A repository located at Yucca Mountain at the Nevada Test Site is a potential site for permanent geological disposal of high-level nuclear waste. The repository can be located in a horizon in welded tuff, a volcanic rock, which is above the static water level at this site. The environmental conditions in this unsaturated zone are expected to be air and water vapor dominated for much of the containment period. Type 304L stainless steel is the reference material for fabricating canisters to contain the solid high-level wastes. Alternative stainless alloys are considered because of possible susceptibility of 304L to localized and stress forms of corrosion. For the reprocessed glass wastes, the canisters serve as the recipient for pouring the glass with the result that a sensitized microstructure may develop because of the times at elevated temperatures. Corrosion testing of the reference and alternative materials has begun in tuff-conditioned water and steam environments. 21 references, 8 figures, 8 tables.

Lockwood Greene Engineers, Inc. (LGE) was retained by E.I. duPont de Nemours and Co., Inc., Savannah River Plant, Aiken, South Carolina, to conduct on-site flow measurements and sampling of tributaries and outfalls flowing into a portion of Tim`s Branch Creek. Water samples were analyzed for chemical characteristics. This report presents the results of the flow and analytical data collected during the 24 hour monitoring period, October 5 and 6, 1983. Tim`s Branch Creek is a tributary of the Upper Three Runs Creek which in turn is a tributary of the Savannah River. A map outlining the drainage area within the Savannah River Plant is included in this report.

Corrosion rates and the mode of corrosion attack form a most important basis for selection of canister materials and design of a nuclear waste package. Type 304L stainless steel was selected as the reference material for canister fabrication because of its generally excellent corrosion resistance in water, steam and air. However, 304L may be susceptible to localized and stress-assisted forms of corrosion under certain conditions. Alternative alloys are also investigated; these alloys were chosen because of their improved resistance to these forms of corrosion. The fabrication and welding processes, as well as the glass pouring operation for defense and commercial high-level wastes, may influence the susceptibility of the canister to localized and stress forms of corrosion. 12 references, 2 figures, 4 tables.

The development of waste packages for emplacement in a tuff repository has been proceeding during the past year on a broad front. Experimental work has been focused on determination of important package environment parameters and testing the response of waste forms and package materials to the anticipated environment. Conceptual designs have been selected with alternatives to accommodate present uncertainties in the environment and material performance. Computational capabilities are being adapted to provide analyses of anticipated package performance, and plans are being developed for in-situ testing. The waste package activities have been integrated into the overall NNWSI project to assure timely completion consistent with the statutory and regulatory requirements leading to repository site selection around the end of the decade. 7 references.

This paper describes experimental work conducted to establish the chemical composition of water which will have reacted with Topopah Spring Member tuff prior to contact with waste packages. The experimental program to determine the behavior of spent fuel and borosilicate glass in the presence of this water is then described. Preliminary results of experiments using spent fuel segments with defects in the Zircaloy cladding are presented. Some results from parametric testing of a borosilicate glass with tuff and 304L stainless steel are also discussed. Experiments conducted using Topopah Spring tuff and J-13 well water have been conducted to provide an estimate of the post-emplacement environment for waste packages in a repository at Yucca Mountain. The results show that emplacement of waste packages should cause only small changes in the water chemistry and rock mineralogy. The changes in environment should not have any detrimental effects on the performance of metal barriers or waste forms. The NNWSI waste form testing program has provided preliminary results related to the release rate of radionuclides from the waste package. Those results indicate that release rates from both spent fuel and borosilicate glass should be below 1 part in 10{sup 5} per year. Future testing will …

