Improved ground-imaging capabilities have enormous potential to increase energy, environmental, and economic benefits by improving exploration accuracy and reducing energy consumption during the mining cycle. Seismic tomography has been used successfully to monitor and evaluate geologic conditions ahead of a mining face. A primary limitation to existing seismic tomography, however, is the placement of sensors. The goal of this project is to develop an array of 24 seismic sensors capable of being mounted in either a vertical or horizontal borehole. Development of this technology reduces energy usage in excavation, transportation, ventilation, and processing phases of the mining operation because less waste is mined and the mining cycle suffers fewer interruptions. This new technology benefits all types of mines, including metal/nonmetal, coal, and quarrying. The primary research tasks focused on sensor placement method, sensor housing and clamping design, and cabling and connector selection. An initial design is described in the report. Following assembly, a prototype was tested in the laboratory as well as at a surface stone quarry. Data analysis and tool performance were used for subsequent design modifications. A final design is described, of which several components are available for patent application. Industry partners have shown clear support for this …

This report describes the groundwater monitoring and corrective-action program at the M-Area Hazardous Waste Management Facility (HWMF) and the Metallurgical Laboratory (Met Lab) HWMF at the Savannah River site (SRS) during first and second quarters of 2000.

Annual Illness and Injury Surveillance Program report for the Hanford site. The IISP monitors illnesses and health conditions that result in an absence of workdays, occupational injuries and illnesses, and disabilities and deaths among current workers. The prpogram is part of DOE's commitment to assuring the health and safety of its workers and includes the conduct of epidemiologic surveillance activities that provide an early warning system for health problems among workers.

Annual Illness and Injury Surveillance Program report for 2004 for the Hanford site. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) commitment to assuring the health and safety of its workers includes the conduct of epidemiologic surveillance activities that provide an early warning system for health problems among workers. The IISP monitors illnesses and health conditions that result in an absence of workdays, occupational injuries and illnesses, and disabilities and deaths among current workers.

Annual Illness and Injury Surveillance Program for 2004 for the Hanford site. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) commitment to assuring the health and safety of its workers includes the conduct of epidemiologic surveillance activities that provide an early warning system for health problems among workers. The Illness and Injury Surveillance Program monitors illnesses and health conditions that result in an absence of workdays, occupational injuries and illnesses, and disabilities and deaths among current workers.

The main objective of this project is for a university-industry consortium to develop a comprehensive model for fracture carbonate reservoirs based on the ''data cube'' concept using the Michigan Basin as a prototype. This project combined traditional historical data with 2D and 3D seismic data as well as data from modern logging tools in a novel way to produce a new methodology for characterizing fractured reservoirs in carbonate rocks. Advanced visualization software was used to fuse the data and to image it on a variety of scales, ranging from basin-scale to well-scales.

The United States and its allies are helping Afghanistan emerging from more than 22 years of warfare, although substantial risk to Afghan stability remains. Before the U.S. military campaign against the orthodox Islamist Taliban movement began on October 7, 2001, Afghanistan had been mired in conflict since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The defeat of the Taliban has enabled the United States and its coalition partners to send forces throughout Afghanistan to search for Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters and leaders that remain at large, including Osama bin Laden. As the war against remaining Al Qaeda and Taliban elements winds down, the United States is shifting its military focus toward stabilizing the interim government, including training a new Afghan national army, and supporting the international security force (ISAF) that is helping the new government provide security.

This report discusses the issue of U.S. economic assistance to sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the importance of continued assistance in light of U.S. national security and also various U.S.-led efforts to promote reform amongst African citizens themselves. U.S. assistance finds its way to Africa through a variety of channels, including the USAID-administered DA program, food aid programs, and indirect aid provided through international financial institutions and the United Nations.

The report discusses the selected proposed priorities in light of the nondiscrimination provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It will be updated as appropriate.

This test plan will be performed in conjunction with or prior to HNF-6936, ''HA-53 Supercritical Fluid Extraction System Acceptance Test Plan'', to operate the Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR) and to perform analyses for water. The test will ensure that the software can be installed properly, will operate the FTIR correctly and will generate a text file with analytical data.

