A total of 5.77 x 10 7 gallons (gal) of liquid waste was decontaminated by the Process Waste Treatment Complex (PWTC) - Building 3544 ion exchange system during calendar year (CY) 1999. This averaged to 110 gpm throughout the year. An additional 3.94 x 10 6 gal of liquid waste (average of 8 gpm throughout the year) was decontaminated using the zeolite treatment system due to periods of high Cesium levels in the influent wastewater. A total of 6.17 x 10 7 gal of liquid waste (average of 118 gpm throughout the year) was decontaminated at Building 3544 during the year. During the year, the regeneration of the ion exchange resins resulted in the generation of 8.00 x 10 3 gal of Liquid Low-Level Waste (LLLW) concentrate and 9.00 x 10 2 gal of LLLW supernate. See Table 1 for a monthly summary of activities at Building 3544. Figure 1 shows a diagram of the Process Waste Collection and Transfer System and Figure 2 shows a diagram of the Building 3544 treatment process. Figures 3, 4 5, and 6 s how a comparison of operations at Building 3544 in 1997 with previous years. Figure 7 shows a comparison of annual …

Small quantities of transuranic (TRU) waste represent a significant challenge to the waste disposition and facility closure plans of several sites in the Department of Energy (DOE) complex. This paper presents the results of a series of evaluations, using a systems engineering approach, to identify the preferred alternative for dispositioning TRU waste from small quantity sites (SQSs). The TRU waste disposition alternatives evaluation used semi-quantitative data provided by the SQSs, potential receiving sites, and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) to select and recommend candidate sites for waste receipt, interim storage, processing, and preparation for final disposition of contact-handled (CH) and remote-handled (RH) TRU waste. The evaluations of only four of these SQSs resulted in potential savings to the taxpayer of $33 million to $81 million, depending on whether mobile systems could be used to characterize, package, and certify the waste or whether each site would be required to perform this work. Small quantity shipping sites included in the evaluation included the Battelle Columbus Laboratory (BCL), University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR), Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC), and Mound. Candidate receiving sites included the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), the Savannah River Site (SRS), Los Alamos National Laboratory …

This project consists of a multimedia presentation that explains the technological capabilities of Los Alamos National Laboratory. It takes the form of a human-computer interface built around the metaphor of the universe. The project is intended promote Laboratory capabilities to a wide audience. Multimedia is simply a means of communicating information through a diverse set of tools--be they text, sound, animation, video, etc. Likewise, Los Alamos National Laboratory is a collection of diverse technologies, projects, and people. Given the ample material available at the Laboratory, there are tangible benefits to be gained by communicating across media. This paper consists of three parts. The first section provides some basic information about the Laboratory, its mission, and its needs. The second section introduces this multimedia presentation and the metaphor it is based on along with some basic concepts of color and user interaction used in the building of this project. The final section covers construction of the project, pitfalls, and future improvements.

Today there exist many almost overfilled storage tanks with liquid radioactive waste in the Russian Federation. This waste was generated over several years by the civil and military utilization of nuclear power. The current waste treatment capacity is either not available or inadequate. Following the London Convention, dumping of the waste in the Arctic seas is no longer an alternative. Waste is being generated from today's operations, and large volumes are expected to be generated from the dismantling of decommissioned nuclear submarines. The US and Norway have an ongoing co-operation project with the Russian Federation to upgrade and expand the capacity of a treatment facility for low level liquid waste at the RTP Atomflot site in Murmansk. The capacity will be increased from 1,200 m{sup 3}/year to 5,000 m{sup 3} /year. The facility will also be able to treat high saline waste. The construction phase will be completed the first half of 1998. This will be followed by a start-up and a one year post-construction phase, with US and Norwegian involvement for the entire project. The new facility will consist of 9 units containing various electrochemical, filtration, and sorbent-based treatment systems. The units will be housed in two existing buildings, …

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Mechanical properties of hot-pressed Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}/BN fibrous monoliths (FMs) were evaluated under ambient conditions in four-point and biaxial flexure modes. Effects of cell orientation, 0{degree}/90{degree} and {+-}45{degree}, on elastic modulus and fracture strength of the FMs were investigated. Fracture surfaces were examined by scanning electron microscopy.

