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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. Sorbent injection technology represents one of the simplest and most mature approaches to controlling mercury emissions from coal-fired boilers. It involves injecting a solid material such as powdered activated carbon into the flue gas. The gas-phase mercury in the flue gas contacts the sorbent and attaches to its surface. The sorbent with the mercury attached is then collected by the existing particle control device along with the other solid material, primarily fly ash. During 2001, ADA Environmental Solutions (ADA-ES) conducted a full-scale demonstration of sorbent-based mercury control technology at the Alabama Power E.C. Gaston Station (Wilsonville, Alabama). This unit burns a low-sulfur bituminous coal and uses a hot-side electrostatic precipitator (ESP) in combination with a Compact Hybrid Particulate Collector (COHPAC{reg_sign}) baghouse to collect fly ash. The majority of the fly ash is collected in the ESP with the residual being collected in the COHPAC{reg_sign} baghouse. Activated carbon was injected between the ESP and COHPAC{reg_sign} units to collect the mercury. Short-term mercury removal …

Despite their high DNA identity and a proposal to group classical Brucella species as biovars of B. melitensis, the commonly recognized Brucella species can be distinguished by distinct biochemical and fatty acid characters as well as by a marked host range (e.g. B. suis for swine, B. melitensis for sheep and goats, B. abortus for cattle). Here we present the genome of B. abortus 2308, the virulent prototype biovar 1 strain, and its comparison to the two other human pathogenic Brucellae species and to the B. abortus field isolate 9-941. The global distribution of pseudogenes, deletions and insertions support previous indications that B. abortus and B. melitensis share a common ancestor that diverged from B. suis. With the exception of a dozen genes, the genetic complement of both B. abortus strains is identical, whereas the three species differ in gene content and pseudogenes. The pattern of species-specific gene inactivations affecting transcriptional regulators and outer membrane proteins suggest that these inactivations may play an important role in the establishment of host-specificity and may have been a primary driver of speciation in the Brucellae. Despite being non-motile, the Brucellae contain flagellum gene clusters and display species-specific flagellar gene inactivations, which lead to …

We investigate HST/ACS and WFPC2 images at the positions of five candidate microlensing events from a large survey of variability in M31 (MEGA). Three closely match unresolved sources, and two produce only flux upper limits. All are confined to regions of the color-magnitude diagram where stellar variability is unlikely to be easily confused with microlensing. Red variable stars cannot explain these events (although background supernova are possible for two). If these lenses arise in M31's halo, they are due to masses 0.08 < m/M{sub {circle_dot}} < 0.85 (95% certainty, for a {delta}-function mass distribution), brown dwarfs for disk/disk, and stellar masses for disk/bulge ''self-lensing''.

The electrochemical performance of LiFePO{sub 4} in lithium cells is strongly dependent on the structure (disordered/graphene or D/G ratio) of the in situ carbon produced during synthesis from carbon-containing precursors. Addition of pyromellitic acid (PA) prior to final calcination results in lower D/G ratios, yielding a higher-rate material. Further, improvements in electrochemical performance are realized when graphitization catalysts such as ferrocene are also added during LiFePO{sub 4} preparation, although overall carbon content is still less than 2 wt.%.

The complete genomic sequence of Pseudomonas syringae pathovar syringae B728a (Pss B728a), has been determined and is compared with that of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst DC3000). The two pathovars of this economically important species of plant pathogenic bacteria differ in host range and other interactions with plants, with Pss having a more pronounced epiphytic stage of growth and higher abiotic stress tolerance and Pst DC3000 having a more pronounced apoplastic growth habitat. The Pss B728a genome (6.1 megabases) contains a circular chromosome and no plasmid, whereas the Pst DC3000 genome is 6.5 mbp in size, composed of a circular chromosome and two plasmids. While a high degree of similarity exists between the two sequenced Pseudomonads, 976 protein-encoding genes are unique to Pss B728a when compared to Pst DC3000, including large genomic islands likely to contribute to virulence and host specificity. Over 375 repetitive extragenic palindromic sequences (REPs) unique to Pss B728a when compared to Pst DC3000 are widely distributed throughout the chromosome except in 14 genomic islands, which generally had lower GC content than the genome as a whole. Content of the genomic islands vary, with one containing a prophage and another the plasmid pKLC102 of P. aeruginosa …

