A common process in the chemical industry employs the leaching of a desirable component from an insoluble substrate, followed by filtration to produce a clarified solution of the desirable component and a discardable residue. The work described here involved evaluating sintered metal filter media for separating dissolved plutonium from undissolved residues generated at various locations owned by the Department of Energy throughout the United States. The work was performed during a six-week assignment at the Savannah River Laboratory as part of a high school science enrichment program conducted in the summer of 1989. The leach step used included dissolving the plutonium-containing solids in a solution of nitric-hydrofluoric acid. To simulate the partial solubility of the actual plutonium-containing residues, a non-radioactive power plant flyash was used. 6 refs., 14 figs., 1 tab.

This report summarizes research conducted by ITI to evaluate the commercialization potential of EG G Mound Applied Technologies' heat treatment process of high strength materials. The remainder of the report describes the nature of demand for maraging steel, extent of demand, competitors, environmental trends, technology life cycle, industry structure, and conclusion. (JL)

The principal goal of this study was to provide analysis of and recommendations on the need for and feasibility of a geothermal reservoir insurance program. Five major tasks are reported: perception of risk by major market sectors, status of private sector insurance programs, analysis of reservoir risks, alternative government roles, and recommendations.

A human factors engineering design review of the Palo Verde control room simulator was performed at the site on September 15 through September 17, 1981. Observed human factors design discrepancies were given priority ratings. This report summarizes the team's observations of the control room design and layout and of the control room operators' interface with the control room environment. A list of the human factors strengths observed in the Palo Verde control room simulator is given.

This memorandum is an introduction to thermal imaging systems and their use. Emission of infrared radiation from ideal and real materials is described, as are methods of detection in modern thermal imaging systems. Typical specifications and features of commercially available thermal imaging systems are described, and uses of thermal imaging are discussed. At the Savannah River Site (SRS), thermal imaging has been used extensively to measure the temperature of surface water that carries heat from the reactors to the Savannah River. Other uses at SRS have been surveying roof insulation and moisture, evaluating insulation of prototype glass melters at the TNX facility, and locating leaks in the Concentrate Transfer System. Future recommended programs include evaluating thermal imaging for general monitoring of plant facilities, especially electrical conduits, processes occurring at elevated temperature, and radioactive storage areas that generate significant amounts of waste heat. Research on the resistance weld techniques used in tritium reservoir handling (pinch welding and reclamation welding) may profit from high speed thermal image monitoring of heat generated during welding, and other Process Development activities may also benefit from high-speed thermal image monitoring. 12 refs., 1 fig.

Report that provides an overview of federal law governing wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). It also appends citations to state law in the area and the text of ECPA.

Report that provides an overview of federal law governing wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA).

Report that provides an overview of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Topics include the prohibition and penalties of wiretapping and eavesdropping, legal instances of both, and penalties for violations.

