements for the Northwest region of Mexico and how the deployment of the IRIS reactor can satisfy those necessities. The possible sites for deployment of Nuclear Reactors are considered given the seismic constraints and the closeness of the sea for external cooling. And in the other hand, the size of the desalination plant and the type of desalination process are assessed accordingly with the water deficit of the region.

Scandium containing multilayers have been produced with very high reflectivity in the soft x-ray spectrum. Accurate optical constants are required in order to model the multilayer reflectivity. Since there are relatively few measurements of the optical constants of Scandium in the soft x-ray region we have performed measurements over the energy range of 50-1,300 eV. Thin films of Scandium were deposited by ion-assisted magnetron sputtering at Linkoping University and DC Magnetron sputtering at CXRO. Transmission measurements were performed at the Advanced Light Source beamline 6.3.2. The absorption coefficient was deduced from the measurements and the dispersive part of the index of refraction was obtained using the Kramers-Kronig relation. The measured optical constants are used to model the near-normal incidence reflectivity of Cr/Sc multilayers near the Sc L{sub 2,3} edge.

We report on the development of a new technique for the measurement of the longitudinal beam profile in storage rings. This technique, which has been successfully demonstrated at the Advanced Light Source, mixes the synchrotron radiation with the light from a mode-locked solid state laser oscillator in a non-linear crystal. The up-converted radiation is then detected with a photomultiplier and processed to extract, store, and display the required information. The available choices of laser repetition frequency, pulse width, and phase modulation give a wide range of options for matching the bunch configuration of a particular storage ring. Besides the dynamic measurement of the longitudinal profile of each bunch, the instrument can monitor the evolution of the bunch tails, the presence of untrapped particles and their diffusion into nominally empty RF buckets (''ghostbunches'').

The fill pattern in proton synchrotrons usually features an empty gap, longer than the abort kicker raise time, for machine protection. This gap is referred to as the ''abort gap'' and any particles, which may accumulate in it due to injection errors and diffusion between RF buckets, would be lost inside the ring, rather than in the beam dump, during the kicker firing. In large proton rings, due to the high energies involved, it is vital to monitor the build up of charges in the abort gap with a high sensitivity. We present a study of an abort gap monitor based on a photomultiplier with a gated microchannel plate, which would allow for detecting low charge densities by monitoring the synchrotron radiation emitted. We show results of beam test experiments at the Advanced Light Source using a Hamamatsu 5916U MCP-PMT and compare them to the specifications for the Large Hadron Collider

The ratios of the Fe XVII 3s {yields} 2p transitions to that of the dominant 3d {yields} 2p transition measured in high-temperature tokamak plasmas are compared to solar and astrophysical observations. Good agreement is found, indicating that the collisional line formation processes active in opacity-free, low-density, high-temperature laboratory plasmas are a good description of those found in astrophysical plasmas.

This document summarizes the Indirect Drive Cold-Loaded (diffusion-filled) Ignition Target design. These targets include a capsule whose strength is insufficient to withstand the room temperature pressure of the DT fuel. These capsules are diffusion filled with DT gas and then cooled to cryogenic temperature. The target must remain at cryogenic temperature until it is shot. Only features that affect the design of the NIF Cryogenic Target System (NCTS) are presented. The design presented is the current thinking and may evolve further. The NCTS should be designed to accommodate a range of targets and target scales, as described here. The interface location between the target and the NCTS cryostat is at the target base / gripper joint.

This document summarizes the Indirect Drive Warm-Loaded Ignition Target design. These targets either use a fill tube or the capsule is strong enough to withstand the room temperature pressure of the DT fuel. Only features that affect the design of the NIF Cryogenic Target System (NCTS) are presented. The design presented is the current thinking and may evolve further. The NCTS should be designed to accommodate a range of targets and target scales, as described here. The interface location between the target and the NCTS cryostat is at the target base / gripper joint, the tamping gas gland/gland joint, and the electrical plug/receptacle joint.