The Berry Amendment requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to give preference in procurement to domestically produced, manufactured, or home grown products, notably food, clothing, fabrics, and specialty metals. In order to protect the U.S. industrial base during periods of adversity and war, Congress passed domestic source restrictions as part of the 1941 Fifth Supplemental DOD Appropriations Act; these provisions later became the Berry Amendment. This report examines the original intent and purpose of the Berry Amendment, legislative proposals to amend the application of domestic source restrictions, as well as options for Congress.

The Berry Amendment requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to give preference in procurement to domestically produced, manufactured, or home grown products, notably food, clothing, fabrics, and specialty metals. This report examines the original intent and purpose of the Berry Amendment, legislative proposals to amend the application of domestic source restrictions, as well as options for Congress.

Some policymakers, believing that disparities in broadband access across American society could have adverse economic and social consequences on those left behind, assert that the federal government should play a more active role to avoid a “digital divide” in broadband access. One approach is for the federal government to provide financial assistance to support broadband deployment in underserved areas. Others, however, believe that federal assistance for broadband deployment is not appropriate. Some opponents question the reality of the “digital divide,” and argue that federal intervention in the broadband marketplace would be premature and, in some cases, counterproductive.

This report explains the conditions in five countries in Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) and one country in the Caribbean (Dominican Republic) that will be partners with the United States in the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) signed in August 2004. All of the signatory countries except Costa Rica have approved the pact. The agreement will enter into force for the approving countries on an agreed date, tentatively January 1, 2006. In U.S. approval action, the House and Senate passed the required implementing legislation (H.R. 3045) on July 27 and 28, 2005, and the President signed it into law (P.L. 109-53) on August 2, 2005.

The response to climate change and the stabilization of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations has major implications for the global energy system. Stabilization of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations requires a peak and an indefinite decline of global CO2 emissions. Nuclear energy, along with other technologies, has the potential to contribute to the growing demand for energy without emitting CO2. Nuclear energy is of particular interest because of its global prevalence and its current significant contribution, nearly 20%, to the world’s electricity supply. We have investigated the value of nuclear energy in addressing climate change, and have explored the potential challenges for the rapid and large-scale expansion of nuclear energy as a response to climate change. The scope of this study is long-term and the modeling time frame extends out a century because the nature of nuclear energy and climate change dictate that perspective. Our results indicate that the value of the nuclear technology option for addressing climate change is denominated in trillions of dollars. Several-fold increases to the value of the nuclear option can be expected if there is limited availability of competing carbon-free technologies, particularly fossil-fuel based technologies that can capture and sequester carbon. Challenges for the expanded global …

Over the last several years most of the sludge and liquid from the Liquid Low-Level Waste (LLLW) tanks at ORNL has been transferred and consolidated in the Melton Valley Storage Tanks (MVST). The contents of the MVST tanks at the time the sludge samples were collected for this report included the original inventory in the MVSTs along with the sludge and liquid from the Bethel Valley Evaporator Service Tanks (BVEST), Old Hydrofracture (OHF) tanks, and the Gunite and Associated Tanks (GAAT). During the summer of 2001 full core samples of sludge were collected from the MVST tanks. The purpose of this sampling campaign was to characterize and validate that the current radiochemical and chemical contents of the MVST sludge, which was needed to meet the contract agreements prior to the transfer of the waste to another DOE contractor for processing. This report only discusses the analytical characterization of the sludge from the MVST waste tanks. The isotopic data presented in this report supports the position that fissile isotopes of uranium ({sup 233}U and {sup 235}U) and plutonium ({sup 239}Pu and {sup 241}Pu) were ''denatured'' as required by the administrative controls stated in the ORNL LLLW waste acceptance criteria (WAC). In …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is responsible for implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention, which bans the use of chemical weapons and requires their elimination. The United States and other member states have raised concerns that a number of management weaknesses may prevent the organization from fulfilling its mandate. As requested, GAO assessed the accuracy of the organization's budget and the impact of budget shortfalls on program activities. GAO also reviewed efforts to improve the organization's budget planning."

