This report contains a compilation of the results of vegetation monitoring data that were collected in the spring and summer of 2005 for the Environmental Restoration Contractor's revegetation and mitigation areas on the Hanford Site.

An important long-term objective of advanced nuclear fuel cycle (AFC) technologies is to provide improvement in the long-term management of radioactive waste. Compared to a once-thru fuel cycle, it is possible to generate far less waste, and potentially easier waste to manage, with advanced fuel cycles. However, the precise extent and value of these benefits are complex and difficult to quantify. This document presents a status report of efforts within AFCI Systems Analysis to define and quantify the AFC benefits to geologic disposal, development of cooperative efforts with the US repository program, and participation with international evaluations of AFC impacts on waste management. The primary analysis of repository benefits is conducted by ANL. This year repository impact evaluations have included: (1) Continued evaluation of LWR recycle benefits in support of scenario analysis. (2) Extension of repository analyses to consider long-term dose reductions. (3) Developing the opportunity for cooperation with the U.S. repository program. (4) International cooperation with OECD-NEA.

This report addresses the responsibilities of the office and process for appointment of The Chief Justice of the United States.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) has had problems with tracking and identifying inventory for many years, most recently in Operation Iraqi Freedom. One of several tools DOD is using to address these inventory problems is radio frequency identification (RFID). RFID technology consists of passive or active tags that are attached to equipment and supplies that are shipped from one location to another. Although DOD did not begin official implementation of passive RFID technology until January 1, 2005, DOD has been using active RFID technology since the early 1990s and began developing policy and pilot testing passive RFID in 2003. As of January 1, 2007, all commodities, excluding bulk commodities, are to have passive RFID tags. Full implementation of passive RFID is estimated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars. This report (1) provides information on the status of passive RFID implementation, (2) addresses the extent to which DOD has developed a strategic approach for implementing passive RFID, and (3) highlights challenges DOD recognizes it faces in implementing passive RFID and any plans developed by DOD to mitigate these challenges."

This report summarizes damage assessments and recovery efforts, with initial reports primarily anecdotal until more accurate assessments become available.

Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has been providing radiological performance assessment analysis for Savannah River Site (SRS) solid waste disposal facilities (McDowell-Boyer 2000). The performance assessment considers numerous potential exposure pathways that could occur in the future. One set of exposure scenarios, known as inadvertent intruder analysis, considers the impact on hypothetical individuals who are assumed to inadvertently intrude onto the waste disposal site. An Automated Intruder Analysis application was developed by SRNL (Koffman 2004) that simplifies the inadvertent intruder analysis into a routine, automated calculation. Based on SRNL's experience, personnel from Planning Integration & Technology of Closure Business Unit asked SRNL to assist with inadvertent intruder calculations for F Tank Farm to support the development of the Tank Closure Waste Determination Document. Meetings were held to discuss the scenarios to be calculated and the assumptions to be used in the calculations. As a result of the meetings, SRNL was asked to perform four scenario calculations. Two of the scenarios are the same as those calculated by the Automated Intruder Analysis application and these can be calculated directly by providing appropriate inputs. The other two scenarios involve use of groundwater by the intruder and the Automated Intruder Analysis application was …

The primary objective of this cooperative research is to develop and verify models of internal combustion engine spark ignition devices in order to improve combustion chamber fuel ignition characteristics and to improve spark plug durability. As a direct result of this joint research, a novel spark plug design was improved. A theory of spark arc motion was developed that explains experimentally observed effects not explained by other published theories. The knowledge developed by this research will be used to further improve spark plugs as well as improve the ignition process in a combustion chamber. The predictive models developed here are compared with experimental measurements, including high-speed photographs, of the spark as it translates across the gap. Two different spark plug configurations were investigated: the conventional or J-gap plug, and a novel spark ignition device (the FANG plug) invented by Cummins, Inc., the CRADA partner. A description of the physics of arc dynamic motion in a spark plug gap, including the effects of an imposed transverse magnetic field, appears here in Appendix A as a result of the analytical effort. The theory proposed here does explain experimentally observed effects not completely explained by other research publications appearing in the scientific literature. …

This dissertation will elucidate the design, construction, theory, and operation of the Next Generation Photoinjector (NGP). This photoinjector is comprised of the BNL/SLAC/UCLA 1.6 cell symmetrized S-band photocathode radio frequency (rf) electron gun and a single emittance-compensation solenoidal magnet. This photoinjector is a prototype for the Linear Coherent Light Source X-ray Free Electron Laser operating in the 1.5 {angstrom} range. Simulations indicate that this photoinjector is capable of producing a 1nC electron bunch with transverse normalized emittance less than 1 {pi} mm mrad were the cathode is illuminated with a 10 psec longitudinal flat top pulse. Using a Gaussian longitudinal laser profile with a full width half maximum (FWHM) of 10 psec, simulation indicates that the NGP is capable of producing a normalized rms emittance of 2.50 {pi} mm mrad at 1 nC. Using the removable cathode plate we have studied the quantum efficiency (QE) of both copper and magnesium photo-cathodes. The Cu QE was found to be 4.5 x 10{sup -5} with a 25% variation in the QE across the emitting surface of the cathode, while supporting a field gradient of 125 MV/m. At low charge, the transverse normalized rms emittance, {epsilon}{sub n,rms}, produced by the NGP is {epsilon}{sub …

