This report summarizes the results of a three-year program that addressed key scientific and technical aspects related to natural and enhanced attenuation of chlorinated organics. The results from this coordinated three-year program support a variety of technical and regulatory advancements. Scientists, regulators, engineers, end-users and stakeholders participated in the program, which was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC). The overarching objective of the effort was to examine environmental remedies that are based on natural processes--remedies such as Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) or Enhanced Attenuation (EA). A key result of the recent effort was the general affirmation of the approaches and guidance in the original U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chlorinated solvent MNA protocols and directives from 1998 and 1999, respectively. The research program did identify several specific opportunities for advances based on: (1) mass balance as the central framework for attenuation based remedies, (2) scientific advancements and achievements during the past ten years, (3) regulatory and policy development and real-world experience using MNA, and (4) exploration of various ideas for integrating attenuation remedies into a systematic set of ''combined remedies'' for contaminated sites. These opportunities are summarized herein and are …

This report consists of alternative mortgages: risks to consumers and lenders in the current housing cycle.

The impact on children of domestic violence was an issue of interest in the 109th Congress. The first session of the 109th Congress ended with the passage of the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-162), which contained new initiatives to address concerns about children and youth exposed to and victimized by domestic violence. This report discusses existing federal programs and initiatives that have been established to assist such children and youth, and new provisions enacted in P.L. 109-162.

This report summarizes those procedures and lists membership on each party's steering committee.

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This report provides a brief overview and summary of the federal laws, ethical rules, and regulations which may be relevant to the activities of those who lobby the United States Congress.

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We perform simulations of two types of large-scale Compton imaging detectors. The first type uses silicon and germanium detector crystals, and the second type uses silicon and CdZnTe (CZT) detector crystals. The simulations use realistic detector geometry and parameters. We analyze the performance of each type of detector, and we present results using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves.

Simulations are performed for seven different geometrical configurations of CdZnTe (CZT) detector arrays for Intelligent Personal Radiation Locator (IPRL) devices. IPRL devices are portable radiation detectors that have gamma-ray imaging capability. The detector performance is analyzed for each type of IPRL configuration, and the intrinsic photopeak efficiency, intrinsic photopeak count rate, detector image resolution, imaging efficiency, and imaging count rate are determined.

Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (DNAPL) such as trichloroethylene act as long term sources of groundwater contaminants and are difficult and expensive to remediate. DNAPL-contaminated sites are a significant financial liability for the Department of Energy and the private sector. The objective of this study was to engineer reactive Fe-based nanoparticles with specialized polymeric coatings to make them mobile in the subsurface and to provide them with an affinity for the DNAPL/water interface. The synthesis, characterization, and reactivity/mobility of the engineered particles, and a molecular dynamic model that predicts their behavior at the DNPAL/water interface are described in this report.

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Aluminum hydride is a covalent, binary hydride that has been known for more than 60 years and is an attractive medium for on-board automotive hydrogen storage, since it contains 10.1% by wt. hydrogen with a density of 1.48 g/ml. There are at least 7 non-solvated AlH{sub 3} phases, namely {alpha}, {alpha}{prime}, {beta}, {gamma}, {var_epsilon} and {zeta}. The properties of {alpha}-AlH{sub 3}, obtained from the Dow Chemical Co. in 1980, have been previously reported. Here we present a description of the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of freshly prepared {alpha}, {beta} and {gamma} phases of AlH{sub 3}. In all cases the decomposition kinetics are appreciable below 100 C and all will meet the DOE 2010 gravimetric and volumetric vehicular system targets (6 wt% H{sub 2} and 0.045 kg/L). However, further research will be required to develop an efficient and economical process to regenerate AlH{sub 3} from the spent Al powder.

This report provides information about the Bioterrorism Countermeasure Development and its issues in Patents and Homeland Security.

