The objective of this collaboration between four institutions in the US and Korea is to demonstrate a technical basis for the improvement of the corrosion resistance of zirconium-based alloys in more extreme operating environments (such as those present in severe fuel duty,cycles (high burnup, boiling, aggressive chemistry) andto investigate the feasibility (from the point of view of corrosion rate) of using advanced zirconium-based alloys in a supercritical water environment.

In order to better understand EPA’s actions, this report provides an analysis of the agency’s final 2006 revisions to the particulates NAAQS, and the estimated costs and benefits of the new standards and of a more stringent alternatives analyzed. The report concludes by highlighting concerns and issues raised regarding the revisions to the particulates standards, including those of the science advisory committee (Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, or CASAC), and actions in Congress.

Wigner Energy was determined by DSC analysis in cored graphite from the Brookhaven Graphite Research Reactor. Eight segments (4-inch long slugs) of cores were obtained from BGRR for analysis of Wigner Energy retained in the graphite. Graphite was scraped from each end of each slug giving two samples from each specimen. Between 10 and 20 mg of this graphite powder were weighed into platinum analysis cells and subjected to thermal analysis on a Shimadzu Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC-50). The samples were annealed in nitrogen up to 700 C at a scan rate of 20 C/minute with data recorded at one second intervals. Each sample was run twice; the first scan provided the energy profile of the ''as received'' material and the second scan provided the background energy profile of the specimen, as the Wigner Energy had been removed during the first annealing. An example is shown in Figure 1. The blank was subtracted from the initial scan to give the Wigner energy profile. The appendix contains two graphs for each sample. One graph presents the data in J/s/g and shows the results of the two scans described above; the energy measurement of the ''as received'' and the same sample after …

This report discusses the "digital divide," a term that has been used to characterize a gap between those Americans who use or have access to telecommunications technologies (e.g., telephones, computers, the Internet) and those who do not. It particularly discusses one important subset of the digital divide debate concerns high speed Internet access or broadband.

Carbon tetrachloride (CT) was discharged to the 216-Z-9, Z-1A, and Z-18 waste sites that are included in the 200-PW-1 Operable Unit in Hanford 200 West Area. Fluor Hanford, Inc. is conducting a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) for the 200-PW-1 Operable Unit. As part of this overall effort, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) was contracted to improve the conceptual model of how CT is distributed in the Hanford 200 West Area subsurface through use of numerical flow and transport modeling. This work supports the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) efforts to characterize the nature and distribution of CT in the 200 West Area and subsequently select an appropriate final remedy.

This summary report describes studies conducted at Argonne National Laboratory on the potential for chemical effects on head loss across sump screens. Three different buffering solutions were used for these tests: trisodium phosphate (TSP), sodium hydroxide, and sodium tetraborate. These pH control agents used following a LOCA at a nuclear power plant show various degrees of interaction with the insulating materials Cal-Sil and NUKON. Results for Cal-Sil dissolution tests in TSP solutions, settling rate tests of calcium phosphate precipitates, and benchmark tests in chemically inactive environments are also presented. The dissolution tests were intended to identify important environmental variables governing both calcium dissolution and subsequent calcium phosphate formation over a range of simulated sump pool conditions. The results from the dissolution testing were used to inform both the head loss and settling test series. The objective of the head loss tests was to assess the head loss produced by debris beds created by Cal-Sil, fibrous debris, and calcium phosphate precipitates. The effects of both the relative arrival time of the precipitates and insulation debris and the calcium phosphate formation process were specifically evaluated. The debris loadings, test loop flow rates, and test temperature were chosen to be reasonably representative of …

A Clean Coal Diesel project was undertaken to demonstrate a new Clean Coal Technology that offers technical, economic and environmental advantages over conventional power generating methods. This innovative technology (developed to the prototype stage in an earlier DOE project completed in 1992) enables utilization of pre-processed clean coal fuel in large-bore, medium-speed, diesel engines. The diesel engines are conventional modern engines in many respects, except they are specially fitted with hardened parts to be compatible with the traces of abrasive ash in the coal-slurry fuel. Industrial and Municipal power generating applications in the 10 to 100 megawatt size range are the target applications. There are hundreds of such reciprocating engine power-plants operating throughout the world today on natural gas and/or heavy fuel oil.

Computational modeling of radiation transport problems including homeland security, radiation shielding and protection, and criticality safety all depend upon material definitions. This document has been created to serve two purposes: 1) to provide a quick reference of material compositions for analysts and 2) a standardized reference to reduce the differences between results from two independent analysts. Analysts are always encountering a variety of materials for which elemental definitions are not readily available or densities are not defined. This document provides a location where unique or hard to define materials will be located to reduce duplication in research for modeling purposes. Additionally, having a common set of material definitions helps to standardize modeling across PNNL and provide two separate researchers the ability to compare different modeling results from a common materials basis.