This project has adapted LLNL energy flowcharts of historical U.S. energy use drawn from the DOE Energy Information Administration (EIA) data to include scenarios involving hydrogen use. A flexible automated process for preparing and drawing these flowcharts has also been developed. These charts show the flows of energy between primary sectors of the economy so that a user can quickly understand the major implications of a proposed scenario. The software can rapidly generate a spectrum of U.S. energy use scenarios in the 2005-2050 timeframe, both with and without a transition to hydrogen-fueled transportation. These scenarios indicate that fueling 100% of the light duty fleet in 2050 (318 million 80 mpg-equivalent compressed hydrogen fuel cell vehicles) will require approximately 100 million tonnes (10.7 quads) of H2/year, reducing petroleum use by at least 7.3 million barrels of oil/day (15.5 quads/yr). Linear extrapolation of EIA's 2025 reference projection to 2050 indicates approximate U.S. primary energy use of 180 quads/yr (in 2050) relative to current use of 97 quads/yr (comprising 39 quads/yr of petroleum). Full deployment of 50% efficient electricity generation technologies for coal and nuclear power and improvements in gasoline lightduty vehicle fleet fuel economy to 50 mpg would reduce projected U.S. primary …

The recent rise of oil and gasoline prices accompanied by reluctant acknowledgement that traditional sources of energy are limited has renewed public interest in renewable energy sources. This perspective on energy is focusing attention on and facilitating acceptance of alternative energy concepts, such as solar, wind, and biomass. The nuclear energy alternative, while clean with potentially abundant fuel supplies and associated with low costs, is burdened with the frequently negative public opinion reserved for things nuclear. Coincident with the heightened examination of alternative energy concepts, 2004 marks the 25-year anniversary of the Three Mile Island accident. Since this pivotal accident in 1979, no new reactor licenses have been granted in the U.S. The resolution of the issues of nuclear waste management and disposition are central to and may advance public discussions of the future use of nuclear energy. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is currently preparing the licensing application for Yucca Mountain, which was designated in 2003 as the site for a high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel repository in the U.S. The DOE also has been operating a deep geologic repository for the permanent disposal of transuranic (TRU) waste since 1999. The operational status of the Waste Isolation …

This presentation discusses Ukraine radiological sources.

High temporal and spatial resolution measurements in the boundary of the DIII-D tokamak show that edge localized modes (ELMs) are produced in the low field side, are poloidally localized and are composed of fast bursts ({approx}20 to 40 {micro}s long) of hot, dense plasma on a background of less dense, colder plasma ({approx}5 x 10{sup 18} m{sup {+-}3}, 50 eV) possibly created by the bursts themselves. The ELMs travel radially in the scrapeoff layer (SOL), starting at the separatrix at {approx}450 m/s, and slow down to {approx}150 m/s near the wall, convecting particles and energy to the SOL and walls. The temperature and density in the ELM plasma initially correspond to those at the top of the density pedestal but quickly decay with radius in the SOL. The temperature decay length ({approx}1.2 to 1.5 cm) is much shorter than the density decay length ({approx}3 to 8 cm), and the latter decreases with increasing pedestal (and SOL) density. The local particle and energy flux at the midplane wall during the bursts are 10% to 50% ({approx}1 to 2 x 10{sup 21} m{sup {+-}2} s{sup {+-}1}) and 1% to 2 % ({approx}20 to 30 kW/m{sup 2}) respectively of the LCFS average fluxes, …

This report describes the findings and recommendations resulting from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Incident Management Simulation Workshop held by the DHS Advanced Scientific Computing Program in May 2004. This workshop brought senior representatives of the emergency response and incident-management communities together with modeling and simulation technologists from Department of Energy laboratories. The workshop provided an opportunity for incident responders to describe the nature and substance of the primary personnel roles in an incident response, to identify current and anticipated roles of modeling and simulation in support of incident response, and to begin a dialog between the incident response and simulation technology communities that will guide and inform planned modeling and simulation development for incident response. This report provides a summary of the discussions at the workshop as well as a summary of simulation capabilities that are relevant to incident-management training, and recommendations for the use of simulation in both incident management and in incident management training, based on the discussions at the workshop. In addition, the report discusses areas where further research and development will be required to support future needs in this area.

This presentation discusses isotope production in light of increasing demand.

