OAK-B135 This paper is submitted in fulfillment of DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-015F22369 on the experience of western states/provinces with demand response (DR) in the electricity sector. Demand-side resources are often overlooked as a viable option for meeting load growth and addressing the challenges posed by the region's aging transmission system. Western states should work together with utilities and grid operators to facilitate the further deployment of DR programs which can provide benefits in the form of decreased grid congestion, improved system reliability, market efficiency, price stabilization, hedging against volatile fuel prices and reduced environmental impacts of energy production. This report describes the various types of DR programs; provides a survey of DR programs currently in place in the West; considers the benefits, drawbacks and barriers to DR; and presents lessons learned and recommendations for states/provinces.

As was reported in our previous work, accurate, nondisturbing near-anode measurements of the plasma density, electron temperature, and plasma potential performed with biased and emissive probes allowed the first experimental identification of both electron-repelling (negative anode fall) and electron-attracting (positive anode fall) anode sheaths in Hall thrusters. An interesting new phenomenon revealed by the probe measurements is that the anode fall changes from positive to negative upon removal of the dielectric coating, which appears on the anode surface during the course of Hall thruster operation. As reported in the present work, energy dispersion spectroscopy analysis of the chemical composition of the anode dielectric coating indicates that the coating layer consists essentially of an oxide of the anode material (stainless steel). However, it is still unclear how oxygen gets into the thruster channel. Most importantly, possible mechanisms of anode fall formation in a Hall thruster with a clean and a coated anodes are analyzed in this work; practical implication of understanding the general structure of the electron-attracting anode sheath in the case of a coated anode is also discussed.

The River Protection Project-Waste Treatment Plant (RPP-WTP) requested Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to conduct small-scale foaming and antifoam testing using actual Hanford waste and simulants subjected to air sparging. The foaminess of Hanford tank waste solutions was previously demonstrated in SRNL during WTP evaporator foaming and ultrafiltration studies and commercial antifoam DOW Q2-3183A was recommended to mitigate the foam in the evaporators. Currently, WTP is planning to use air spargers in the HLW Lag Storage Vessels, HLW Concentrate Receipt Vessel, and the Ultrafiltration Vessels to assist the performance of the Jet Pulse Mixers (JPM). Sparging of air into WTP tanks will induce a foam layer within the process vessels. The air dispersion in the waste slurries and generated foams could present problems during plant operation. Foam in the tanks could also adversely impact hydrogen removal and mitigation. Antifoam (DOW Q2-3183A) will be used to control foaming in Hanford sparged waste processing tanks. These tanks will be mixed by a combination of pulse-jet mixers and air spargers. The percent allowable foaminess or freeboard in WTP tanks are shown in tables.

In support of Low-Curie Salt (LCS) process validation at the Savannah River Site (SRS), Liquid Waste Disposition (LWD) has undertaken a program of tank characterization, including salt sampling. As part of this initiative, they sampled the surface and subsurface of Tank 10H saltcake using a series of three 12-inch long sample tubes. These tubes each contain 1-foot long segments of the saltcake from one location, representing the top three feet of saltcake. The primary objective of the characterization that will be useful to the selection and processing of the next waste tanks. Most important is the determination of the Cs-137 concentration and liquid retention properties of Tank 10H saltcake to confirm acceptability of processing. Additional chemical analyses are performed to provide information on salt elemental, ionic, and radiological composition to aid in assessment of the suitability of processing drained and dissolved material and in refining the information in the waste characterization system (WCS).

