Article on criminal victimization and fear of crime among the elderly in the United States and a critique of the empirical research literature.

Analysis of gas from a heated air-filled canister containing a spent fuel assembly before and after rupture of a fuel rod shows that about 1.5 mCi of {sup 14}C from the external surface of the assembly was rapidly oxidized and released as {sup 14}CO{sub 2} in excess oxygen at 275{sup 0}C and 10{sup 4}/sup rad/h. After rupture, an additional 0.3 mCi was released, probably also from the external surface. The total {sup 14}C inventory in the entire 15 x 15 rod assembly including structural hardware is estimated to be 690 mCi. These measurements indicate that account will have to be taken of the time distribution of lifetimes of the canisters, and a broad definition of the "engineered system" may be necessary, in order to meet 10CFR60 requirements with spent fuel in a repository in tuff. 22 refs., 1 tab.

Borosilicate waste glass durability in simulated repository environments can be assessed by use of static tests in leach vessels fabricated of the representative geomedia. Control of the oxidation potential during the test simulates a basalt repository environment. Under very anoxic conditions (i.e., at negative Eh values) the interactions between basalt and SRP waste glass in silica-saturated basaltic groundwaters are the same as those of basalt and groundwater when no waste glass is present. The lack of significant leaching of ions from the waste glass and the lack of any significant changes in either the leached surfaces of glass or basalt under anoxic conditions suggests that the components of this system are at equilibrium when oxygen is absent.

A cement-based waste form, ''saltstone'', has been designed for disposal of Savannah River Plant low-level radioactive salt waste. Laboratory and field tests indicate that this stabilization process greatly reduces the mobility of all of the waste constituents in the surface and near-surface environment. Bulk properties of this material have been tailored with respect to salt leach rate, permeability, and compressive strength. Microstructure and mineralogy were characterized by SEM and X-ray diffraction analyses. Compressive strength was found to increase as the water to cement ratio decreased. Porosity and mean pore size increased with increasing water to cement ratios. Bulk diffusivities of the various ions dissolved in the pore solutions were also found to increase as water to cement ratios increased. This paper discusses the test results.

An automated emergency response system for real-time predictions of offsite dose from unplanned atmospheric releases of radioactivity is maintained at the Savannah River Plant. The system consists of a minicomputer and associated peripherals necessary for acquisition and handling of large amounts of meteorological data from a local tower network and the National Weather Service. The minicomputer uses these data and predictive models to assess the impact of accidental releases. The dose estimates from this system were compared to measured doses from bioassay samples on several occasions when unplanned releases of tritium have occurred. On all occasions the calculated doses showed good agreement with the measured doses.

Time-temperature transformation curves have been determined for SRL-165 and SRL-131 waste glasses for all potential waste compositions. SRL-165 glasses, which contain less alkali, exhibit less complex devitrification and higher overall durability than SRL-131 waste glasses. Devitrification was found to have less effect on the durability of waste glasses than changes in composition. Non-uniform dissolution at the glass leached layer interface is observed. However, leached layers formed after 28 days shield the crystal interfaces from further dissolution.

As part of an effort to assess and understand the performance and chemical durability of Savannah River Plant (SRP) waste glass, an International Glass Study was undertaken. That study found important similarities, based on correlations of composition and leaching performance, among many difference defense and commercial waste glass compositions being studied world-wide. In addition, the beneficial effect of waste on glass performance was confirmed for the systems evaluated. This paper discusses those results.

This report discusses results of testing to improve uranium recovery from the process streams in an electroplating facility. Cylindrical uranium slugs are used as irradiation targets in the production reactors at the Savannah River Plant. These slugs are first chemically etched, nickel plated, encased in aluminum, inspected, and individually pressure tested. An improved process was developed to recover the uranium from the acidic etching streams for controlling pH and the PO4 to U ratio so that the precipitation of the uranium as hydrogen uranyl phosphate was maximized.

The Large Slurry Fed Melter (LSFM) at the Department of Energy's Savannah River Plant recently completed two years of service and was shut down for evaluation. This paper reviews the melter operating history and describes the condition of the refractories and metal components. The excellent condition of the LSFM verifies the expected performance of the materials of construction and indicates that a two year melter life is achievable in the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF).