Deforestation of temperate rainforests in Chile has decreased the provision of ecosystem services, including watershed protection, biodiversity conservation, and carbon sequestration. Forest conservation can restore those ecosystem services. Greenhouse gas policies that offer financing for the carbon emissions avoided by preventing deforestation require a projection of future baseline carbon emissions for an area if no forest conservation occurs. For a proposed 570 km{sup 2} conservation area in temperate rainforest around the rural community of Curinanco, Chile, we compared three methods to project future baseline carbon emissions: extrapolation from Landsat observations, Geomod, and Forest Restoration Carbon Analysis (FRCA). Analyses of forest inventory and Landsat remote sensing data show 1986-1999 net deforestation of 1900 ha in the analysis area, proceeding at a rate of 0.0003 y{sup -1}. The gross rate of loss of closed natural forest was 0.042 y{sup -1}. In the period 1986-1999, closed natural forest decreased from 20,000 ha to 11,000 ha, with timber companies clearing natural forest to establish plantations of non-native species. Analyses of previous field measurements of species-specific forest biomass, tree allometry, and the carbon content of vegetation show that the dominant native forest type, broadleaf evergreen (bosque siempreverde), contains 370 {+-} 170 t ha{sup -1} carbon, …

This Contingency Plan identifies personnel responsibilities, emergency equipment, and required actions necessary to mitigate potential incidents at the Waste Accumulation Area(s) (WAA)(s) located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Experimental Test Site 300 (Site 300) as shown in Figure 1. This Plan is designed to prepare personnel to minimize hazards to human health and the environment from fires, explosions, or any sudden or nonsudden release of hazardous, radioactive, or mixed waste constituents to the air, ground surface, or water from waste stored in the WAA(s). The LLNL Site 300 currently has one WAA. The location of the WAA is shown in Figure 2 and identified in Table 1. As programmatic needs change, it may become necessary to establish additional WAAs at Site 300. The WAA is a small, regularly monitored storage area where waste can be accumulated and stored temporarily. Hazardous and mixed waste can be stored or accumulated in a WAA for up to 90 days, after which it must be transferred to a Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) authorized onsite treatment or storage facility or an authorized offsite treatment, storage, or disposal facility (TSDF). The onsite TSDFs authorized by DTSC are managed by the Radioactive and …

Understanding of the source and propagation characteristics of seismic events of different types including earthquakes, explosions and mining-induced events is essential for successful discrimination of nuclear explosions. We are compiling a data set of mining related seismic events in east Eurasia. Natural earthquake data in the same region are also collected for comparison study between mining related events and earthquakes. The ground-truth data set will provide a unique and valuable resource for monitoring research. We will utilize the data set to investigate the source and propagation characteristics of seismic sources of different types including mine blasts, tremors, collapses and earthquakes. We will use various seismological techniques including spectral analysis, and waveform modeling to conduct the investigation. The research will improve our understanding of the S-wave excitation and propagation characteristics of chemical explosions and other source types.

The Non-local Thermodynamic Equilibrium Statistical Hot Spot Model (NLTE SHS), a new model for explosive detonation, is described. In this model, the formation, ignition, propagation, and extinction of hot spots is explicitly modeled. The equation of state of the explosive mixture is treated with a non-local equilibrium thermodynamic assumption. A methodology for developing the parameters for the model is discussed, and applied to the detonation velocity diameter effect. Examination of these results indicates where future improvements to the model can be made.

In June of this year, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued directives DOE O 414.1C and DOE G 414.1-4 to improve quality assurance programs, processes, and procedures among its safety contractors. Specifically, guidance entitled, ''Safety Software Guide for use with 10 CFR 830 Subpart A, Quality Assurance Requirements, and DOE O 414.1C, Quality Assurance, DOE G 414.1-4'', provides information and acceptable methods to comply with safety software quality assurance (SQA) requirements. The guidance provides a roadmap for meeting DOE O 414.1C, ''Quality Assurance'', and the quality assurance program (QAP) requirements of Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 830, Subpart A, Quality Assurance, for DOE nuclear facilities and software application activities. [1, 2] The order and guide are part of a comprehensive implementation plan that addresses issues and concerns documented in Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) Recommendation 2002-1. [3] Safety SQA requirements for DOE as well as National Nuclear Security Administration contractors are necessary to implement effective quality assurance (QA) processes and achieve safe nuclear facility operations. DOE G 414.1-4 was developed to provide guidance on establishing and implementing effective QA processes tied specifically to nuclear facility safety software applications. The Guide includes software application practices covered by appropriate …

We discuss perspective of the National Nuclear Data Center on nuclear reaction databases, focusing on contributions from the ORELA machine over more than 3 decades. We conclude that ORELA had profound impact on nuclear reaction databases, in particular CSISRS and ENDF. In addition, ORELA contributed considerable amount of data included in the recent Atlas of Neutron Resonances, along with data of critical importance for nuclear reaction model calculations by codes such as EMPIRE.

