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This project presents a model for addressing several objectives envisioned by the metal casting industries through the integration of research and educational components. It provides an innovative approach to introduce technologies for real time characterization of sand molds, lost foam patterns and monitoring of the mold filling process. The technology developed will enable better control over the casting process. It is expected to reduce scrap and variance in the casting quality. A strong educational component is integrated into the research plan to utilize increased awareness of the industry professional, the potential benefits of the developed technology, and the potential benefits of cross cutting technologies.

This report represents a critical review of existing reactor cooling systems and discusses suggested supplementary-cooling system which might be employed in emergencies resulting from such natural hazards as earthquake, equipment failure, or personnel error. In addition the subject of building filtration is discussed. Maintenance of an uninterrupted flow of cooling water is of major concern to the safety of any HAPO reactor. For some time supplementary cooling systems which would be capable of removing heat output in the event of failure in the existing emergency backup systems have been under scrutiny. Loss of coolant may cause damaging power excursion (should this occur during operation) or will inevitably result in fuel melting and a subsequent release of fission products to the atmosphere, even if the reactor is shut down prior to the loss of coolant.

The River Protection Project is to design and build a high level nuclear waste treatment facility. The waste treatment plant is to process millions of gallons of radioactive waste stored in tanks at the Hanford Site. The high level nuclear waste treatment process includes various unit operations, such as ultrafiltration, precipitation, evaporation, ion exchange, and vitrification. Ion exchange is identified as the optimal treatment method for removal of cesium-137 and Tc-99 from the waste. Extensive ion exchange testing was performed using small-scale columns with actual waste samples. The objectives of this study were to: demonstrate SuperLig 644 ion exchange performance and process steps for the removal of cesium from actual AN-104 tank waste; pretreat actual AN-104 tank waste to reduce the concentration of cesium-137 in the waste below LAW vitrification limit; produce and characterize cesium eluate solutions for use in eluate evaporation tests. The experiments consisted of batch contact and small-scale column tests. The batch contact tests measured sorption partition coefficients Kds. The Kds were used to predict the effective resin capacity. The small-scale column tests, which closely mimic plant conditions, generated loading and elution profile data used to determine whether removal targets and design requirements were met.

Small-column ion exchange (SCIX) units installed in high-level waste tanks to remove Cs-137 from highly alkaline salt solutions are among the waste treatment plans in the DOE-complex. Spherical Resorcinol-Formaldehyde (sRF) is the ion exchange resin selected for use in the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). It is also the primary ion exchange material under consideration for SCIX at the Hanford site. The elution step of the multi-step ion exchange process is typically done with 0.5 M nitric acid. An acid eluant is a potential hazard in the event of a spill, leak, etc. because the high-level waste tanks are made of carbon steel. Corrosion and associated structural damage may ensue. A study has been conducted to explore non-acid elution as an alternative. Batch contact sorption equilibrium screening tests have been conducted with 36 potential non-acid eluants. The sorption tests involve equilibrating each cesium-containing eluant solution with the sRF resin for 48 hours at 25 C in a shaker oven. In the sorption tests, an eluant is deemed to have a high cesium elution potential if it minimizes cesium sorption onto the sRF resin. The top candidates (based on lowest cesium sorption distribution coefficients) include ammonium carbonate, ammonium carbonate/ammonium …

This report discusses the trends driving global economic integration, sources of worker insecurity and policy approaches. There appears to be a range of views on the merits of each of these policy approaches and the extent to which they can be designed and implemented in a way that would reduce worker insecurity without undermining the benefits of globalization.

Today's global economy, or what many call globalization, has a growing impact on the economic futures of American companies, workers, and families. The current wave of globalization is supported by three broad trends: technology, increase in world supply of labor, and reduced government policies to international trade and investment.

U.S. and European private stakeholders, concerned about slow growth, job creation, and increased competition from emerging economies, have urged Brussels and Washington to strengthen transatlantic trade and economic ties by reducing or eliminating remaining trade barriers and by cooperating more closely in addressing global economic challenges. A select group of these issues are examined in this report.

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The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)1 and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA)2 are two of the most significant federal statutes relating to education. Although both have the goal of improving education — IDEA for children with disabilities and NCLBA for all children — the two statutes take different approaches. IDEA focuses on the individual child, with an emphasis on developing an individualized education program (IEP) and specific services for children with disabilities, while NCLBA takes a more global view, with an emphasis on closing gaps in achievement test scores and raising the aggregate scores of all demographic groups of pupils to specific levels. The relationship of IDEA and NCLBA has become of increasing significance because of the recent reauthorization of IDEA and guidance and regulations from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) on NCLBA issues related to the education of children with disabilities. This report will provide a brief overview of IDEA and NCLBA, a discussion of the intersection of selected provisions of IDEA and NCLBA, and a discussion of ED regulations and guidance regarding IDEA and NCLBA. The report concludes with a discussion of possible issues related to the interaction of IDEA and NCLBA.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) are two of the most significant federal statutes relating to education. Although both have the goal of improving education — IDEA for children with disabilities and NCLBA for all children — the two statutes take different approaches. IDEA focuses on the individual child, with an emphasis on developing an individualized education program (IEP) and specific services for children with disabilities, while NCLBA takes a more global view, with an emphasis on closing gaps in achievement test scores and raising the aggregate scores of all demographic groups of pupils to specific levels. The relationship of IDEA and NCLBA has become of increasing significance because of this recent reauthorization of IDEA and guidance and regulations from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) on NCLBA issues related to the education of children with disabilities. This report will provide a brief overview of IDEA and NCLBA, a discussion of the intersection of selected provisions of IDEA and NCLBA, and a discussion of ED regulations and guidance regarding IDEA and NCLBA. The report concludes with a discussion of possible issues related to the interaction of IDEA and NCLBA.