The health concerns of methylmercury (MeHg) contamination of seafood have recently been extended to include cardiovascular effects, especially premature mortality. Although the fatty acids (fish oils) found in most species are thought to confer a wide range of health benefits, especially to the cardiovascular system, some epidemiological studies have suggested that such benefits may be offset by adverse effects of MeHg. This comprehensive review is based on searches of the NIH MEDLINE database and compares and contrasts 145 published studies involving cardiovascular effects and exposures to mercury and other fish contaminants, intake of fatty acids including dietary supplements of fish oils, and rates of seafood consumption. Since few of these studies include adequate simultaneous measurements of all of these potential predictor variables, we summarized their effects separately, across the available studies of each, and then drew conclusions based on the aggregated findings. It is important to realize that studies of seafood consumption encompass the net effects of all of these predictor variables, but that seafood intake studies are rarely supported by human biomarker measurements that reflect the actual uptake of harmful as well as beneficial fish ingredients. As a result, exposure measurement error is an issue when comparing studies and …

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This report was written from the perspective of a labor economist that suggests certain occasions during which the Davis-Bacon act has become a legislative issue.

On August 1, and 2, 2006, 104 scientists representing 40 institutions including 24 Universities and 5 National Laboratories gathered at the W.R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a National scientific user facility, to outline important science challenges for the next decade and identify major capabilities needed to pursue advanced research in the environmental molecular sciences. EMSL’s four science themes served as the framework for the workshop. The four science themes are 1) Biological Interactions and Interfaces, 2) Geochemistry/Biogeochemistry and Surface Science, 3) Atmospheric Aerosol Chemistry, and 4) Science of Interfacial Phenomena.

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. The intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene and low-dose ionizing radiation. A project is also being conducted in the use of geographical information system technology …

There is undeniable evidence that concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rising at an increasingly rapid rate primarily as the result of burning fossil fuels. Although the debate continues, most of the scientific community believes that higher levels of atmospheric CO2 will lead to a significant warming of the Earth’s climate and that there is already evidence that this is occurring. There are two ways to ameliorate this problem. One is to significantly reduce production of CO2, which is primarily a political-economic problem, and the other is to remove CO2 from emissions and/or the atmosphere and find some way to sequester it. Several possible ways to sequester CO2 are under investigation or have been suggested. These include removal by chemical reaction, deep seabed disposal, and pumping supercritical CO2 into various subsurface environments. Sequestration of carbon dioxide in depleted gas reservoirs appears to be a viable option, with a possible economic spin-off from the recovery of significant gas reserves. At the elevated temperatures and pressures encountered in reservoirs, carbon dioxide behaves as a supercritical fluid. Under these conditions, little was known regarding the, diffusion of carbon dioxide in natural gas, and displacement of natural gas by carbon dioxide. A …

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The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska energy options study results will be used to advance the Tribe’s near term energy management objectives. The array of energy options identified allows the Tribe to select those activities that best fit its energy strategies, goals and objectives. During the course of the study, Red Mountain analyzed both energy options and energy organizational alternatives suitable for the Tribe, presented findings to the Tribal Council, and made recommendations regarding each. Work products delivered to the Tribe, and provided in the Final Report included: • A matrix of energy management options applicable to the Tribe, which provided descriptions of particular conservation, efficiency, weatherization, and demand management alternatives. The matrix also provided insight about relative costs of the alternatives, cost/benefit efficacy, ease of implementation, resources for implementing, and observations about each. • A matrix of utility service options applicable to the Tribe, describing each of the four alternatives described above. The matrix also provided insight about key benefits of each option, required resources, costs and timeframe for implementation, funding sources and analysis, and key issues for consideration. • Discussion guides prepared for each meeting between the Energy Committee and Council, and the Tribe’s contractor, Red Mountain Energy Partners, …

The overall goal of this project was to better understand factors and processes controlling microbially-mediated reduction and reoxidation of U and Tc in the unconsolidated residuum overlying the Nolichucky shale at the Field Research Center (FRC) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Project activities were designed to test the following hypotheses: 1. The small rates of denitrification and U bio-reduction observed in laboratory incubations of sediments from FRC Area 1 at low pH (< 5) are due to the presence of high concentrations of toxic metals (especially Al and Ni). Rates of Tc reduction will also be small at low pH in the presence of high concentrations of toxic metals. 2. In situ rates of U and perhaps Tc bio-reduction can be increased by increasing system pH and thus precipitating toxic metals from solution. 3. In situ rates of U and Tc bio-reduction can be increased by the addition of humic substances, which complex toxic metals such as Al and Ni, buffer pH, and serve as electron shuttles to facilitate U and Tc reduction. 4. Microbially-reduced U and Tc are rapidly oxidized in the presence of high concentrations of NO3- and the denitrification intermediates NO2-, N2O, and NO. 5. An electron-donor-addition …