A waste form testing program has been developed to ensure that the release rate of radionuclides from the engineered barrier system will meet NRC and EPA regulatory requirements. Waste form performance testing will be done under unsaturated, low water availability conditions which represent the expected repository conditions. Testing will also be done under conditions of total immersion of the waste form in repository-type water to cover the possibility that localized portions of the repository might contain standing water. Testing of reprocesses waste forms for CHLW and DHLW will use reaction vessels fabricated from Topopah Spring tuff. Chemical elements which are expected to show the highest release rates in the mildly oxidizing environment of the Topopah Spring tuff horizon at Yucca Mountain are Np and Tc. To determine the effect of residual canister material and of corrosion products from the canister/overpack, waste form testing will be done in the presence of these materials. The release rate of all radionuclides which are subject to NRC and EPA regulations will be measured, and the interactive effects of the released radionuclide and the rock reaction vessels will be determined. The testing program for spent fuel will determine the release rate from bare spent fuel …

In Campaign 5, fast breeder reactor (FBR) fuel [average burnup {similar_to}2.6 TJ/kg ({similar_to}30,000 MWd/t)] was processed for the first time. Operations in a single extraction cycle with 30% TBP-NPH were satisfactory with low heavy-metal losses (< 0.02%) and high decontamination factors (DFs > 1000) for all fission products except {sup 95}Zr, which exhibited moderate DFs (180 and 750, respectively, in two runs). The use of a split scrub stream (0.5 M and 3 M HNO{sub 3}) vs a single scrub stream (3 M HNO{sub 3}) resulted in the higher DF. An extractant backscrubbing stream was not needed to produce partially partitioned uranium-plutonium products containing 30 to 35% plutonium when processing the core FBR fuel (22% Pu). The necessary enrichment factor ({similar_to}1.5) was attained by maintaining the temperature at 25 to 30{sup 0}C in partial partitioning and adjusting the relative flow rates of the aqueous and organic phases. The plutonium recovery in the two runs ({similar_to}400 g) was purified by anion exchange and converted to PuO{sub 2} for fuel refabrication studies. 8 references, 7 figures, 6 tables.

None

A start-up method for producing a plasma in the bi-cusp field configuration of a toroidal magnetic cusp (TORMAC) is described. The method uses the radial injection and trapping of a toroidal gun plasma. Measurements of an injected plasma with a velocity of 17 {micro}sec{sup -1} and 4.5 x 10{sup 18} particles is presented. The plasma was observed to be stopped and trapped in an equilibrium position. A well-defined outer boundary remained stationary for 20 {micro}sec. Particle flux distribution emanating from the cusp field lines defined a sheath having a width of 1-1.5 ion gyroradii in the poloidial field. This translates to a narrow outer boundary and a broad inner boundary based on the gradient of the poloidial field at the two radial positions. Measurements of Thomson scattering and interferometry give a T{sub e} of 15eV, a 15 {micro}sec density decay time, and a 5 {micro}sec energy decay time. These results show that this injection and trapping method is successful, and thus a higher gun plasma energy combined with a flux conserving barrier may lead to higher temperatures for testing containment in TORMAC.

None

None

None

None

None

None

None

This report addresses the comments on a previous note about intrabeam scattering calculation for bunched beams in colliding mode.

This report is about the Accelerator Physics Project Review On The November 23, 1983 Meeting

The study area is located in portions of Adams, Grant, Lincoln, and Franklin counties of eastern Washington. The area is representative of a complex stratigraphic and geohydrologic system within the basalt flows of the Columbia River Basalt Group. The regional piezometric surface and stratigraphic units dip towards the southwest. Fluid temperature data were collected by three different agencies. The Geological Engineering Section (WSU) at Washington State University, runs a continuous fluid temperature (FT) log as part of a complete suite of geophysical logs. The US Geological Survey (USGS) runs a continuous fluid FT log in conjunction with caliper and natural-gamma logs. Southern Methodist University (SMU) and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geology and Earth Resources (DNR), have cooperated in gathering FT data. The DNR-SMU data were collected by taking temperature measurements at 5 m intervals. Bottom-hole temperatures (BHT) and bottom-hole depths (BHD) of selected wells in the study area are given in table 2. Some of the BHT data in table 2 may vary from those previously reported by WSU. These discrepancies are the result of changes in the calibration method of the FT tool. A technique developed by Giggane (1982) was used to determine the …

Geothermics is the study of the earth's heat energy, it's affect on subsurface temperature distribution, it's physical and chemical sources, and it's role in dynamic geologic processes. The term, geothermometry, is applied to the determination of equilibrium temperatures of natural chemical systems, including rock, mineral, and liquid phases. An assemblage of minerals or a chemical system whose phase composition is a function of temperature and pressure can be used as a geothermometer. Thus a geothermometer is useful to determine the formation temperature of rock or the last equilibrium temperature of a flowing aqueous solution such as ground water and hydrothermal fluids.