On May 1, 2004, 10 states joined the European Union (EU), enlarging the Union to 25 members. The EU views the enlargement process as an historic opportunity to promote stability in Europe and further the integration of the continent by peaceful means. In addition to the 10 new members (Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia), three other states — Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia — hope to accede to the EU by 2007. Turkey is also a candidate and is expected to begin accession negotiations in 2005. Macedonia has also applied for EU membership.

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The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and subsequent investigations of these attacks have called attention to Islamic puritanical movements known as Wahhabism and Salafiyya. This report provides a background on Wahhabi Islam and its association to militant fundamentalist groups; it will also summarize recent charges against Wahhabism and responses.

This report documents the technical progress through the first six months of this one-year program under DoE Contract which was effective 1 May 1978.

This report looks at the effects of the Korean Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) on side agreements via the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

In May of 1996, the US Department of Energy implemented a four-year demonstration project identified as the Hanford Tanks Initiative (HTI). The HTI mission is to minimize technical uncertainties and programmatic risks by conducting demonstrations to characterize and remove tank waste using technologies and methods that will be needed in the future to carry out tank waste remediation and tank farm closure at the Hanford Site. Included in the HTI scope is the development of retrieval performance evaluation criteria supporting readiness to close single-shell tanks in the future. A path forward that includes evaluation of closure basis alternatives has been outlined to support the development of retrieval performance evaluation criteria for the AX Farm, and eventual preparation of the SEIS for AX Farm closure. This report documents the results of the Task 4, Waste Inventory study performed to establish the best-basis inventory of waste contaminants for the AX Farm, provides a means of estimating future soil inventories, and provides data for estimating the nature and extent of contamination (radionuclide and chemical) resulting from residual tank waste subsequent to retrieval. Included in the report are a best-basis estimate of the existing radionuclide and chemical inventory in the AX Farm Tanks, an …

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Fuel element corrosion studies designed to and in selecting and evaluating SM-2 fuel element welding techniques are discussed. Tests on type 347 ss plate type fuel elements welded by the selected tungsten inert gas technique showed good corrosion integrity of specimens under a variety of conditions including a 500-hr test under simulated SM-2 conditions of flow and coolant chemistry. (auth)

This report provides the technical justification for locating a large detector underground in a US based Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory. A large detector with a fiducial mass greater than 100 kTon will most likely be a multipurpose facility. The main physics justification for such a device is detection of accelerator generated neutrinos, nucleon decay, and natural sources of neutrinos such as solar, atmospheric and supernova neutrinos. The requirement on the depth of this detector will be guided by the rate of signals from these sources and the rate of backgrounds from cosmic rays over a very wide range of energies (from solar neutrino energies of 5 MeV to high energies in the range of tens of GeV). For the present report, we have examined the depth requirement for a large water Cherenkov detector and a liquid argon time projection chamber. There has been extensive previous experience with underground water Cherenkov detectors such as IMB, Kamioka, and most recently, Super-Kamiokande which has a fiducial mass of 22 kTon and a total mass of 50 kTon at a depth of 2700 meters-water-equivalent. Projections for signal and background capability for a larger and deeper (or shallower) detectors of this type can …

Nitric acid solutions will be created from the dissolution of Hanford K Basin sludge. These acidic dissolver solutions must be made alkaline by treatment with NaOH solution before they are disposed to ~ the Tank Waste Remediation System on the Hanford Site. During the alkali treatments, sodium diuranate, hydroxides of iron and aluminum, and radioelements (uranium, plutonium, and americium) will precipitate from the dissolver solution. Laboratory tests, discussed here, were pefiormed to provide information on these precipitates and their precipitation behavior that is important in designing the engineering flowsheet for the treatment process. Specifically, experiments were conducted to determine the optimum precipitation conditions; the completeness of uranium, plutonium, and americium precipitation; the rate of sedimentation; and the physico-chemical characteristics of the solids formed by alkali treatment of simulated acidic dissolver solutions. These experiments also determined the redistribution of uranium, plutonium, and americium flom the sodium di~ate and iron and al&inurn hydroxide precipitates upon contact with carbonate- and EDTA-bearing simulated waste solutions. Note: EDTA is the tetrasodium salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetate.

This report discusses legislative initiatives to address the challenges facing the U.S. Intelligence Community in the 21st century.

This report discusses intelligence issues for Congress including terrorism, conflicts between Israel and Palestine, in Iraq, and among the former Yugoslav states, and North Korean missile capabilities. Updated December 22, 2004.