This report presents experimental and analytical results of investigations on the mechanical response of stitched T300 mat/urethane 420 IMR composite laminates with three different lay-up configurations. Tensile tests and short-term creep and recovery tests were conducted on the laminate coupons at various orientations. The X-ray photographic technique was adopted to detect the internal damage due to external loading history. The tensile data of laminates with antisymmetric and symmetric lay-ups indicated that lay- up sequences of cross-ply laminates do not have much influence on their tensile properties. However, misalignments within the stitch-bonded plies disturb the symmetry of intended quasi-isotropic laminates and thereby cause the mechanical properties to exhibit a certain amount of angular dependence. Classic lamination theory was found to be able to provide a very good prediction of tensile properties for the stitched laminates within linear range. Creep and recovery response of laminate coupons is greatly dependent on loading angles and load levels. The internal damage of laminate coupons is also directly related to loading angles and load levels as well as loading history.

This short report provides an update to the earlier LLNL paper entitled ''Preliminary Definition of Geophysical Regions for the Middle East and North Africa'' (Sweeney and Walter, 1998). This report is designed to be used in combination with that earlier paper. The reader is referred to Sweeney and Walter (1998) for all details, including definitions, references, uses, shortcomings, etc., of the regionalization process. In this report we will discuss only those regions in which we have changed the boundaries or velocity structure from that given by the original paper. The paper by Sweeney and Walter (1998) drew on a variety of sources to estimate a preliminary, first-order regionalization of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), providing regional boundaries and velocity models within each region. The model attempts to properly account for major structural discontinuities and significant crustal thickness and velocity variations on a gross scale. The model can be used to extrapolate sparse calibration data within a distinct geophysical region. This model can also serve as a background model in the process of forming station calibration maps using intelligent interpolation techniques such as kriging, extending the calibration into aseismic areas. Such station maps can greatly improve the ability to …

Technologies were investigated to determine viable processes for removing mercury from the calciner (NWCF) offgas system at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. Technologies for gas phase and aqueous phase treatment were evaluated. The technologies determined are intended to meet EPA Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) requirements under the Clean Air Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Currently, mercury accumulation in the calciner off-gas scrubbing system is transferred to the tank farm. These transfers lead to accumulation in the liquid heels of the tanks. The principal objective for aqueous phase mercury removal is heel mercury reduction. The system presents a challenge to traditional methods because of the presence of nitrogen oxides in the gas phase and high nitric acid in the aqueous scrubbing solution. Many old and new technologies were evaluated including sorbents and absorption in the gas phase and ion exchange, membranes/sorption, galvanic methods, and UV reduction in the aqueous phase. Process modifications and feed pre-treatment were also evaluated. Various properties of mercury and its compounds were summarized and speciation was predicted based on thermodynamics. Three systems (process modification, NOxidizer combustor, and electrochemical aqueous phase treatment) and additional technology testing were recommended.

This research effort focuses on methodology for quantifying the effects of model uncertainty and discretization error on computational modeling and simulation. The work is directed towards developing methodologies which treat model form assumptions within an overall framework for uncertainty quantification, for the purpose of developing estimates of total prediction uncertainty. The present effort consists of work in three areas: framework development for sources of uncertainty and error in the modeling and simulation process which impact model structure; model uncertainty assessment and propagation through Bayesian inference methods; and discretization error estimation within the context of non-deterministic analysis.

This is a report of the results of the authors work supported by DOE contract DE-FG03-97ER25325. They proposed to study three numerical problems. They are: (1) the extension of the PMESC parallel programming library; (2) the development of algorithms and software for certain generalized eigenvalue and singular value (SVD) problems, and (3) the application of techniques of linear algebra to an information retrieval technique known as latent semantic indexing (LSI).

We have developed a microfabricated flow-through impedance characterization system capable of performing AC, multi-frequency measurements on cells and other particles. The sensor measures both the resistive and reactive impedance of passing particles, at rates of up to 100 particles per second. Its operational bandwidth approaches 10 MHz with a signal-to-noise ratio of approximately 40 dB. Particle impedance is measured at three or more frequencies simultaneously, enabling the derivation of multiple particle parameters. This constitutes an improvement to the well-established technique of DC particle sizing via the Coulter Principle. Human peripheral blood granulocyte radius, membrane capacitance, and cytoplasmic conductivity were measured (r = 4.1 {micro}m, C{sub mem} = 0.9 {micro}F/cm{sup 2}, {sigma}{sub int} = 0.66 S/m) and were found to be consistent with published values.