With the nation's coal-burning utilities facing the possibility of tighter controls on mercury pollutants, the U.S. Department of Energy is funding projects that could offer power plant operators better ways to reduce these emissions at much lower costs. Mercury is known to have toxic effects on the nervous systems of humans and wildlife. Although it exists only in trace amounts in coal, mercury is released when coal burns and can accumulate on land and in water. In water, bacteria transform the metal into methylmercury, the most hazardous form of the metal. Methylmercury can collect in fish and marine mammals in concentrations hundreds of thousands times higher than the levels in surrounding waters. One of the goals of DOE is to develop technologies by 2005 that will be capable of cutting mercury emissions 50 to 70 percent at well under one-half of projected DOE/EPA early cost estimates. ADA Environmental Solutions (ADA-ES) is managing a project to test mercury control technologies at full scale at four different power plants from 2000-2003. The ADA-ES project is focused on those power plants that are not equipped with wet flue gas desulfurization systems. ADA-ES has developed a portable system that was tested at four different …

The purpose of this study was to develop the air emission projections for the maintenance operation to dissolve and flush out the scale material inside the F-Canyon Waste Header No.2. The chemical agent used for the dissolution is a concentrated nitric acid solution, so the pollutant of concern is the nitric acid vapor. Under the very conservative operating scenarios considered in this study, it was determined that the highest possible rate of nitric acid emission during the acid flush would be 0.048 lb. per hr. It turns out that this worst-case air emission projection is just below the current exemption limit of 0.05 lb. per hr. for permit applications.

This report documents an analysis that was performed to estimate climatic variables for the next 10,000 years by forecasting the timing and nature of climate change at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, the site of a repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The future-climate estimates are based on an analysis of past-climate data from analog meteorological stations, and this report provides the rationale for the selection of these analog stations. The stations selected provide an upper and a lower climate bound for each future climate, and the data from those sites will provide input to the following reports: ''Simulation of Net Infiltration for Present-Day and Potential Future Climates'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 170007]), ''Total System Performance Assessment (TSPA) Model/Analysis for the License Application'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 168504]), ''Features, Events, and Processes in UZ Flow and Transport'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 170012]), and ''Features, Events, and Processes in SZ Flow and Transport'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 170013]). Forecasting long-term future climates, especially for the next 10,000 years, is highly speculative and rarely attempted. A very limited literature exists concerning the subject, largely from the British radioactive waste disposal effort. The discussion presented here is one available forecasting method for establishing upper and lower …

The IRIS (International Reactor Innovative and Secure) reactor design is being developed by an international consortium of 21 organizations from ten countries, including three members from Brazil and one from Mexico. This reflects the interest that Latin America has for a project which addresses the energy needs of the region. Presented here are some of the most recent developments in the IRIS project. The project's highest priority is the current pre-application licensing with the US NRC, which has required an investigation of the major accident sequences and a preliminary probabilistic risk assessment (PRA). The results of the accident analyses confirmed the outstanding inherent safety of the IRIS configuration and the PRA analyses indicated a core damage frequency due to internal events of the order of 2E-8. This not only highlights the enhanced safety characteristic of IRIS which should enhance its public acceptance, but it has also prompted IRIS to consider the possibility of being licensed without the need for off-site emergency response planning which would have a very positive economic implication. The modular IRIS, with each module rated at {approx} 335 MWe, is of course an ideal size for developing countries as it allows to easily introduce a moderate amount …

The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) engaged in numerous projects outlined under the scope of work discussed in the United States Department of Energy (DOE) grant number DE-FG26-01BC15336 awarded to the IOGCC. Numerous projects were completed that were extremely valuable to state oil and gas agencies as a result of work performed utilizing resources provided by the grant. There are numerous areas in which state agencies still need assistance. This additional assistance will need to be addressed under another grant because funding resources have been exhausted under The scope of work objectives for the eight projects covered under this grant is as follows: (1) Improve uniformity within state oil and gas data management efforts. (2) Conduct environmental compliance workshops and related educational projects on natural gas and oil exploration and production. (3) Improve regulatory efficiency through partnering opportunities provided by the Appalachian Illinois Basin Directors. (4) Promote the development and implementation of risk-based environmental regulation at the state level through an expertise-sharing program that brings stakeholders together to develop guidelines and models to meet regulatory challenges. (5) Support the IOGCC's regulatory streamlining efforts, including the identification and elimination of unnecessary duplications of effort between state and federal programs …

We report measurements of the line polarization of Ne-like and F-like of iron n=3 to n=2 transitions in the x-ray region. We used the ''two-crystal technique'' developed in previous polarization measurements in our laboratory. Preliminary results from our measurements are presented together with the theoretical calculations using the Flexible Atomic Code (FAC). Our calculations show that contributions from cascades play an important role in the polarization calculations of most of the transitions. The uncertainties and difficulties of our experiments are also discussed.