The history of child labor in America is long and unsavory. It dates back to the founding of the United States. Traditionally, most children, except for the privileged few, has always worked - either for their parents or for an outside employer. Through the years, however, child labor practices have changed. This report details the history of child labor in American, the Child Labor Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the re-emergence of the child labor issue in the late 20th century, and child labor initiatives in the 108th,109th, and 110th Congresses.

The following are proposed activities for quarter 1 (6/15/00-9/14/00): (1) Finalize the allocation of funds within TAMU to co-principal investigators and the final task lists; (2) Acquire 3 D computer code for coal combustion and modify for cofiring Coal:Feedlot biomass and Coal:Litter biomass fuels; (3) Develop a simple one dimensional model for fixed bed gasifier cofired with coal:biomass fuels; and (4) Prepare the boiler burner for reburn tests with feedlot biomass fuels. The following were achieved During Quarter 5 (6/15/00-9/14/00): (1) Funds are being allocated to co-principal investigators; task list from Prof. Mukhtar has been received (Appendix A); (2) Order has been placed to acquire Pulverized Coal gasification and Combustion 3 D (PCGC-3) computer code for coal combustion and modify for cofiring Coal: Feedlot biomass and Coal: Litter biomass fuels. Reason for selecting this code is the availability of source code for modification to include biomass fuels; (3) A simplified one-dimensional model has been developed; however convergence had not yet been achieved; and (4) The length of the boiler burner has been increased to increase the residence time. A premixed propane burner has been installed to simulate coal combustion gases. First coal, as a reburn fuel will be used to …

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The Antiproton Generation and Storage Facility (AGSF) creates copious quantities of antiprotons, for bottling and transportation to remote cancer therapy centers. The #12;first step in the generation and storage process is to accelerate an intense proton beam down the Main Linac for injection into the Main Ring, which is a Rapid Cycling Synchrotron that accelerates the protons to high energy. The beam is then extracted from the ring into a transfer line and into a Proton Target. Immediately downstream of the target is an Antiproton Collector that captures some of the antiprotons and focuses them into a beam that is transported sequentially into two antiproton rings. The Precooler ring rapidly manipulates antiproton bunches from short and broad (in momentum) to long and thin. It then performs some preliminary beam cooling, in the fraction of a second before the next proton bunch is extracted from the Main Ring. Pre-cooled antiprotons are passed on to the Accumulator ring before the next antiprotons arrive from the target. The Accumulator ring cools the antiprotons, compressing them into a dense state that is convenient for mass storage over many hours. Occasionally the Accumulator ring decelerates a large number of antiprotons, injecting them into a Deceleration …

This Corrective Action Decision Document identifies and rationalizes the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office's selection of a recommended corrective action alternative (CAA) appropriate to facilitate the closure of Corrective Action (CAU) 5: Landfills, Nevada Test Site (NTS), Nevada, under the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order. Located in Areas 5, 6, 12, 20, and 23 of the NTS, CAU 5 is comprised of eight corrective action sites (CASs). The corrective action investigation (CAI) of CAU 5 was conducted from October 7, 2002 through January 30, 2003, with geophysical surveys completed from March 6 through May 8, 2002, and topographic surveys conducted from March 11 through April 29, 2003. Contaminants of concern (COCs) were identified only at CAS 12-15-01. Those COCs included total petroleum hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds. Based on the evaluation of analytical data from the CAI, review of future and current operations in Areas 5, 6, 12, 20, and 23 of the Nevada Test Site, and the detailed and comparative analysis of the potential CAAs, the following single alternative was developed for consideration. Close in Place with Administrative Controls is the recommended alternative for all of the CASs in CAU 5. This …

This report discusses the curators' evaluation of WAS Release 4, part of the Web-at-Risk project.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO was asked by the Department of Defense (DOD) to identify ways to improve DOD's availability of high-quality spare parts for aircraft, ships, vehicles, and weapons systems. DOD's recent reports do not provide an accurate and complete picture of spare parts funding as required by financial management regulation. As a result, the reports do not provide Congress with reasonable assurance about the amount of funds being spent on spare parts. Furthermore, the reports are of limited use to Congress as it makes decisions on how best to spend resources to reduce spare parts shortages and improve military readiness."