The opening of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant on March 26, 1999, was the culmination of a regulatory assessment process that had taken 25 years. National policy issues, negotiated agreements, and court settlements during the first 15 years of the project had a strong influence on the amount and type of scientific data collected up to this point. Assessment activities before the mid 1980s were undertaken primarily (1) to satisfy needs for environmental impact statements, (2) to satisfy negotiated agreements with the State of New Mexico, or (3) to develop general understanding of selected natural phenomena associated with nuclear waste disposal. In the last 10 years, federal compliance policy and actual regulations were sketched out, and continued to evolve until 1996. During this period, stochastic simulations were introduced as a tool for the assessment of the WIPP's performance, and four preliminary performance assessments, one compliance performance assessment, and one verification performance assessment were performed.

A slurry system draws slurry from a slurry tank via one of several intake pipes, where each pipe has an intake opening at a different depth in the slurry. The slurry is returned to the slurry tank via a bypass pipe in order to continue the agitation of the slurry. The slurry is then diverted to a delivery pipe, which supplies slurry to a polisher. The flow of shiny in the bypass pipe is stopped in order for the slurry in the slurry tank to begin to settle. As the polishing continues, slurry is removed from shallower depths in order to pull finer grit from the slurry. When the polishing is complete, the flow in the delivery pipe is ceased. The flow of slurry in the bypass pipe is resumed to start agitating the slurry. In another embodiment, the multiple intake pipes are replaced by a single adjustable pipe. As the slurry is settling, the pipe is moved upward to remove the finer grit near the top of the slurry tank as the polishing process continues.

The Office of Natural Gas and Petroleum Import and Export Activities prepares quarterly reports showing natural gas import and export activity. Companies are required to file quarterly reports. Attachments show the percentage of takes to maximum firm contract levels and the weighted average per unit price for each of the long-term importers during the five most recent quarters, volumes and prices of gas purchased by long-term importers and exporters during the past 12 months, volume and price data for gas imported on a short-term or spot market basis, and the gas exported on a short-term or spot market basis to Canada and Mexico.

On November 7, 1997, the EPA proposed a Nitrogen Oxides State Implementation Plan Call (NO{sub x} SIP Call) for 22 states in the Eastern US which included the state of Tennessee. This initial proposal was followed by proposed statewide NO{sub x} budgets in the May 11, 1998, Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. In the development of the NO{sub x} SIP Call, EPA performed a number of air quality analyses and determined that NO{sub x} emissions from Tennessee should be reduced. Industrial boilers, turbines, stationary internal combustion engines, and cement manufacturing are the only non-electric generating unit sources for which reductions are assumed in the budget calculation. Emission reductions are required if specific source heat input capacity is greater than 250 million Btu per hour. The US Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Y-12 Steam Plant consists of four Wickes pulverized coal fired boilers each rated at a maximum heat input capacity of 298 million Btu per hour, and will therefore be impacted by these regulatory actions. Each boiler is equipped with two pulverizing mills. Coal or natural gas or a combination of these two fuels may be fired. This paper provides the results of NO{sub x} emission stack testing conducted …

Because of concern over global climate change, new systems are needed that produce electricity from fossil fuels and emit less CO{sub 2}. The fundamental problem with current systems which recover and concentrate CO{sub 2} from flue gases is the need to separate dilute CO{sub 2} and pressurize it to roughly 35 atm for storage or sequestration. This is an energy intensive process that can reduce plant efficiency by 9-37% and double the cost of electricity. There are two fundamental reasons for the current high costs of power consumption, CO{sub 2} removal, and concentration systems: (1) most disposal, storage and sequestering systems require high pressure CO{sub 2} (at roughly 35 atm). Thus, assuming 90% removal of the CO{sub 2} from a typical atmospheric pressure flue gas that contains 10% CO{sub 2}, the CO{sub 2} is essentially being compressed from 0.01 atm to 35 atm (a pressure ratio of 3,500). This is a very energy intensive process. (2) The absorption-based (amine) separation processes that are used to remove the CO{sub 2} from the flue gas and compress it to 1 atm consume approximately 10 times as much energy as the theoretical work of compression because they are heat driven cycles working over …

The majority of polyphosphazene material research has concentrated on the linear polymer configuration. However, this represents only one of three potential backbone configurations for phosphazenes. Linear polymers are formed either directly from phosphorus and nitrogen containing precursors or from the ring opening polymerization of hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene. Two other backbone structures can be formed from hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene cyclolinear and cyclomatrix. Cyclolinear are the least studied due to synthetic difficulty. Cyclomatrix polymers represent a more facile method for forming non-linear phosphazenes.