Mercury (Hg) and its compounds have long been recognized as potentially hazardous to human health and the environment. Many man-made sources of mercury have been reduced in recent years through process changes and control measures. However, emissions of mercury from coal-fired power plants, while exceedingly dilute by the usual pollution standards, still constitute a major source when considered in the aggregate. Concerns over those emissions and the prospect of impending emissions regulations have led to a wide range of research projects dealing with the measurement and control of mercury in flue gas. This work has made considerable progress in improving the understanding of mercury emissions and their behavior, but inconsistencies and unexpected results have also shown that a better understanding of mercury chemistry is needed. To develop a more complete understanding of where additional research on mercury chemistry is needed, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) asked Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) to conduct a critical review of the available information as reported in the technical literature. The objectives were to summarize the current state of the art of chemistry knowledge, identify significant knowledge gaps, and recommend future research to resolve those gaps. An initial evaluation of potential review topics indicated …

This report gives an overview of Drug Trafficking in North Korea and discusses issues for U.S. policy

Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act requires that cooling water intake structures must reflect the best technology available for minimizing adverse environmental impact. Many existing power plants in the United States utilize once-through cooling systems to condense steam. Once-through systems withdraw large volumes (often hundreds of millions of gallons per day) of water from surface water bodies. As the water is withdrawn, fish and other aquatic organisms can be trapped against the screens or other parts of the intake structure (impingement) or if small enough, can pass through the intake structure and be transported through the cooling system to the condenser (entrainment). Both of these processes can injure or kill the organisms. EPA adopted 316(b) regulations for new facilities (Phase I) on December 18, 2001. Under the final rule, most new facilities could be expected to install recirculating cooling systems, primarily wet cooling towers. The EPA Administrator signed proposed 316(b) regulations for existing facilities (Phase II) on February 28, 2002. The lead option in this proposal would allow most existing facilities to achieve compliance without requiring them to convert once-through cooling systems to recirculating systems. However, one of the alternate options being proposed would require recirculating cooling in selected …

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This report is a brief summary of the federal criminal status implicated by conducting illegal gambling using the internet. It also discusses some of the constitutional issues associated with prosecuting illegal internet gambling.

In August 1981, the proton beam from the rapid cycling synchrotron (RCS) was first delivered to the Intense Pulsed Neutron Source (IPNS) neutron scattering target and now, in June 2006, it is with great joy that we celebrate the impending 25th anniversary of this event. This edition of the IPNS Progress Report will focus on the development and scientific accomplishments of the past 5 years, since our last Progress Report, but with some mention of the 25 years of IPNS experience. It is appropriate at this anniversary date to recall some of the more significant historic events that have led to the present IPNS and discuss some of the plans that will lead to even more successes. Below is a brief chronology that captures some of the developments of IPNS: 8/4/81 - First beam delivered to the neutron scattering target; 6/10/84 - IPNS produced its one billionth neutron pulse; 1/10/85 - Installed world's first solid methane moderator; 6/30/87 - 1000th experiment performed at IPNS; 9/19/87 - IPNS produced its two billionth neutron pulse; 11/20/91 - 2000th experiment performed at IPNS; 4/17/04 - IPNS produced its eight billionth neutron pulse; and 8/19/05 - 7000th experiment performed at IPNS. During the past …

We consider a class of anomaly-mediated supersymmetry breaking models where gauginos acquire masses mostly from anomaly mediation while masses of other superparticles are from Kaehler interactions, which are as large as gravitino mass {approx} {Omicron}(10-100) TeV. In this class of models, the neutral Wino becomes the lightest superparticle in a wide parameter region. The mass splitting between charged and neutral Winos are very small and experimental discovery of such Winos is highly non-trivial. We discuss how we should look for Wino-induced signals at Large Hadron Collider.

Water and energy production issues intersect in numerous ways. Water is produced along with oil and gas, water runs off of or accumulates in coal mines, and water is needed to operate steam electric power plants and hydropower generating facilities. However, water and energy are often not in the proper balance. For example, even if water is available in sufficient quantities, it may not have the physical and chemical characteristics suitable for energy or other uses. This report provides preliminary information about an opportunity to reuse an overabundant water source--ground water accumulated in underground coal mines--for cooling and process water in electric generating facilities. The report was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), which has implemented a water/energy research program (Feeley and Ramezan 2003). Among the topics studied under that program is the availability and use of ''non-traditional sources'' of water for use at power plants. This report supports NETL's water/energy research program.

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