Routine radiological surveys are part of near-facility environmental monitoring which monitors and helps direct the reduction of the radiological areas at the Hanford Site. The routine radiological surveys are performed by the Southern Area Remediation Support Group and the Site Support Services Radiological Control Group as directed by Environmental Monitoring and Investigations. The surveys included in this program consist of inactive waste sites; outdoor radiological control areas; tank farm perimeters and associated diversion boxes, lift stations, and vent stations; perimeters of active or uncovered waste sites such as burial grounds, retention basins, ponds, process trenches, and ditches; underground pipelines; and road and rail surfaces. This report provides a summary of the radiological surveys performed during the Third Quarter of 1997. The status of corrective actions required from current and past reports are also discussed. A waste site survey schedule, WHC-SP-0098-8, was developed by Environmental Monitoring and Investigations and reviewed by the Southern Area Remediation Support Group and the Site Support Services Radiological Control Group. Environmental Monitoring and Investigations reviews the radiological survey reports and files a copy for historical purposes and reference. Radiological conditions are tracked and trends noted. All sites are surveyed at least once each year. The survey …

This design report presents the final design of the MCO Loading System. The report includes final design drawings, a system description, failure modes and recovery plans, a system operational description, and stress analysis. Design comments from the final design review have been incorporated.

An FFTF tritium/isotope production mission will require a new fuel supply. The reference design core will use a mixed oxide fuel nominally enriched to 40 wt% Pu. This enrichment is significantly higher than that of the standard Driver Fuel Assemblies used in past operations. Consequently, criticality safety for handling and storage of this fuel must be addressed. The purpose of this document is to begin the process by determining the minimum critical number for these new fuel assemblies in water, sodium and air. This analysis is preliminary and further work can be done to refine the results reported here. Analysis was initially done using 45 wt 5 PuO. Additionally, a preliminary assessment is done concerning storage of these fuel assemblies in Interim Decay Storage (IDS), Fuel Storage Facility (FSF), and Core Component Containers/Interim Storage Casks (CCC/ISC).

'Phytoremediation, the use of plants for environmental cleanup of pollutants, including toxic metals, holds the potential to allow the economic restoration of heavy metal and radionuclide contaminated sites. A number of terrestrial plants are known to naturally accumulate high levels of metals in their shoots (1--2% dry weight), and these plants have been termed metal-hyperaccumulators. Clearly, the genetic traits that determine metal-hyperaccumulation offers the potential for the development of practical phytoremediation processes. The long-term objective is to rationally design and generate plants ideally suited for phytoremediation using this unique genetic material. Initially, the strategy will focus on isolating and characterizing the key genetic information needed for expression of the metal-hyperaccumulation phenotype. Recently, histidine has been shown to play a major role in Ni hyperaccumulation. Based on this information the authors propose to investigate, at the molecular level, the role of histidine biosynthesis in Ni hyperaccumuIation in Thlaspi goesingense, a Ni hyperaccumulator species.'

This report addresses the topic of environmental citizenship in the United States. The term refers to responsibilities each of us have with respect to helping our communities and nation make sound environmental decisions. This research centers on the citizens and what we ought to be doing, as opposed to what the government ought to be doing for us, to improve environmental citizenship. This report examines four central questions: What are the requirements (i.e., responsibilities) of citizenship vis-a-vis environmental decision- making processes; what constraints limit people`s ability to meet these requirements; what does our form of governance do to help or hinder in meeting these requirements; and what recommendations can be put forth to improve public participation in environmental decision making?

The Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) recently completed a Topical Safety Analysis Report (TSAR) for a Phase 1 non site specific Centralized Interim Storage Facility (CISF). The TSAR will be used in licensing the CISF when and if a site is designated. The combined Phase 1 and Phase 2 CISF will provide federal storage capability for 40,000 metric tons of uranium (MTU) Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) under the oversight of the DOE. The Phase 1 TSAR was submitted to the NRC on May 1, 1997 and is currently under review having been docketed on June 10, 1997. This paper generally describes the Phase 1 CISF design and its operations as presented in the CISF TSAR.