Gauthreaux, Sidney, A., and Steven J. Wagner. 2005. Breeding bird populations and habitat associations within the Savannah River Site (SRS). Final Report. USDA Forest Service, Savannah River, Aiken, SC. 48 pp. Abstract: During the 1970's and 1980's a dramatic decline occurred in the populations of Neotropical migratory birds, species that breed in North America and winter south of the border in Central and South America and in the Caribbean. In 1991 an international initiative was mounted by U. S. governmental land management agencies, nongovernmental conservation agencies, and the academic and lay ornithological communities to understand the decline of Neotropical migratory birds in the Americas. In cooperation with the USDA Forest Service - Savannah River (FS - SR) we began 1992 a project directed to monitoring population densities of breeding birds using the Breeding Bird Census (BBC) methodology in selected habitats within the Savannah River Site SRS. In addition we related point count data on the occurrence of breeding Neotropical migrants and other bird species to the habitat data gathered by the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the USDA Forest Service and data on habitat treatments within forest stands.

Ceramics are being considered for a wide range of structural applications due to their low density and their ability to retain strength at high temperatures. The inherent brittleness of monolithic ceramics requires a departure from the deterministic design philosophy utilized to analyze metallic structural components. The design program ''Ceramic Analysis and Reliability Evaluation of Structures Life'' (CARES/LIFE) developed by NASA Lewis Research Center uses a probabilistic approach to predict the reliability of monolithic components under operational loading. The objective of this study was to develop an understanding of the theories used by CARES/LIFE to predict the reliability of ceramic components and to assess the ability of CARES/LIFE to accurately predict the fast fracture behavior of monolithic ceramic components. A finite element analysis was performed to determine the temperature and stress distribution of a silicon carbide O-ring under diametral compression. The results of the finite element analysis were supplied as input into CARES/LIFE to determine the fast fracture reliability of the O-ring. Statistical material strength parameters were calculated from four-point flexure bar test data. The predicted reliability showed excellent correlation with O-ring compression test data indicating that the CARES/LIFE program can be used to predict the reliability of ceramic components subjected …

We report on a search for pair production of first-generation scalar leptoquarks (LQ) in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV using an integrated luminosity of 203 pb{sup -1} collected at the Fermilab Tevatron collider by the CDF experiment. We observe no evidence for LQ production in the topologies arising from LQ{ovr LQ} {yields} eqeq and LQ{ovr LQ} {yields} eq{nu}q, and derive 95% C.L. upper limits on the LQ production cross section. The results are combined with those obtained from a separately reported CDF search in the topology arising from LQ{ovr LQ} {yields} {nu}q{nu}q and 95% C.L. lower limits on the LQ mass as a function of {beta} = BR(LQ {yields} eq) are derived. The limits are 236, 205 and 145 GeV/c{sup 2} for {beta} = 1, {beta} = 0.5 and {beta} = 0.1, respectively.

This report provides the final results of analyses of the saltcake core sample and a separate supernate sample from Tank 29H. The supernate sample was markedly different from the drained interstitial liquid. The Tank 29H supernate had a reduction in 238Pu upon filtering through a 0.45-micron filter. Approximately 25 per cent of the U is in suspension in the supernate and can be removed by filtration. As expected, the radionuclides Cs-137 and Tc-99 are entirely soluble and the actinides are largely insoluble, in the interstitial liquid, within experimental error. It is not known how representative this saltcake sample is for the entire tank. There is considerably more liquid present in this sample than in most other tank samples examined thus far. The history of the tank indicates that some of the saltcake in the top layer likely dissolved by the addition of low ionic strength solutions over the past few years. Also, the sample was collected at the bottom of a 7-foot well that was mined into the saltcake with water. These water additions could have dissolved the sodium nitrate in the top layer, and left behind a layer containing the remaining salts, including those of aluminum, although it is …

The aim of the proposed research is to use electroactive ion exchange materials to remove anionic contaminants from HLW wastes and process streams. An ion exchange process using electroactive materials sorbs contaminants selectively and then expels (elutes) them electrochemically by changing the charge balance through redox reactions in the sorbent as opposed to requiring the addition of a chemical eluent. Such processes can theoretically remove anions (e.g., pertechnetate, chromate, and perchorate) and concentrate them in a separate product stream while adding no process chemicals. A practical implementation in HLW process facilities would be a breakthrough in the ability of DOE to economically minimize waste and prevent pollution throughout the complex. To enable this, our work focuses on manipulating specific properties of redox polymers to control the hydrophobicity and ion-pair properties pertinent to the reversibility, selectivity, stability, intercalation/de-intercalation rates, and capacity of the polymers.

