This report discusses what a farm bill is and the process of renewing one every year. This report specifically covers the farm bill for 2002 and the issues that come with it. Moreover, the report highlights the importance of exports within the U.S. agricultural economy and how this is a key interest in the renewal of farm bills.

This report discusses electronic warfare (EW) as an effective technique for increasing aircraft and aircrew survivability in hostile environments, which in turn improves the overall effectiveness of the air campaign.

Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress passes each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittees.

Project was to develop a low-cost, environmentally benign technology for the decontamination and decommissioning of transuranic waste. With the invention of the atmospheric-pressure plasma jet the goal was achieved. This device selectively etches heavy metals from surfaces, rendering objects radiation free and suitable for decommissioning. The volatile reaction products are captured on filters, which yields a tremendous reduction in the volume of the waste. Studies on tantalum, a surrogate material for plutonium, have shown that etch rate of 6.0 microns per minute can be achieved under mild conditions. Over the past three years, we have made numerous improvements in the design of the plasma jet. It may now be operated for hundreds of hours and not undergo any degradation in performance. Furthermore, small compact units have been developed, which are easily deployed in the field.

Sections 205 and 206 of the Federal Power Act concern rates and charges collected by a public utility in transmitting or selling electric energy in interstate commerce. These rates and charges are required to be just and reasonable. States retain jurisdiction over facilities for generation, distribution, or transmission of electric energy in intrastate commerce. The Commission has the authority to determine that an existing rate is unjust or unreasonable and set a new rate. In certain situations Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) may have authority to refund amounts paid in excess of just and reasonable rates. Case law is useful in determining when such a situation may exist.

The objective of this project is to design, fabricate and field-demonstrate a fully Autonomous Pathogen Detector (identifier) System (APDS). This will be accomplished by integrating a proven flow cytometer and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detector with sample collection, sample preparation and fluidics to provide a compact, autonomously operating instrument capable of simultaneously detecting multiple pathogens and/or toxins. The APDS will be designed to operate in fixed locations, where it continuously monitors air samples and automatically reports the presence of specific biological agents. The APDS will utilize both multiplex immuno and nucleic acid assays to provide ''quasi-orthogonal'', multiple agent detection approaches to minimize false positives and increase the reliability of identification. Technical advancements across several fronts must first be made in order to realize the full extent of the APDS. Commercialization will be accomplished through three progressive generations of instruments. The APDS is targeted for domestic applications in which (1) the public is at high risk of exposure to covert releases of bioagent such as in major subway systems and other transportation terminals, large office complexes, and convention centers; and (2) as part of a monitoring network of sensors integrated with command and control systems for wide area monitoring of …

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issues regulations to strengthen aviation safety and security and to promote the efficient use of airspace. FAA's rulemaking is a complicated process intended to ensure that all aspects of any regulatory change are fully analyzed before any change goes into effect. During the last 40 years, many reports have documented problems in FAA's rulemaking efforts that have delayed the formulation and finalization of its rules. This report reviews FAA's rulemaking process. GAO reviewed 76 significant rules and found that FAA's rulemaking process varied widely. These rules constituted the majority of FAA's workload of significant rules from fiscal year 1995 through fiscal year 2000. GAO found that FAA had begun about 60 percent of the rulemaking projects by Congress and about a third of the rulemaking projects recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board within six months. For one-fourth of the mandates and one-third of the recommendations however, at least five years passed before FAA began the process. Once the rule was formally initiated, FAA took a median time of two and a half years to proceed from formal initiation of the …

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Bioenergy Feedstock Development Program (BFDP) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a mission-oriented program of research and analysis whose goal is to develop and demonstrate cropping systems for producing large quantities of low-cost, high-quality biomass feedstocks for use as liquid biofuels, biomass electric power, and/or bioproducts. The program specifically supports the missions and goals of DOE's Office of Fuels Development and DOE's Office of Power Technologies. ORNL has provided technical leadership and field management for the BFDP since DOE began energy crop research in 1978. The major components of the BFDP include energy crop selection and breeding; crop management research; environmental assessment and monitoring; crop production and supply logistics operational research; integrated resource analysis and assessment; and communications and outreach. Research into feedstock supply logistics has recently been added and will become an integral component of the program.