During the Summer of 1983, the Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources carried out a three-hole drilling program to collect temperature gradient and heat flow information near potential geothermal resource target areas. The project was part of the state-coupled US Department of Energy Geothermal Program. Richardson Well Drilling of Tacoma, Washington was subcontracted through the State to perform the work. The general locations of the project areas are shown in figure 1. The first hole, DNR 83-1, was located within the Green River valley northwest of Mount St. Helens. This site is near the Green River Soda Springs and along the projection of the Mount St. Helens--Elk Lake seismic zone. The other two holes were drilled near Mount Baker. Hole DNR 83-3 was sited about 1/4 km west of the Baker Hot Springs, 10.5 km east of Mount Baker, while hole DNR 83-5 was located along Rocky Creek in the Sulphur Creek Valley. The Rocky Creek hole is about 10 km south-southwest of the peak. Two other holes, DNR 83-2 and DNR 83-4, were located on the north side of the Sulphur Creek Valley. Both holes were abandoned at early stages of drilling because of deep overburden and severe …

None

We assess several of the important health and environmental risks associated with a reference geothermal industry that produces 21,000 MWe for 30 y (equivalent to 20 x 10{sup 18} J). The analyses of health effects focus on the risks associated with exposure to hydrogen sulfide, particulate sulfate, benzene, mercury, and radon in air and arsenic in food. Results indicate that emissions of hydrogen sulfide are likely to cause odor-related problems in 29 of 51 geothermal resources areas, assuming that no pollution controls are employed. Our best estimates and ranges of uncertainty for the health risks of chronic population exposures to atmospheric pollutants are as follows (risks expressed per 10{sup 18} J of electricity): particulate sulfate, 44 premature deaths (uncertainty range of 0 to 360); benzene, 0.15 leukemias (range of 0 to 0.51); elemental mercury, 14 muscle tremors (range of 0 to 39); and radon, 0.68 lung cancers (range of 0 to 1.8). The ultimate risk of fatal skin cancers as the result of the transfer of waste arsenic to the general population over geologic time ({approx} 100,000 y) was calculated as 41 per 10{sup 18} J. We based our estimates of occupational health effects on rates of accidental deaths together …

Koktneesalmon (Oncorhvnchusnerka), the land-locked form of sockeye salmon, were originally introduced to Flathead Lake in 1916. My 1933, kokanee had become established in the lake and provided a popular summer trolling fishery as well as a fall snagging fishery in shoreline areas. Presently, Flathead Lake supports the second highest fishing pressure of any lake or reservoir in Montana (Montana Department of Fish and Game 1976). During 1981-82, the lake provided 168,792 man-days of fishing pressure. Ninety-two percent of the estimated 536,870 fish caught in Flathead Lake in 1981-82 were kokanee salmon. Kokanee also provided forage for bull trout seasonally and year round for lake trout. Kokanee rear to maturity in Flathead Lake, then return to various total grounds to spawn. Spawning occurred in lake outlet streams, springs, larger rivers and lake shoreline areas in suitable but often limited habitat. Shoreline spawning in Flathead Lake was first documented in the mid-1930's. Spawning kokanee were seized from shoreline areas in 1933 and 21,000 cans were processed and packed for distribution to the needy. Stefanich (1953 and 1954) later documented extensive but an unquantified amount of spawning along the shoreline as well as runs in Whitefish River and McDonald Creek in the 1950's. …