The Environmental Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) was awarded the first Naturaland Accelerated Bioremediation Research (NABIR) Program, Field Research Center (FRC) based upon the recommendation of a review panel following a competitive peer-reviewed proposal process. The contaminated FRC site at ORNL is centered on groundwater plumes that originate from the former S-3 Waste Disposal Ponds located at the Y-12 Plant and the Y-12 Bone Yard/Bum Yard. Proposals for individual science research projects at the FRC were submitted in the spring of 2000 in response to a solicitation issued by the Department of Energy (DOE). Proposals selected for funding began work in Fiscal Year 2001 (October 1, 2000). The FRC staff have initiated several characterization efforts intended to support, inform, and educate individual FRC investigators, NABIR principal investigators (PIs), and the broader community of the specific conditions, opportunities, and challenges of this site. These efforts include both physical site characterization as well as numerical simulation (modeling) studies. Geochemical modeling has been conducted with the goal of: (1) providing a baseline understanding of the geochemical behavior of uranium (U); (2) examining the interaction of geochemistry and uranium transport in the subsurface; (3) elucidating some potential pitfalls for researchers with …

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected Uranium Disposition Services, LLC (UDS) to proceed with disposition of the inventory of depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF{sub 6}) for which DOE has management responsibility. To accomplish this task, UDS will construct and operate facilities at two DOE-owned sites, one near Paducah, Kentucky, and another near Portsmouth, Ohio, to convert DUF{sub 6} to uranium oxide (principally U{sub 3}O{sub 8}). The off-gas treatment system for the conversion process will produce aqueous hydrogen fluoride (AqHF), also known as hydrofluoric acid, and a relatively small amount of calcium fluoride (CaF{sub 2}), each containing some residual radioactive material. As part of its contractual charge, UDS must identify and implement a disposition for all three products generated by the DUF{sub 6} conversion facilities: uranium oxide, AqHF, and CaF{sub 2}. The UDS DUF{sub 6} Conversion Product Management Plan (DUF{sub 6}-UDS-PLN-004, September 2003) concludes that a viable commercial market exists for AqHF, which, if not sold, would have to be neutralized, producing a relatively large quantity of additional CaF{sub 2}. Although CaF{sub 2} has very limited market potential, there is some possibility that it also could be sold. If these potential markets could be developed, DOE would save the costs …

One of the throughput limitations for the Actinide Removal Process (ARP) and Salt Waste Processing Facility is the lengthy sorption time of plutonium on monosodium titanate(MST). Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) personnel proposed use of the In-Situ-Mixed Iron Oxide (IS-MIO) process, which removes strontium and actinides from waste streams with faster reaction kinetics than the MST process. The Savannah River National Laboratory and ANL received funding to develop the IS-MIO process for deployment at the Savannah River Site. Personnel performed simulant filtration tests to evaluate the process. They prepared 100 L of simulated SRS high level waste, added IS-MIO solutions to the simulated waste, mixed the solutions for four hours, and filtered the slurry in a bench-scale crossflow filter. The simulant was designed to maximize strontium solubility; it was not designed to match a particular tank composition. The crossflow filter was 3/8 inch internal diameter, 2 feet long, and possessing a 0.196 ft2 internal surface area. Researchers also performed a series of decontamination tests using actual waste. They prepared a multi-tank composite adjusted it to 5.6 M sodium, and allowed it to equilibrate. They used this material in six tests. Four of the tests used IS-MIO solutions, one of the tests …

The purpose of the tests is to seismically qualify the Safety Class Process Hood Components in the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility (CVDF).