Report that provides a short overview of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Legal and illegal means of surveillance are noted, as well as the penalties for violations.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages about 33,100 wild horses and burros on 199 Herd Management Areas (HMA) in 10 western states. Under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, as amended, BLM is to protect wild horses and burros, set appropriate management levels (AML), maintain current inventory counts, and remove excess animals to prevent overpopulation and rangeland damage. Over the years, various stakeholders have raised issues about BLM's management of the animals on and off the range. GAO examined (1) BLM's progress in setting and meeting AML; (2) BLM's management of animals off the range through adoptions, sales, and holding facilities; (3) BLM's controls to help ensure the humane treatment of animals; and (4) what challenges, if any, BLM faces in managing for the long-term sustainability of the program. GAO surveyed and analyzed documents from 26 of the 44 BLM offices that manage wild horses and burros."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) Transportation Security Executive Service (TSES) consists of executive-level staff serving in key agency positions just below political appointees. Committees of Congress have raise questions about the frequency of turnover within the TSES and have directed GAO to examine turnover among TSES staff. Accordingly, this report examines: (1) TSES attrition and how it compares with that of Senior Executive Service (SES) staff in other DHS components and cabinet-level departments, (2) the reasons TSES staff separated from TSA, and (3) TSA efforts to mange TSES attrition consistent with effective management practices. To answer these objectives, GAO analyzed data within the Office of Personnel Management's Central Personnel Data File, reviewed TSA human capital policies and procedures, and interviewed former TSES staff. The results of these interviews are not generalizable, but represent the views of about half the TSES staff who separated from fiscal years 2005 through 2008."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Broadband Data Improvement Act, enacted in 2008, established a variety of initiatives intended to improve the quality of state and federal data on broadband (i.e., high-speed Internet) services and promote the deployment (the building of infrastructure over which broadband services can be provided) of affordable broadband services to all parts of the nation. The act required GAO to conduct a study to consider and evaluate additional broadband metrics or standards. This mandated report addresses (1) the measures generally available to consumers, industry, government and others, and (2) the limitations, if any, of the measures and how they could be supplemented or improved. To identify and evaluate the measures, GAO conducted a review of literature and related laws and interviewed and reviewed related documentation from stakeholder groups."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 2000, Congress required the Department of Defense (DOD) to report quarterly on the services' expenditures for consultants in support of the military family housing privatization programs. GAO was asked to review the costs of the consultants DOD used to support privatizing housing for servicemembers and their families. This report discusses (1) the number of family housing units the services have privatized, particularly newly constructed or renovated units, and project to be privatized by fiscal year 2005; (2) the portion of privatization support costs used for consultants; (3) the services' consistency in the definition for privatization support and consultant costs; and (4) factors that limit an evaluation of how consultant fees for the military housing initiative compare among the services."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) spent about $35 billion in 2000 on the Medicare+Choice program--the managed care alternative to Medicare's fee-for-service program. During that time, almost 6.3 million Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in health plans offered by managed care organizations (MCO) that participate in the Medicare+Choice program. Each year, any MCO choosing to participate in the Medicare+Choice program must submit to CMS an adjusted community rate proposal for each plan that it intends to offer. The proposal identifies the health services the MCO will provide to its Medicare members and the estimated cost to provide those services. It also shows the estimated payments that the MCO expects to receive for providing these services. This report shows that CMS' approach in the first year met the requirements of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) and laid the foundation for future years audit process. The audits done by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG) and three CPA firms in 2000 were in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) and generally followed CMS' audit program, including the …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In April 2000, GAO reported on the Department of Defense's (DOD) use of Section 845 agreements, also referred to as "other transactions" for prototype projects. These are transactions other than contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements that generally are not subject to federal laws and regulations applicable to procurement contracts. In December 2000, DOD revised its Section 845 guide. The guide specifies when Section 845 agreements may be used and provides criteria for tailoring terms and conditions for each agreement. Officials from the military services and defense agencies have found the new guide useful and a significant improvement over the prior version. The Secretary of Defense has required a metric--the number of participating nontraditional defense contractors--which is measurable and directly related to each agreement. This metric is tracked and reported internally. DOD explored additional metrics, but concluded that the number of nontraditional contractors was the only one that was quantifiable and tied directly to Section 845 outcomes. DOD's annual report to Congress on Section 845 agreements consists of summaries on each agreement. However, the key metric--the number of nontraditional contractors--is not clearly presented in these reports, making …

An introduction to methods of digital image analysis is presented. Modern commercially available digital image analysis systems are described, along with applications that may be useful to programs at the Savannah River Site (SRS). Systems to aid inspection of tritium reservoir fill stems and a system to enhance inspection of radiographs of pinch weld closures of tritium reservoirs have already been developed at SRS. Modern digital analysis systems based on personal computers have been and are being procured for use in Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) programs, and are finding immediate application in several programs requiring quantitative metallography. It is argued that x-ray computed tomographic imaging, digitally-enhanced ultrasonic testing and acoustic microscopy are three techniques that would enhance not only the research and development efforts at SRL, but also may be applicable in production (for example, in pinch and reclamation welding of tritium reservoirs, and in reactor component inspection) as quality assurance and documentation tools. 21 refs.

This project is a detailed analysis of the lithology, stratigraphy, and structure of the New Albany Group in Illinois to determine those characteristics of lithology, thickness, regional distribution, vertical and lateral variability, and deformation that are most relevant to the occurrence of hydrocarbons.

In July of 2002, a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) was undertaken between Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Caterpillar, Inc. (Caterpillar Technical Center) to develop and commercialize new cast stainless steels invented and initially tested on a prior CRADA. This CRADA is a direct follow-on project to CRADA ORNL-99-0533 for diesel engine exhaust component and gas turbine engine structural component applications. The goal of this new CRADA was to develop and commercialize the newly discovered cast stainless steels (primarily CF8C-Plus) with improved performance and reliability, as lower-cost upgrade alternatives to more costly cast Ni-based superalloys.