A modified IAEA leach test was used to evaluate the relative performance of potential saltstone formulations. The effects of sample size and leach rates for specific ions were determined. Nitrite, nitrate, sodium, and sulfate are listed in order of decreasing leach rates and effective diffusivities for saturated leaching of saltstone. This paper discusses the results of the testing.

The long-wavelength spectrum of the cosmic background radiation has been measured at five wavelengths (0.33, 0.9, 3.0, 6.3, and 12.0 cm). These measurements represent a continuation of the work reported by Smoot et al. (1983). The combine results have a weighted average of 2.73 {+-} 0.05 K and are consistent with past measurements. They limit the possible Compton distortion of the Cosmic Background Radiation spectrum to less than 8%.

Several routes to the development of ideal soft x-ray sources are now being actively pursued. These include atomic lasers, free electron lasers (FELs), and storage ring (synchrotron) undulators. For short wavelength (XUV) applications, FELs and undulators are very closely related, each being dependent on the development of well controlled (low ''emittance'') electron storage rings, with energies of order 0.5 to 1.5 GeV beam energy, and many period magnetic structures, referred to as undulators. The major thrust of this article is that undulators provide the only sure route to coherent soft x-rays in the near term, that they are tuneable throughout the region of interest, and that they will serve a multitude of users, in disparate fields of science and technology, albeit at a large central research facility. 4 refs., 4 figs.

The application of partial pressure analysis for plasma diagnostic measurements is reviewed. A comparison is made between the techniques of plasma flux analysis and partial pressure analysis for mass spectrometry of plasmas. Emphasis is given to the application of quadrupole mass spectrometers (QMS). The interface problems associated with the coupling of a QMS to a plasma device are discussed including: differential-pumping requirements, electromagnetic interferences from the plasma environment, the detection of surface-active species, ion source interactions, and calibration procedures. Example measurements are presented from process monitoring of glow discharge plasmas which are useful for cleaning and conditioning vacuum vessels.

We discuss in this work an attempt to answer experimentally the question: do macroscopic variables obey quantum mechanics. More precisely, this experiment deals with the question of quantum-mechanical tunnelling of a macroscopic variable, a subject related to the famous Schrodinger's cat problem in the theory of measurement.

The density fluctuations required to explain the large-scale cosmological structure may have arisen spontaneously as a result of a phase transition in the early Universe. There are several ways in which such fluctuations may have ben produced, and they could have a variety of spectra, so one should not necessarily expect all features of the large-scale structure to derive from a simple power law spectrum. Some features may even result from astrophysical amplification mechanisms rather than gravitational instability. 128 references.

There exists a considerable amount of interest in exploring the possibility of doing secondary beam physics at SSC. There are at least three obvious ways of obtaining secondary beams at the SSC, namely: (a) extraction of the primary stored beam and its subsequent targeting to generate secondary beams; (b) generation of secondary beams from internal target, either gas jet or thin wire or foil; and (c) utilization of particles produced in the primary collisions in the interaction regions. This note summarizes some calculations performed on the yields generated via the third mechanism. 2 references, 3 figures.

Two absolutely calibrated euv instruments have been used to study the impurity characteristics in the Tandem Mirror Experiment-Upgrade (TMX-U). One instrument is a spectrograph that measures the time histories of several impurity emission lines in a single plasma shot. The other instrument is a monochromator that measures time-resolved radial profiles of a particular impurity emission line. The common intrinsic impurities found in TMX-U are C, N, O, and Ti. It has been shown that a large fraction of oxygen and nitrogen in the plasma is associated with the neutral beams. The plasma wall is the main source of carbon. In general, the concentration of each of the impurities is low (<1%), and the power radiated by them is less than 10 kW, which is a small portion of the total input power to the plasma. The concentrations of th

We report equilibrium charge state distributions of uranium at energies of 962 MeV/nucleon, 437 MeV/nucleon and 200 MeV/nucleon in low Z and high Z targets and the cross sections for U/sup 92 +/ reversible U/sup 91 +/ and U/sup 91 +/ reversible U/sup 90 +/ at 962 MeV/nucleon and 437 MeV/nucleon. Equilibrium thickness Cu targets produce approx. = 5% bare U/sup 92 +/ at 200 MeV/nucleon and 85% U/sup 92 +/ at 962 MeV/nucleon. 7 references, 5 figures.