Particle kinetic effects involving small spatial and fast temporal scales can strongly affect MHD phenomena and the long time behavior of plasmas. In particular, kinetic effects such as finite ion gyroradii, trapped particle dynamics, and wave-particle resonances have been shown to greatly modify the stability of MHD modes. Here, the kinetic effects of trapped electron dynamics and finite ion gyroradii are shown to have a large stabilizing effect on kinetic ballooning modes in low aspect ratio toroidal plasmas such as NSTX [National Spherical Torus Experiment]. We also present the analysis of Toroidicity-induced Alfven Eigenmodes (TAEs) destabilized by fast neutral-beam injected ions in NSTX experiments and TAE stability in ITER due to alpha-particles and MeV negatively charged neutral beam injected ions.

The U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) has initiated collaborations with the national nuclear authorities of Egypt, Peru, and Romania for the purpose of advancing the commercial potential and utilization of their respective research reactors. Under its Office of International Safeguards ''Sister Laboratory'' program, DOE/NNSA has undertaken numerous technical collaborations over the past decade intended to promote peaceful applications of nuclear technology. Among these has been technical assistance in research reactor applications, such as neutron activation analysis, nuclear analysis, reactor physics, and medical radioisotope production. The current collaborations are intended to provide the subject countries with a methodology for greater commercialization of research reactor products and services. Our primary goal is the transfer of knowledge, both in administrative and technical issues, needed for the establishment of an effective business plan and utilization strategy for the continued operation of the countries' research reactors. Technical consultation, cooperation, and the information transfer provided are related to: identification, evaluation, and assessment of current research reactor capabilities for products and services; identification of opportunities for technical upgrades for new or expanded products and services; advice and consultation on research reactor upgrades and technical modifications; characterization of markets for reactor products and services; …

We present a second-order Godunov algorithm to solve time-dependent hyperbolic systems of conservation laws on irregular domains. Our approach is based on a formally consistent discretization of the conservation laws on a finite-volume grid obtained from intersecting the domain with a Cartesian grid. We address the small-cell stability problem associated with such methods by hybridizing our conservative discretization with a stable, nonconservative discretization at irregular control volumes, and redistributing the difference in the mass increments to nearby cells in a way that preserves stability and local conservation. The resulting method is second-order accurate in L{sup 1} for smooth problems, and is robust in the presence of large-amplitude discontinuities intersecting the irregular boundary.

We present deep Chandra and XMM-Newton observations of the galaxy cluster RDCS1252.9-2927, which was selected from the ROSAT Deep Cluster Survey (RDCS) and confirmed by extensive spectroscopy with the VLT at redshift z = 1.237. With the Chandra data, the X-ray emission from the intra-cluster medium is well resolved and traced out to 500 kpc, thus allowing a measurement of the physical properties of the gas with unprecedented accuracy at this redshift. We detect a clear 6.7 keV Iron K line in the Chandra spectrum providing a redshift within 1% of the spectroscopic one. By augmenting our spectroscopic analysis with the XMM-Newton data (MOS detectors only), we significantly narrow down the 1{sigma} error bar to 10% for the temperature and 30% for the metallicity, with best fit values kT = 6.0{sup +0.7}{sub -0.5} keV, Z = 0.36{sup +0.12}{sup -0.10}Z{sub {circle_dot}}. In the likely hypothesis of hydrostatic equilibrium, we measure a total mass of M{sub 500} = (1.9{+-}0.3)10{sup 14}h{sup -1}{sub 70} M{sub {circle_dot}} within R{sub {Delta}=500} {approx} 536 kpc. Overall, these observations imply that RDCS1252.9-2927 is the most X-ray luminous and likely the most massive bona-fide cluster discovered to date at z > 1. When combined with current samples of distant …