Much of the research is focused on symmetries and symmetry breaking. The authors have emphasized the effects of the many body system on symmetry breaking--the parity violation studies. A parallel interest lies in the effects of symmetry breaking on the many body system (as manifested in the statistical distributions characterizing the system). Another major activity has involved few nucleon scattering. The primary technical efforts are in low temperature targetry. The service activity for the nuclear science community is Nuclear Data Evaluation. Results achieved in these areas during the period of the grant are summarized. Details are given in the 10 annual progress reports, 10 Ph.D. dissertations, and approximately 150 publications.

OAK-B135 Transmission System Improvements for Wind Energy Development in the Upper Midwest and Great Plains: Opportunities and Obstacles. This case study set out to ascertain the validity of three assumptions from the perspectives of stakeholders involved in wind energy and transmission issues in the Upper Midwest and Great Plains. The assumptions, and the stakeholders' reactions to each, are summarized below: Assumption 1--Transmission system improvements would provide significant benefits to the electricity network and its customers. Respondents acknowledge the potential for overall system benefits in the form of reduced line losses, improved grid stability and reliability, and enhanced ability to conduct spot market transactions. They also agree that these benefits relate to specific regional needs. However, there is disagreement over the extent of other benefits such as efficiency gains and cost savings from reduced line losses. Further, environmental and community interest groups point out that none of these benefits are realized without significant financial, environmental and social costs. Assumption 2--The benefits of transmission improvements would be helpful, but not confined, to wind power. All respondents agree that wind energy could benefit from transmission system improvements. But they also acknowledge, reluctantly, in the case of environmental stakeholders, that the benefits of an …

The authors analyzed the evolution of institutional and facility response to groups of abnormal incidents at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The analysis is divided into three stages: (1) the LANL response to severe accidents from 1994 to 1996, (2) the LANL response to facility-specific clusters of low-consequence incidents from 1997 to 1999, and (3) the ongoing development of and response to a Laboratory-wide trending and analysis program. The first stage is characterized by five severe accidents at LANL--a shooting fatality, a forklift accident, two electrical shock incidents, and an explosion in a nuclear facility. Each accident caused LANL and the Department of Energy (DOE) to launch in-depth investigations. A recurrent theme of the investigations was the failure of LANL and DOE to identify and act on precursor or low-consequence events that preceded the severe accidents. The second stage is characterized by LANL response to precursor or low-consequence incidents over a two-year period. In this stage, the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Facility, the Los Alamos Critical Experiments Facility, and the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center responded to an increase in low-consequence events by standing down their facilities. During the restart process, each facility collectively analyzed the low-consequence events and developed …

This report describes the results of a sampling event conducted at the Distler Brickyard Superfund Site, Hardin County, Kentucky, October 1999. The purpose of the sampling event was to evaluate the extent of natural biodegradation of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons (CAH) occurring at the Site. Sampling locations were selected to evaluate three areas of the suspected CAH plume: the source area, an axial cross-section, and a downgradient transect. Due to inadequate recharge to and the poor physical condition of some monitoring wells at the Site, the sampling approach was modified to reflect wells that could be sampled. Results indicate that natural anaerobic degradation of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons is occurring in the presumed source area around monitoring well GW-11. The primary contaminant of concern, trichloroethene, migrates downgradient from the source area into the Coarse Grained Alluvium Aquifer at concentrations slightly greater than the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL). Based on the available, the following hypothesis is proposed: the source area has been remediated through soil removal activities and subsequent anaerobic reductive dechlorination. If this is the case, this Site may be a good candidate for implementation of a monitored natural attenuation remedy. However, more data are necessary before this hypothesis can be confirmed.

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) has completed its design phase and is well into construction. In this talk, we review the optic specification rationale, along with examples of particular specifications and measurements.

The authors explore the orthogonal decomposition of tensors (also known as multi-dimensional arrays or n-way arrays) using two different definitions of orthogonality. They present numerous examples to illustrate the difficulties in understanding such decompositions. They conclude with a counterexample to a tensor extension of the Eckart-Young SVD approximation theorem by Leibovici and Sabatier [Linear Algebra Appl. 269(1998):307--329].