A briefing report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on its analysis of federal counterterrorist exercises."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO: (1) provided information on the usefulness of publicly available environmental information to competitive intelligence professionals; and (2) assessed the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) efforts to address industries' concerns about providing the public with access to sensitive business information."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the activities of the U.S. Export Assistance Centers (USEAC) network, focusing on: (1) the nature of coordination among the federal agencies participating in the USEAC network and between these agencies and nonfederal export-service providers; and (2) USEAC assistance to firms that export services and to firms that are not ready to export but show potential and interest in doing so. The three federal agencies participating in the USEAC network include the Department of Commerce, the Export-Import Bank, and the Small Business Administration (SBA)."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO assessed the progress of the Air Force's depot maintenance reform initiatives to improve the efficiency and responsiveness of its industrial operations."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the corrective actions taken by the Army following the deaths of four Ranger students in a 1995 training accident, focusing on the status of: (1) Army Ranger training manning levels required by the fiscal year 1996 National Defense Authorization Act; (2) establishing safety cell organizations required by the act; (3) corrective safety actions instituted after the accident; and (4) inspections of identified safety controls."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) efforts to implement the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996, focusing on: (1) the status of FAA's efforts to implement the requirement of section 301 of the act mandating that FAA conduct a study and report to Congress on whether aviation security responsibilities should be transferred from the airline carriers to airports or the federal government; (2) the status of FAA's efforts to implement section 302 mandating that FAA certify security screening companies and improve the training and testing of security screeners through the development of performance standards; and (3) issues that could impede FAA's implementation of section 302."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the reasons for the losses being incurred by the Guaranteed Business and Industry Loan Program, focusing on the Rural Business-Cooperative Service's experience with business and industry guaranteed loans made during fiscal year (FY) 1994 through FY 1998 on which the Service paid losses."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the Department of Defense's (DOD) Future Years Defense Program (FYDP), focusing on: (1) whether savings in DOD's fiscal year (FY) 1999-2003 FYDP were the result of DOD's Defense Reform Initiatives (DRI); (2) the extent to which savings and personnel reductions from competitive sourcing in the 1999-2003 FYDP were based on ongoing or planned studies of functions specifically identified under the Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76, and what percentage of the current costs of performing those functions were included from the projected savings from these studies; and (3) whether DOD components outsourced activities that included inherently governmental functions, without allowing civilian employees to compete under Circular A-76 procedures, or without following the study and notification requirements of 10 U.S.C. 2461."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the semiannual reporting requirements contained in the Inspector General (IG) Act of 1978, focusing on the: (1) composition of the semiannual reports; and (2) views of a range of individuals--IGs, agency managers, and congressional staff--on the usefulness of the reports and what modifications, if any, should be made to the semiannual reporting requirements."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided a historical analysis of the Navy's decisions to lease Sealift tankers, Maritime Prepositioning Ships, T-5 replacement tankers, and Chouest specialized support vessels, focusing on: (1) the basis and support for the Navy's lease decisions; (2) past concerns regarding those decisions; and (3) legislative and regulatory changes that affect current and future leasing decisions."

H.R. 1987, 106th Congress, the Fair Access to Indemnity and Reimbursement (FAIR) Act, which was reported by the Committee on Education and the Workforce on October 14, 1999, would make it easier for small businesses and labor organizations that prevail against the NLRB or OSHA, in administrative or court proceedings, to recover their attorneys' fees from the government. It would do so by requiring fees to be awarded automatically in cases to which it applied, instead of only when the government's position was not substantially justified.

Rate constants for the aqueous oxidation of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) have been measured in aqueous phosphate-buffered solutions using Dickson-type vessels. The initial NDMA concentrations ranged from 2.5 to 2.8 ppm and reaction temperatures varied from 180 C to 220 C. Quantitation of NDMA was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) using selected ion monitoring (SIM). NDMA loss with concomitant production of nitrite and nitrate confirmed that mineralization of NDMA occurred, and no intermediates amenable to GC-MS were formed during the oxidation experiments. First order reaction rate constants for the loss of NDMA were determined by the integral method and the results are as follows: k{sub 1} = 5.21 x 10{sup -7} s{sup -1} at 180 C, k{sub 1} = 1.14 x 10{sup -6} s{sup -1} at 190 C, k{sub 1} = 2.05 x 10{sup -6} s{sup -1} at 200 C, k{sub 1} = 4.53 x 10{sup -6} s{sup -1} at 210 C and k{sub 1} = 8.81 x 10{sup -6} s{sup -1} at 220 C. The Arrhenius equation for this data is listed below: ln (k) = 20.21 - 15716 (1/T). The activation energy for this process is calculated to be 130.7 {+-} 3.5 kJ/mole. Extrapolating to a temperature of 125 …

This report describes emergency supplemental initiatives for the year 1999. The initiatives include: agriculture, embassy security and counter-terrorism, year 2000 computer conversion, U.S. troops in Bosnia, defense readiness, and other topics.