Simulations of the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) Chemical Processing Cell (CPC) vessels were performed as part of the ongoing investigation into catalytic hydrogen generation. Rhodium, ruthenium, and mercury have been identified as the principal elemental factors affecting the peak hydrogen generation rate in the DWPF Sludge Receipt and Adjustment Tank (SRAT) for a given acid addition. The primary goal of this study is to identify any significant interactions between the three factors. Noble metal concentrations were similar to recent sludge batches. Rh ranged from 0.0026-0.013% and Ru ranged from 0.010-0.050% in the dried sludge solids, while initial Hg ranged from 0.5-2.5 wt%. An experimental matrix was developed to ensure that the existence of statistically significant two-way interactions could be determined without confounding of the main effects with the two-way interaction effects. The nominal matrix design consisted of twelve SRAT cycles. Testing included: a three factor (Rh, Ru, and Hg) study at two levels per factor (eight runs), two duplicate midpoint runs, and two additional replicate runs to assess reproducibility away from the midpoint. Midpoint testing can identify potential quadratic effects from the three factors. A single sludge simulant was used for all tests. Acid addition was kept effectively constant …

Evaluating spatial and temporal trends in contaminant residues in Puget Sound fish and macroinvertebrates are the objectives of the Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Program (PSAMP). In a cooperative effort between the ENVironmental inVESTment group (ENVVEST) and Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, additional biota samples were collected during the 2007 PSAMP biota survey and analyzed for chemical residues and stable isotopes of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N). Approximately three specimens of each species collected from Sinclair Inlet, Georgia Basin, and reference locations in Puget Sound were selected for whole body chemical analysis. The muscle tissue of specimens selected for chemical analyses were also analyzed for δ13C and δ15N to provide information on relative trophic level and food sources. This data report summarizes the chemical residues for the 2007 PSAMP fish and macro-invertebrate samples. In addition, six Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias) samples were necropsied to evaluate chemical residue of various parts of the fish (digestive tract, liver, embryo, muscle tissue), as well as, a weight proportional whole body composite (WBWC). Whole organisms were homogenized and analyzed for silver, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, zinc, mercury, 19 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners, PCB homologues, percent moisture, percent lipids, δ13C, and δ15N.

The objective of this report was to create a low-cost, modest-power RF coupler for a SRF spoke cavity beam test of electrons test to be done at LANL. Developing the design for this magnetically-coupled SRF spoke cavity testing coupler was basically straightforward since the cavity coupling port needed to be one of the 1.22-inch ID ports, and the power level was limited by the available RF to less than 400 W TW power. In addition, the coupler would be immersed in bath cryostat filled with liquid helium, and ultimately used in a pulsed mode to accelerate beam, thereby significantly relaxing the thermal loads on the coupler. Combining the above considerations with the level of resources available for this task, emphasis was placed on rapidly developing a robust, reliable design that would use commercially-available components as available to save design, engineering, and fabrication costs. Analysis was also kept to a minimum. As such, the design incorporates the following features: (1) Use of a commercially-available Type-N ceramic feedthrough. For the power and frequency range of the test, with the feedthrough immersed in LHe, it was felt the Type-N feedthrough would provide a robust, low-cost vacuum window solution. (2) The coupler outer conductors …

C++ is the first object-oriented programming language which produces sufficiently efficient code for consideration in computation-intensive physics and engineering applications. In addition, the increasing availability of massively parallel architectures requires novel programming techniques which may prove to be relatively easy to implement in C++. For these reasons, Division 1541 at Sandia National Laboratories is devoting considerable resources to the development of C++ libraries. This document describes the first of these libraries to be released, PHYSLIB, which defines classes representing Cartesian vectors and (second-order) tensors. This library consists of the header file physlib.h, the inline code file physlib.inl, and the source file physlib.C. The library is applicable to both three-dimensional and two-dimensional problems; the user selects the 2-D version of the library by defining the symbol TWO D in the header file physlib.h and recompiling physlib.C and his own code. Alternately, system managers may wish to provide duplicate header and object modules of each dimensionality. This code was produced under the auspices of Sandia National Laboratories, a federally-funded research center administered for the United States Department of Energy on a non-profit basis by AT T. This code is available to US citizens, and institutions under research, government use and/or commercial license …

From abstract: "This report describes and evaluates the variables affecting contamination of precise devices...In the present report these variables are discussed in more detail and the basis for their inclusion in the listing are given. The relative importance of the several parameters will be discussed in another report."

This report reviews research program at cern; research program at fermilab; and proposals for experiments and detector systems at the SSC.