This program plan articulates the five-year goals and objectives for the Science and Technology (S and T) Program within the Department of Energy's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM). The S and T Program is intended to reduce the cost of the proposed Yucca Mountain repository and enhance the understanding of the processes affecting its performance through the application of new scientific understanding and technology. While the design for the proposed repository will provide a safe and effective disposition of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level waste (HLW), it is unreasonable to assume the science and technology supporting the repository today will remain unchanged over the more than 50 years that the repository will be in operation. In fact, continuous improvement in operations and enhanced knowledge of the disposal process is expected to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license holder. therefore, it is prudent to support an effort within OCRWM to assure that the proposed repository will be able to use advanced technology that becomes available in the future to reduce cost to the taxpayer and utility ratepayer. As a separate office within OCRWM, the S and T Program supports the proposed Yucca Mountain repository operations and transportation activities; …

This report begins with an inventory of basic information: definitions and guides to histories of the growth of open access publishing and citation archives and descriptions of selected major open access activities. It moves on to summarize major points of difference between proponents and opponents of nongovernmental open access publishing and databases, and then highlights federal, including National Institutes of Health (NIH), open access activities and contentious issues surrounding these developments. The report also briefly describes open access developments in the United Kingdom (where a number of governmental and nongovernmental initiatives have occurred) and in the international arena. Finally, controversial issues which could receive attention in the 109th Congress are summarized.

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) is about to process High Level Waste (HLW) Sludge Batch 4 (SB4). This sludge batch is high in alumina and nepheline can crystallize readily depending on the glass composition. Large concentrations of crystallized nepheline can have an adverse effect on HLW glass durability. Several studies have been performed to study the potential for nepheline formation in SB4. The Phase 3 Nepheline Formation study of SB4 glasses examined sixteen different glasses made with four different frits. Melt rate experiments were performed by the Process Science and Engineering Section (PS&E) of the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) using the four frits from the Phase 3 work, plus additional high B2O3/high Fe2O3 frits. Preliminary results from these tests showed the potential for significant improvements in melt rate for SB4 glasses using a higher B2O3-containing frit, particularly Frit 503. The main objective of this study was to investigate the durability of SB4 glasses produced with a high B2O3 frit likely to be recommended for SB4 processing. In addition, a range of waste loadings (WLs) was selected to continue to assess the effectiveness of a nepheline discriminator in predicting concentrations of nepheline crystallization that would be sufficient to influence …

The 182-F Reservoir was a rectangular-shaped concrete basin consisting of two sections divided by a concrete wall. The reservoir provided reserve water from the Columbia River for reactor cooling water and raw water for the 100 Area and had a storage capacity of 94.6 million liters (25 million gallons). The 182-F Reservoir was later used as a landfill for decontaminated rubble from buildings that were decommissioned in the 100-F Area. The results of the 182-F Reservoir evaluation showed that residual contaminant concentrations do not preclude any future uses and allow for unrestricted use of shallow zone soils. The results also showed that residual contaminant concentrations are protective of groundwater and the Columbia River.

For a given rf frequency, the quasi-isochronous lattice allows, in principle, to double the number of bunches compared with the nominal lattice. We explore such a possibility considering the beam stability and luminosity of the PEP-II B-factory.

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Monthly report written by the Texas Daily Newspaper Association's (TDNA's) office manager, Darla Thompson, to Ken Whalen providing a summary of revenues and account balances, programs, meetings, and other activities in the office during the previous month and the first half of September.

This report is designed to assist Congress to understand and monitor progress of the negotiations and the major issues that the negotiators are addressing. The report provides a brief background section on the significance of services to the U.S. economy. It then explains briefly the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the structure and agenda of the services negotiations in the DDA round, including U.S. objectives in the negotiations. The report concludes with a status report on the negotiations and an examination of potential results.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast region leaving behind widespread devastation. This report examines Katrina’s impact on three important factors affecting the U.S. agricultural sector: marketing infrastructure based on the Mississippi River waterway and Gulf ports; production losses for major crop and livestock producers in the affected region; and potential consequences for agricultural production as a result of high energy costs. It also discusses the federal government response.

The YAHSGS LLC and Oak Ridge National Laboratory established a CRADA to develop a computational neural network and wavelets software to facilitate providing national needs for toxicity prediction and overcome the voracious drain of resources (money and time) being directed to the development of pharmaceutical agents. The research project was supported through a STTR Phase I task by NIEHS in 2004. The research deploys state-of-the-art computational neural networks and wavelets to make toxicity prediction on three independent bases: (1) quantitative structure-activity relationships, (2) microarray data, and (3) Massively Parallel Signature Sequencing technology. Upon completion of Phase I, a prototype software Multi-Intelligent System for Toxicogenomic and Applications (MISTA) was developed, the utility's feasibility was demonstrated, and a Phase II proposal was jointly prepared and submitted to NIEHS for funding evaluation. The goals and objectives of the program have been achieved.