Recently the authors showed that the postulated diffeomorphic equivalence of states implies quantum mechanics. This approach takes the canonical variables to be dependent by the relation p = {partial_derivative}{sub q}S{sub 0} and exploits a basic GL(2,C)-symmetry which underlies the canonical formalism. In particular, they looked for the special transformations leading to the free system with vanishing energy. Furthermore, they saw that while on the one hand the equivalence principle cannot be consistently implemented in classical mechanics, on the other it naturally led to the quantum analogue of the Hamilton-Jacobi equation, thus implying the Schroedinger equation. In this letter they show that actually the principle uniquely leads to this solution. The authors also express the canonical and Schroedinger equations by means of the brackets recently introduced in the framework of N = 2 SYM. These brackets are the analogue of the Poisson brackets with the canonical variables taken as dependent.

A unique roll forming technology that permits complex axisymmetric components, such as automobile wheels and turbine disks, to be formed in a single forming operation, has been developed by two Russian Institute, the Institute of Technical Physics of the Russian Federal Nuclear Center and the Institute for Metals Superplasticity Problems. This process was used to fabricate automobile wheels from a Russian AVT alloy, a 6010 aluminum alloy equivalent. The process included steps of isothermal roll forming of preforms into wheels shapes, all at 430C for the AVT alloy. The microstructure and mechanical properties were evaluated at various locations in the finished wheels by optical metallography and tensile testing at elevated temperatures. Tensile properties were obtained by stain-rate change tests and tensile tests to failure at high strain rates. Microstructure and mechanical propertied of the preforms and blanks were also evaluated. The results indicate that dynamically recovered microstructures were developed during the processing, which showed relatively high strain rate sensitivity and rendered sufficiently plasticity at the elevated temperature for wheel fabrication process.

This report presents a study of alternative disposal system architectures and implementation strategies to provide onsite near-surface disposal capacity to receive the immobilized low-activity waste produced by the private vendors. The analysis shows that a flexible unit strategy that provides a suite of design solutions tailored to the characteristics of the immobilized low-activity waste will provide a disposal system that best meets the program goals of reducing the environmental, health, and safety impacts; meeting the schedule milestones; and minimizing the life-cycle cost of the program.

Grain size distribution and its evolution during superplastic deformation has been studied for two materials- ultrahigh carbon steel, which has a two phase microstructure, and a copper alloy, which has a quasi-single phase microstructure. For both materials the distribution of initial grain size is very accurately represented by a lognormal throughout the deformation history. The evolution of the parameters characterizing the log normal distribution have also been studied and found to vary in a systematic manner results. Results can be used to specify the grain size distribution as a function of strain during superplastic deformation and thus should prove useful for computational studies in which grain size distribution is evaluated.

'This research is part of a joint project with Dr. Andrew F. B. Tompson of Lawrence Livermore National Lab. and Dr. Wendy E. Soll of Los Alamos National Lab. The work is designed to integrate a continuum theory approach to multiphase flow modeling (Gray) with lattice Doltzmann studies (Soll) and study of the model in the context of a field simulation (Tompson). Because of some difficulties with the funding procedure, the support for Drs. Tompson and Soll was delayed such that it begins with the second year during which the author will be supported. Because of this fact, the efforts to integrate the theory with the modeling efforts has been delayed but will be able to be approached with particular vigor during this coming year. The author has met with Drs. Soll and Tompson and plan to meet with them again next month to ensure that the efforts are coordinated. During this first year, funding has been used to advance the theory and develop a basic understanding that will assist in development of the simulation models. It should be noted that in addition to this grant. The author is supported by a subcontract of part of a DOE grant to …

The validity of using bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) similitude parameters to match a hot BFB to a cold BFB is being studied. Sand in a BFB combustor and copper powder in cold BFB model have been analyzed and found to be out of similitude. In the analysis process, it was determined that the condition of the screen covering the pressure tap affects the quality of pressure data recorded. In addition, distributor plate design and condition will affect the hydrodynamics of the bed. Additional tests are planned to evaluate the validity of similitude concepts in BFB.