The production and handling in 1999 of about 200 million kilograms of bromine plus substantial derivatives thereof by Great Lakes Chemical Corp. and Albemarle Corporation in their southern Arkansas refineries gave OSHA Occupational Injury/Illness Rates (OIIR) in the range of 0.74 to 1.60 reportable OIIRs per 200,000 man hours. OIIRs for similar industries and a wide selection of other U.S. industries range from 1.6 to 23.9 in the most recent OSHA report. Occupational fatalities for the two companies in 1999 were zero compared to a range in the U.S.of zero for all computer manufacturing to 0.0445 percent for all of agriculture, forestry and fishing in the most recent OSHA report. These results show that bromine and its compounds can be considered as safe chemicals as a result of the bromine safety standards and practices at the two companies. The use of hydrobromic acid as an electrical energy storage medium in reversible PEM fuel cells is discussed. A study in 1979 of 20 megawatt halogen working fluid power plants by Oronzio de Nora Group found such energy to cost 2 to 2.5 times the prevailing base rate at that time. New conditions may reduce this relative cost. The energy storage aspect …

Radionuclide and metal contaminants are present in the vadose zone and groundwater throughout the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) weapons complex. Demonstrating in situ immobilization of these contaminants in vadose zones or groundwater plumes is a cost-effective remediation strategy. However, the implementation of in situ remediation requires definition of the mechanism that controls sequestration of the contaminants. One such mechanism for metals and radionuclides is co-precipitation of these elements in authigenic calcite and calcite overgrowths. Calcite, a common mineral in many aquifers and vadose zones in the arid western U.S., can incorporate divalent metals such as strontium, cadmium, lead, and cobalt into its crystal structure by the formation of solid solutions. The rate at which trace metals are incorporated into calcite is a function of calcite precipitation kinetics, adsorption interactions between the calcite surface and the trace metal in solution, solid solution properties of the trace metal in calcite, and also the surfaces upon which the calcite is precipitating. A fundamental understanding of the coupling of calcite precipitation and trace metal partitioning and how this may occur in aquifers and vadose environments is lacking. The focus of the research proposed here is to investigate the facilitated partitioning of metal and …

This report discusses the violent crime control and law enforcement act of 1994, the federal death penalty that became available as a possible punishment for a substantial number of new and existing civilian offenses.

A complete understanding of actinide interactions in the geosphere is paramount for developing a rational Nuclear and Environmental Materials Management Policy. One of the key challenges towards understanding the fate and transport of actinides is determining their speciation (i.e., oxidation state and structure). Since an element's speciation directly dictates physical properties such as toxicity and solubility, this information is critical for evaluating and controlling the evolution of an actinide element through the environment. Specific areas within nuclear and environmental management programs where speciation is important are (1) waste processing and separations; (2) wasteform materials for long-term disposition; and (3) aqueous geochemistry. The goal of this project was to develop Actinide X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy ( U S ) as a core capability at LLNL and integrate it with existing facilities, providing a multi-technique approach to actinide speciation. XAS is an element-specific structural probe which determines the oxidation state and structure for most atoms. XAS can be more incisive than other spectroscopies because it originates from an atomic process and the information is always attainable, regardless of an element's speciation. Despite the utility, XAS is relatively complex due to the need for synchrotron radiation and significant expertise with data acquisition and analysis. …

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The analysis to determine flaw stability requires inputs of material properties and stress conditions to a fracture mechanics methodology. Activities in the Life Management Program for the Type I and II high level waste tanks cover the development of these inputs at tank-specific conditions. This report provides a comprehensive review of fracture mechanics methods that are appropriate for the Type I and II tanks.

From 1981 to 1989, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) developed for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission a method for performing Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis (PSHA) in the eastern US with results documented in NUREG/CR-5250. Improvements in the handling of the uncertainties lead to updated results documented in the 1993-EUS-Update study (NUREG-1488.) These results presented substantial differences with the utilities sponsored study performed by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI, 1989.) In order to understand the differences between the two studies, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Department Of Energy (DOE) and EPRI jointly sponsored a study led by the Senior Seismic Hazard Analysis Committee (SSHAC) the task of which was to explain the differences between the two studies and provide guidance on how to perform a state-of-the-art PSHA. The work and conclusions of the SSHAC are documented in NUREG/CR-6372, 1997. As a follow-up to the 1997 SSHAC study, the Trial Implementation Project (TIP), (UCRL-ID-133494, 1998, NUREG/CR-6607) made use of the SSHAC recommendations and developed a set of more detailed guidance for performing PSHA. The TIP project tested the more complicated issue of development of the seismic zonation and seismicity models on two sites: Watts Bar and Vogtle. It was found that …

In order to prepare policies and plans to reduce GHG emissions, national policy-makers need information on the costs and benefits of different mitigation options in addition to their carbon implications. Policy-makers must weigh the costs, benefits, and impacts of climate change mitigation and adaptation options, in the face of competition for limited resources. The policy goal for mitigation options in the land use sector is to identify which mix of options is likely to best achieve the desired forestry service and production objectives at the least cost, while attempting to maximize economic and social benefits, and minimize negative environmental and social impacts. Improved national-level cost estimates of response options in the land use sector can be generated by estimating the costs and benefits of different forest management practices appropriate for specific country conditions which can be undertaken within the constraint of land availability and its opportunity cost. These co st and land use estimates can be combined to develop cost curves, which would assist policy-makers in constructing policies and programs to implement forest responses.