The purpose of this Integrated Safety Management System (ISMS) Program Description (PD) is to describe the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Richland Operations Office (RL) ISMS as implemented through the RL Integrated Management System (RIMS). This PD does not impose additional requirements but rather provides an overview describing how various parts of the ISMS fit together. Specific requirements for each of the core functions and guiding principles are established in other implementing processes, procedures, and program descriptions that comprise RIMS. RL is organized to conduct work through operating contracts; therefore, it is extremely difficult to provide an adequate ISMS description that only addresses RL functions. Of necessity, this PD contains some information on contractor processes and procedures which then require RL approval or oversight.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report reviews the Department of Education's performance report for fiscal year 2000. Specifically, GAO examines Education's progress in achieving selected key outcomes that are important to its mission. Given the lack of performance data, explanations, and strategies to meet unmet goals in the future, it was difficult for GAO to assess progress. The lack of a performance plan also hindered GAO's efforts. Specifically, GAO found that it was difficult to assess Education's progress in achieving the six selected outcomes because of the lack of fiscal year 2000 data for many of its indicators. Consistent with its findings in reviewing Education's performance report from last year, GAO found that Education had no goals or measures for preventing fraud, waste, mismanagement, and error in the student financial assistance programs. Although the Office of Student Financial Assistance has established a target of being removed from GAO's high-risk list, there were no corresponding goals or measures in the department's interim report. However, Education has revised its strategic plan to incorporate an objective of ensuring financial integrity within the department. Like last year's report, GAO found that there was no …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report reviews the Department of Energy's (DOE) fiscal year 2002 performance report and fiscal 2002 performance plan as required by the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 to assess DOE's progress in achieving five key outcomes identified as important mission areas for the agency. GAO found that DOE's performance report did not always effectively demonstrate the agency's progress in achieving its outcomes because it included (1) unclear, jargon-laden measures that did not always support superceeding objectives, (2) performance assessments that were inconsistent with actual performance, (3) objectives with insufficient performance measures, and (4) a lack of explanation for shortfalls in performance. In its fiscal year 2002 performance plan, DOE generally outlined broad, clear strategies for achieving the objectives under the selected outcomes. However, DOE did not consistently provide detailed, specific actions required to achieve some of the outcomes. DOE's fiscal year 2000 performance and accountability report and fiscal year 2002 performance plan present an overall improvement over previous reports and plans. Specifically, the fiscal year 2000 report organizes information by departmental decision unit to better track with the budget, and it better links objectives …

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO: (1) assessed whether the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) is likely to free up resources for poverty reduction and achieve the goal of debt sustainability; (2) described the strategy to strengthen the link between debt relief and poverty reduction and how this strategy is to be implemented; and (3) described the challenges creditors face in fully funding the enhanced initiative."

The LLNL Computational Nuclear Physics (CNP) Group announces the release of translated ENDF/BVI, ENDF/B-VII, JEFF-3.1, JENDL-3.3 and other neutron incident evaluated reaction data libraries to LLNL users.

This report is written in response to commonly asked questions about military funeral honors. It provides information on the eligibility criteria, required components of the honor detail, and the funeral ceremony. It also cites legislation that mandates that the Department of Defense (DOD) make military funeral honors available to every eligible veteran upon request.

This report describes federal child care initiative during World War II, and briefly traces the evolution of federal child care policy from the postwar period until today.

This report contains the federal pension and retirement benefits of the former presidents.

This report discusses air pollutants (petroleum, natural gas, and coal), which account for about two-thirds of U.S. electricity generation. These gases include several pollutants that directly pose risks to human health and welfare. The report also discusses the utilities that are subject to an array of environmental regulations.

The content of this report is based upon the author's personal experience living and working in Hong Kong in 1984, 1991, 1992, and 1994 to 1998, as well as a series of interviews conducted in Hong Kong in May and June 2007 and a variety of studies and reports on the status of Hong Kong since the Handover.

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