Using 7 years of MACHO survey data, we present a new determination of the optical depth to microlensing towards the Galactic bulge. We select the sample of 62 microlensing events (60 unique) on clump giant sources and perform a detailed efficiency analysis. We use only the clump giant sources because these are bright bulge stars and are not as strongly affected by blending as other events. Using a subsample of 42 clump events concentrated in an area of 4.5 deg{sup 2} with 739000 clump giant stars, we find {tau} = 2.17{sub -0.38}{sup +0.47} x 10{sup -6} at (l,b) = (1{sup o}.50, -2{sup o}.68), somewhat smaller than found in most previous MACHO studies, but in excellent agreement with recent theoretical predictions. We also present the optical depth in each of the 19 fields in which we detected events, and find limits on optical depth for fields with no events. The errors in optical depth in individual fields are dominated by Poisson noise. We measure optical depth gradients of (1.06 {+-} 0.71) x 10{sup -6}deg{sup -1} and (0.29 {+-} 0.43) x 10{sup -6}deg{sup -1} in the galactic latitude b and longitude l directions, respectively. Finally, we discuss the possibility of anomalous duration …

Experimental measurements using nanosecond time resolved embedded gauges and laser interferometric techniques, combined with Non-Equilibrium Zeldovich--von Neumann--Doring (NEZND) theory and Ignition and Growth reactive flow hydrodynamic modeling, have revealed the average pressure/particle velocity states attained in reaction zones of self-sustaining detonation waves in several solid and liquid explosives. The time durations of these reaction zone processes is discussed for explosives based on pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), nitromethane, octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX), triaminitrinitrobenzene(TATB) and trinitrotoluene (TNT).

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This report was developed in accordance with the requirements in ''Technical Work Plan for Postclosure Waste Form Modeling'' (BSC 2005 [DIRS 173246]). The purpose of the in-package chemistry model is to predict the bulk chemistry inside of a breached waste package and to provide simplified expressions of that chemistry as a function of time after breach to Total Systems Performance Assessment for the License Application (TSPA-LA). The scope of this report is to describe the development and validation of the in-package chemistry model. The in-package model is a combination of two models, a batch reactor model, which uses the EQ3/6 geochemistry-modeling tool, and a surface complexation model, which is applied to the results of the batch reactor model. The batch reactor model considers chemical interactions of water with the waste package materials, and the waste form for commercial spent nuclear fuel (CSNF) waste packages and codisposed (CDSP) waste packages containing high-level waste glass (HLWG) and DOE spent fuel. The surface complexation model includes the impact of fluid-surface interactions (i.e., surface complexation) on the resulting fluid composition. The model examines two types of water influx: (1) the condensation of water vapor diffusing into the waste package, and (2) seepage water entering …

We present results of a microlensing survey toward the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) carried out during four observing seasons at the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT). This survey is part of the larger microlensing survey toward M31 performed by the Microlensing Exploration of the Galaxy and Andromeda (MEGA) collaboration. Using a fully automated search algorithm, we indentify 14 candidate microlensing events, three of which are reported here for the first time. Observations obtained at the Mayall telescope are combined with the INT data to produce composite light curves for these candidates. The results from the survey are compared with theoretical predictions for the number and distribution of events. These predictions are based on a Monte Carlo calculation of the detection efficiency and disk-bulge-halo models for M31. The models provide the full phase-space distribution functions (DFs) for the lens and source populations and are motivated by dynamical and observational considerations. They include differential extinction and span a wide range of parameter space characterized primarily by the mass-to-light ratios for the disk and bulge. For most models, the observed event rate is consistent with the rate predicted for self-lensing--a MACHO halo fraction of 30% or higher can be ruled at the 95% confidence level. …