This report summaries the computer modeling studies and how the results of these studies were used to estimate contaminant releases to the groundwater. These modeling studies were used to improve saltstone landfill designs and are the basis for the current reference design. With the reference landfill design, EPA Drinking Water Standards can be met for all chemicals and radionuclides contained in Savannah River Plant waste salts.

Over 130 soil samples were collected from three soil borings in support of the VZFTS. The first boring was sampled just prior to the first injection test. The other two borings were sampled after completion of the injection tests. These soil samples were collected using a 7.6 cm (3 in) ID splitspoon sampler, with internal 15 cm (6 in.) long Lexan? liners. The samples ranged in depth from 4 to 17 m (13.5 to 56.5 ft), and were submitted to various laboratories for hydraulic property characterization and/or geochemical/tracer analyses. Preliminary results indicate that the major concentration front of the bromide tracer reached a relative depth of 5 m (below the injection point) 8 days after the final water injection and had migrated to a relative depth of about 7 m, 4 days later.

Over 130 soil samples were collected from three soil borings in support of the VZFTS. The first boring was sampled just prior to the first injection test. The other two borings were sampled after completion of the injection tests. These soil samples were collected using a 7.6 cm (3 in) ID splitspoon sampler, with internal 15 cm (6 in.) long Lexan? liners. The samples ranged in depth from 4 to 17 m (13.5 to 56.5 ft), and were submitted to various laboratories for hydraulic property characterization and/or geochemical/tracer analyses. Preliminary results indicate that the major concentration front of the bromide tracer reached a relative depth of 5 m (below the injection point) 8 days after the final water injection and had migrated to a relative depth of about 7 m, 4 days later.

This Corrective Action Investigation Plan contains the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Operations Office's approach to collect the data necessary to evaluate corrective action alternatives appropriate for the closure of Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 271 under the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order. Corrective Action Unit 271 consists of 15 Corrective Action Sites (CASs) including: thirteen Septic Systems (25-04-01, 25-04-03, 25-04-04, 25-04-08, 25-04-09, 25-04-10, 25-04-11, 26-04-01, 26-04-02, 26-05-03, 26-05-04, 26-05-05, and 27-05-02), one Contaminated Water Reservoir (26-03-01), and one Radioactive Leachfield (26-05-01). The CASs addressed by CAU 271 are located at Guard Station 500, the Reactor Control Point (RCP), Bare Reactor Experiment - Nevada Tower, and Engine Test State-1 (ETS-1) facilities in Area 25; the Port Gaston and Project Pluto facilities in Area 26; and the Baker Site in Area 27 of the Nevada Test Site. Between 1 958 and 1973, the RCP and ETS-1 facilities supported the development and testing of nuclear reactors for space propulsion as part of the Nuclear Rocket Development Station. The Project Pluto facilities supported nuclear reactor testing for use as a ramjet propulsion system between 1961 and 1964, followed by similar use for other projects through the early 1980s. The …

A data-qualification evaluation was conducted on Reference Information Base (RIB) data set MOO0 12RIB00065.002, ''Parameter Values for Transfer Coefficients''. The corroborating data method was used to evaluate the data. This method was selected because it closely matches the literature-review method followed to select parameter values. Five criteria were considered when the corroborating method was used: adequacy of the corroborative literature, sufficiency of value-selection criteria, implementation of the selection criteria, documentation of the process, and whether the analysis was conducted in accordance with applicable quality assurance (QA) procedures. Three criteria were used when a literature review was not conducted: appropriate logic used to select parameters, documentation of the process, and whether the analysis was conducted in accordance with applicable QA procedures. The RIB data item, the associated Analysis and Model Report (AMR), the corroborative literature, and the results of an audit revision O/ICN 0 of the AMR were examined. All calculations and the selection process for all values were repeated and confirmed. The qualification team concluded: (1) A sufficient quantity of corroborative literature was reviewed and no additional literature was identified that should have been considered. (2) The selection criteria were sufficient and resulted in valid parameter values. (3) The process …

Deposit summary of $35.00 made on August 9, 2001.

Deposit summary of $45.00 made on May 9, 2001, and a letter to Michael Milliken from Daniel C. Graney, membership chair of the San Antonio Club regarding membership dues.