The purpose of computer-assisted emergency response in nuclear power plants, and the requirements for achieving such a response, are presented. An important requirement is the attainment of realistic high-speed plant simulations at the reactor site. Currently pursued development programs for plant simulations are reviewed. Five modeling principles are established and a criterion is presented for selecting numerical procedures and efficient computer hardware to achieve high-speed simulations. A newly developed technology for high-speed power plant simulation is described and results are presented. It is shown that simulation speeds ten times greater than real-time process-speeds are possible, and that plant instrumentation can be made part of the computational loop in a small, on-site minicomputer. Additional technical issues are presented which must still be resolved before the newly developed technology can be implemented in a nuclear power plant.

A new analytical solution is presented that predicts the rate of dissolution of species from a waste package surrounded by a wet porous medium. By equating the rate of diffusive mass transfer into the porous rock to the rate of liquid-surface chemical reaction, an analytical solution for the time-dependent dissolution rate and the time-dependent concentration of dissolved species at the waste surface is obtained. From these results it is shown that for most of the important species in a package of radioactive waste the surface liquid quickly reaches near-saturation concentrations and the dissolution rate can be predicted by the simpler theory that assumes saturation concentrations in the surface liquid. 26 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.

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Eleven portable air cleaning devices have been evaluated for control of indoor concentrations of respirable particles, and their concomitant effects on radon progeny concentrations have been investigated. The experiments were conducted in a room-size chamber using cigarette smoke and radon injection from an external source. Of the devices examined the electrostatic precipitators and extended surface filters had significant particle removal rates, while the particle removal rates for several small panel-filters, an ion-generator, and a pair of mixing fans were found to be essentially negligible. The evaluation of radon progeny control produced similar results; the air cleaners which were effective in removing particles were also effective in reducing radon progeny concentrations. At the low particle concentrations, deposition of the unattached radon progeny on room surfaces was found to be a significant removal mechanism. Deposition rates of attached and unattached progeny have been estimated from these data, and were used to calculate the equilibrium factors for total and unattached progeny concentrations as a function of particle concentration. While particle removal reduces total airborne radon progeny concentrations, the relative alpha decay dose to the lungs appears to change very little as the particle concentration decreases due to the greater radiological importance of unattached …

Thermoluminescence (TL) kinetics have been investigated for low dose situations applicable to dating, dosimetry, and recent geological deposits. Studied were the general one-trap kinetic equation, which reduces to the well known 1st and 2nd order kinetic equations when various assumptions apply, and the interactive kinetic equations, which describes TL in materials exhibiting more than one glow peak. In materials with one glow peak area varies linearly with dose; however, peak height is not linear with dose unless the TL obeys 1st order kinetics at all doses. In materials with two or more glow peaks neither peak height nor peak area varies linearly with dose, except in special situations. In fact, many peak height vs dose curves will be supralinear with the initial low-slope region occurring at relatively low doses. These considerations indicate: (1) Dating and dosimetry technique based on assumed linear peak height vs dose curves will usually underestimate the accumulated dose. (2) Dating techniques can be improved and/or made more reliable by determining the TL kinetics of the glow peaks measured.

Among the low probability LMFBR accident scenarios addressed by the collaborative US/UK transient testing program is the slow transient overpower ramp resulting from the hypothetical event of a control rod runaway with failure to trip. This has been simulated in US's TREAT facility with three tests on irradiated driver fuel from the UK's Prototype Fast Reactor. Tests C04 and C05 were single pin experiments designed as a pair to study the effect of burnup on the time, location, and mechanisms of cladding failure and initial fuel escape. They were conducted on individual fuel pins of different burnup and power history; the C04 fuel had an axial peak burnup of approx. 4% while C05 fuel had reached a maximum burnup close to 9%. Test L03, reported in detail previously, studied post-failure fuel dispersal in a bundle of seven pins like the C04 fuel.