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When DOE funds were exhausted in March 1995, all Phase 2 activities were placed on hold. In February 1996 a detailed cost estimate was submitted to the DOE for completing the two remaining Phase 2 Multi Annular Swirl Burner (MASB) topping combustor test campaigns; in August 1996 release was received from FETC to proceed with the two campaigns to: (1) test the MASB at proposed demonstration plant full to minimum load operating conditions; (2) identify the lower oxygen limit of the MASB; (3) demonstrate natural gas to carbonizer fuel gas switching; and (4) demonstrate operation with ''low temperature'' compressor discharge air rather than high temperature ({approx} 1600 F) vitiated air. The 18 in. MASB was last tested at the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI) in a high-oxygen configuration and must be redesigned/modified for low oxygen operation. A second-generation PFB combustion plant incorporating an MASB based topping combustor has been proposed for construction at the City of Lakeland's McIntosh Power Plant under the U.S. DOE Clean Coal V Demonstration Plant Program. This plant will require the MASB to operate at oxygen levels that are lower than those previously tested. Preliminary calculations aimed at defining the operating envelope of the demonstration …

The purpose of this project was to complete the development of the laser systems and separator systems needed to investigate the potential for the economical separation of high value isotopes used in medical and industrial applications, then demonstrate this separation capability. The project was to focus on the isotopic purification of lead for use as solder in high- end electronics, and on the isotopic enrichment of thallium for medical applications. Ultimately the goal is to demonstrate the economical and technical viability of the technology for lead and thallium and to develop a more general capability for other possible isotope separation missions. Both lead and thallium are usefulapplications in this context because they require- dye lasers, solid- state lasers, and a frequency doubling capability of some of the lasers. This later capability allows access to the wavelength range 250 to 450 mn, with tunable, high- power and high repetition frequency lasers. Until recently, these wavelengths have been largely inaccessible in combination with these other laser characteristics. In addition, up to two new potential laser- isotope separation applications would be conceptually developed through a process of needs analysis and technical feasibility studies. Because of an unanticipated reduction in the size of the …

This study confirms the feasibility of a natural gas fueled, 20 MW M-C Power integrated pressurized molten carbonate fuel cell combined in a topping cycle with a gas turbine generator plant. The high efficiency fossil power plant (HEFPP) concept has a 70% efficiency on a LHV basis. The study confirms the HEFPP has a cost advantage on a cost of electricity basis over the gas turbine based combined cycle plants in the 20 MW size range. The study also identifies the areas of further development required for the fuel cell, gas turbine generator, cathode blower, inverter, and power module vessel. The HEFPP concept offers an environmentally friendly power plant with minuscule emission levels when compared with the combined cycle power plant.

Specific recommendations are made to improve the lighting quality and energy efficiency of the lighting system at the Social Security Administration Frank Hagel Building in Richmond, CA. The main recommendation is to replace the recessed fluorescent lighting system in the general office area with indirect lighting. Indirect lighting will improve lighting quality, will provide an energy efficient solution and will be about the same cost as the direct lighting system originally proposed.

This Integrity Assessment Report (IAR) is prepared by Fluor Daniel Northwest (FDNW) for Waste Management Federal Services of Hanford, Inc., (WMH), the operations contractor; Fluor Daniel Hanford (FDH), the Hanford Site Manager; and the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE), the system owner. This IAR addresses the evaluation of Tanks 101 and 102 and other existing components located in the 219-S Waste Handling Facility. This report will be included in the Part B Permit for the 2226 Laboratory and is a portion of the integrity assessment of the overall 222-5 Laboratory radioactive liquid waste disposal system. This IAR is prepared in accordance with WAC 173-303, Dangerous Waste Regulations; Section 640(2), ''Assessment of Existing Tank Systems Integrity .''

Tank 241-C-104 has been identified as one of the first tanks to be retrieved for high-level waste pretreatment and immobilization. Retrieval of the tank waste will require dilution. Laboratory tests are needed to determine the amount of dilution required for safe retrieval and transfer of feed. The proposed laboratory tests are described in this document.

242-A Evaporator 99-1 will process approximately one million gallons of waste from tank 102-AW in June 1999. The process control Plan provides a general description of activities, which will occur during 242-A Evaporator Campaign 99-1 and to document analyses conducted to demonstrate that 102-AW waste is acceptable for processing. Predict is a registered trademark of Risk Decisions England Corporation, United Kingdom.

This supporting document delineates the process of identification, categorization, and/or classification of the WRAP facility drawings used to support facility operations and maintenance. This document provides a listing of those essential or safety related drawings which have been identified to date. All other WRAP facility drawings have been classified as general.

The objective of this analysis is to identify and review potential options for processing and disposing of the secondary low-level waste (LLW) that will be generated through operation of the Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR). An estimate of annual secondary LLW is generated utilizing the mechanism established in ''Secondary Waste Treatment Analysis'' (Reference 8.1) and ''Secondary Low-Level Waste Generation Rate Analysis'' (Reference 8.5). The secondary LLW quantities are based on the spent fuel and high-level waste (HLW) arrival schedule as defined in the ''Controlled Design Assumptions Document'' (CDA) (Reference 8.6). This analysis presents estimates of the quantities of LLW in its various forms. A review of applicable laws, codes, and standards is discussed, and a synopsis of those applicable laws, codes, and standards and their impacts on potential processing and disposal options is presented. The analysis identifies viable processing/disposal options in light of the existing laws, codes, and standards, and then evaluates these options in regard to: (1) Process and equipment requirements; (2) LLW disposal volumes; and (3) Facility requirements.