The goal of the project is to develop and assess the feasibility and economic viability of an innovative concept that may lead to commercialization of new gas-storage capacity near major markets. The investigation involves a new approach to developing underground gas storage in carbonate rock, which is present near major markets in many areas of the United States. Because of the lack of conventional gas storage and the projected growth in demand for storage capacity, many of these areas are likely to experience shortfalls in gas deliverability. Since depleted gas reservoirs and salt formations are nearly non-existent in many areas, alternatives to conventional methods of gas storage are required. The need for improved methods of gas storage, particularly for ways to meet peak demand, is increasing. Gas-market conditions are driving the need for higher deliverability and more flexibility in injection/withdrawal cycling. In order to meet these needs, the project involves an innovative approach to developing underground storage capacity by creating caverns in carbonate rock formations by acid dissolution. The basic concept of the acid-dissolution method is to drill to depth, fracture the carbonate rock layer as needed, and then create a cavern using an aqueous acid to dissolve the carbonate …

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The Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) and the Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR) as currently proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) when fully implemented will lead to reduction in mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants by 70 percent to fifteen tons per year by 2018. The EPA estimates that mercury deposition would be reduced 8 percent on average in the Eastern United States. The CAMR permits cap-and-trade approach that requires the nationwide emissions to meet the prescribed level, but do not require controls on each individual power plant. This has led to concerns that there may be hot-spots of mercury contamination near power plants. Partially because of this concern, many states including Pennsylvania have implemented, or are considering, state regulations that are stricter on mercury emissions than those in the CAMR. This study examined the possibility that coal-fired power plants act as local sources leading to mercury ''hot spots'', using two types of evidence. First, the world-wide literature was searched for reports of deposition around mercury sources, including coal-fired power plants. Second, soil samples from around two mid-sized U.S. coal-fired power plants were collected and analyzed for evidence of ''hot spots'' and for correlation with model predictions of …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) and Congress have expressed concern with the frequency and length of time that volunteer reservists serve on active duty. In fiscal year 2006, DOD nearly doubled its fiscal year 2005 estimate for the total maximum levels of reservists volunteering to be on active duty for operational support. Congress required GAO to review the reasons behind the increases and expressed an interest in understanding which reservists were being included or excluded from these numbers. In this report, GAO (1) identified the factors that led to the increase in DOD's requests for the maximum number of volunteer reserve personnel authorized to be on active duty for operational support since DOD's initial request in fiscal year 2005 and (2) assessed the extent to which the reserve components have consistently reported the number of reservists serving in an operational support capacity since 2005. In conducting this review, GAO analyzed agency documents and interviewed DOD officials."

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Council for Automotive Research (composed of automakers Ford, General Motors, and DaimlerChrysler) announced in January 2002 a new cooperative research effort. Known as FreedomCAR (derived from 'Freedom' and 'Cooperative Automotive Research'), it represents DOE's commitment to developing public/private partnerships to fund high-risk, high-payoff research into advanced automotive technologies. Efficient fuel cell technology, which uses hydrogen to power automobiles without air pollution, is a very promising pathway to achieve the ultimate vision. The new partnership replaces and builds upon the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles initiative that ran from 1993 through 2001. The Vehicle Systems subprogram within the FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Program provides support and guidance for many cutting-edge automotive and heavy truck technologies now under development. Research is focused on understanding and improving the way the various new components of tomorrow's automobiles and heavy trucks will function as a unified system to improve fuel efficiency. This work also supports the development of advanced automotive accessories and the reduction of parasitic losses (e.g., aerodynamic drag, thermal management, friction and wear, and rolling resistance). In supporting the development of hybrid propulsion systems, the Vehicle Systems subprogram has enabled the development …

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The 183-H solar evaporation basins (183-H basins) were located in the 100-H Area of the Hanford Site and have been demolished and backfilled under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in the Hanford Facility RCRA Permit (Ecology 2004). Post-closure actions remain for the 183 H basins. Groundwater is monitored in accordance with Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 173 303 645(11), ''Corrective Action Program'', and Part VI, Chapter 2 of the Hanford Facility RCRA Permit (Ecology 2004). The waste discharged to the basins originated in the 300 Area fuel fabrication facility and included solutions of chromic, hydrofluoric, nitric, and sulfuric acids that had been neutralized. The waste solutions contained various metallic and radioactive constituents (e.g., chromium, technetium-99, uranium ). Between 1985 and 1996, remaining waste was removed, the facility was demolished, and the underlying contaminated soil was removed and replaced with clean fill. This is one of a series of reports on corrective action monitoring at the 183-H basins. It fulfills a requirement of WAC 173-303-645(11)(g) to report twice each year on the effectiveness of the corrective action program. This report covers the period from January through June 2006.