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A method for managing safety in a research and development environment is described which involves both the subject matter experts and the researchers in development of safety policy and implementation planning. This method has been used effectively at LLNL to maximize safety benefits while minimizing the costs of the safety program and aggravation to the researcher. A product of this effort is the establishment of an effective safety culture as the line organizations work with the subject matter experts to develop and implement the safety program.

The Hanford Site Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) Project was formed to manage the SNF at Hanford. Specifically, the mission of the SNF Project on the Hanford Site is to ``provide safe, economic, environmentally sound management of Hanford SNF in a manner which stages it for final disposition.`` The current mission of the Fuel Fabrication Facilities Transition Project (FFFTP) is to transition the 308 Building for turn over to the Environmental Restoration Contractor for decontamination and decommissioning.

Earlier research was on finite confinement for the soliton, proton- transfer doping of polyacetylene, electron hopping, Peierls distortion in discrete polyenes (cyanines), conductive heteropolymers, and synthesis and covalent attachment of polymerizable trimers to insulating, conductive, and semiconductive surfaces. The past year`s research was on synthesis of binuclear complexes with soliton-like communication between the two metal centers, and soluble polyheterocycles with remarkable conjugation lengths. These materials show electroluminescence as well.

A relatively new advanced composite matrix, polycyanate ester, was evaluated for cure shrinkage. The chemical cure shrinkage of composites is difficult to model but a number of clever experimental techniques are available to the investigator. In this work the method of curing a prepreg layup on top of a previously cured laminate of identical ply composition is utilized. The polymeric matrices used in advanced composites have been primarily epoxies and therefore a common system of this type, Fiberite 3501-6, was used as a base case material. Three polycyanate matrix systems were selected for the study. These are: Fiberite 954-2A, YLA RS-3, and Bryte Technology BTCy-1. The first three of these systems were unidirectional prepreg with carbon fiber reinforcement. The Bryte Technology material was reinforced with E-glass fabric. The technique used to evaluate cure shrinkage results in distortion of the flatness of an otherwise symmetric laminate. The first laminate is cured in a conventional fashion. An identical layup is cured on this first laminate. During the second cure all constituents are exposed to the same thermal cycles. However, only the new portion of the laminate will experience volumetric changes associate with matrix cure. The additional strain of cure shrinkage results in …