An estimate of tanker inventory using radiological attenuation calculations.

We have made the first measurement of defects in an aged sample of {delta} phase, Ga stabilized Pu, using positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy. This measurement validates the procedure necessary to perform measurements on this highly toxic material and obtain data representative of sample conditions. Comparison of the positron annihilation lifetime analysis of the data with calculated values suggests that He filled vacancies or vacancy clusters dominate the defect population. Such defects are the necessary precursor to void growth and swelling. The evolution of defects resulting from the radioactive decay of Pu during its life in the stockpile is one of the unknown quantities affecting our confidence in predictions of the limit on stockpile components. Radiation damage leads to changes in the size and strength of metals studied for reactor and accelerator use and similar effects may be expected in Pu. The evolution of radiation produced vacancies into larger void structures and accompanying macroscopic swelling may occur in Pu at some age. A detailed understanding of the defects in self irradiated Pu is required to predict the time scale of void swelling and related radiation effects. 1 fig.

This report contains the proceedings of the Imaging Sciences Workshop sponsored by C.A.S.LS., the Center for Advanced Signal & Image Sciences. The Center, established primarily to provide a forum where researchers can freely exchange ideas on the signal and image sciences in a comfortable intellectual environment, has grown over the last two years with the opening of a Reference Library (located in Building 272). The Technical Program for the 1996 Workshop include a variety of efforts in the Imaging Sciences including applications in the Microwave Imaging, highlighted by the Micro-Impulse Radar (MIR) system invented at LLNL, as well as other applications in this area. Special sessions organized by various individuals in Speech, Acoustic Ocean Imaging, Radar Ocean Imaging, Ultrasonic Imaging, and Optical Imaging discuss various applica- tions of real world problems. For the more theoretical, sessions on Imaging Algorithms and Computed Tomography were organized as well as for the more pragmatic featuring a session on Imaging Systems.

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DOE`s FY 1996 budget of $18 billion included $1.1 billion for construction projects; ensuring that these projects meet bonafide existing or future DOE needs becomes increasingly important as DOE`s missions evolve and its organization changes. In 1994 and 1995, IG issued several reports expressing concerns about the construction planning process and questioned whether planned construction was necessary to meet mission needs. The reports also pointed out that DOE did not ensure that originally identified needs were still valid several years after a project`s conception. (The problems identified were at single locations.) While DOE management did not agree with all aspects of the audit reports, it canceled or downsized several projects and initiated a number of process improvements to enhance the construction planning process. Purpose of this report is to synthesize issues from these prior reports to assist management in focusing process improvement efforts to avoid construction of unneeded or oversized facilities.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether the State Board of Education may adopt a rule prescribing general content requirements for textbooks used in public schools, and whether the board's authority over textbook adoption extends to anicllary materials provided by publishers to schools at no cost to the state (RQ-903)

The Transportable Vitrification System (TVS) is a large-scale, fully-integrated, transportable, vitrification system for the treatment of low-level nuclear and mixed wastes in the form of sludges, soils, incinerator ash, and similar waste streams. The TVS was built to demonstrate the vitrification of actual mixed waste at U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) sites. Currently, Westinghouse Savannah River Company (WSRC) is working with Lockheed Martin Energy Systems (LMES) to apply field scale vitrification to actual mixed waste at Oak Ridge Reservation`s (ORR) K-25 Site. Prior to the application of the TVS to actual mixed waste it was tested on simulated K-25 B and C Pond waste at Clemson University. This paper describes the results of that testing and preparations for the demonstration on actual mixed waste.

Since the early 1960s, the United States has imposed a range of economic sanctions on Cuba, the most prominent of which is a comprehensive embargo prohibiting trade with Cuba. This Congressional Research Service report first provides an overview of U.S.-Cuba relations and U.S. policy toward Cuba. It then examines the history and current legislative and executive authorities of the various components of U.S. sanctions against Cuba, including aid, trade, and other restrictions.

The authors describe a numerical optimization scheme for fusion reactors. The particular application described is to find the smallest copper coil spherical tokamak, although the numerical scheme is sufficiently general to allow many other problems to be solved. The solution to the steady state energy balance is found by first selecting the fixed variables. The range of all remaining variables is then selected, except for the temperature. Within the specified ranges, the temperature which satisfies the power balance is then found. Tests are applied to determine that remaining constraints are satisfied, and the acceptable results then stored. Results are presented for a range of auxiliary current drive efficiencies and different scaling relationships; for the range of variables chosen the machine encompassing volume increases or remains approximately unchanged as the aspect ratio is reduced.

This report addresses the statutory basis for covert actions, criteria for their use in the post-Cold War world, and procedures for their planning, conducting, and funding.

An electrically regenerated electrosorption process known as carbon aerogel CDI was developed for continuously removing ionic impurities from aqueous streams. A salt solution flows in a channel formed by pairs of parallel carbon aerogel electrodes. Each electrode has a very high BET surface area and very low resistivity. After polarization, anions and cations are removed from electrolyte by the electric field and electrosorbed onto the carbon aerogel. The solution is thus separated into two streams, brine and water. Based on this, carbon aerogel CDI appears to be an energy-efficient alternative to evaporation, electrodialysis, and reverse osmosis. The energy required by this process is about QV/2, plus losses. Estimated energy requirement for sea water desalination is 18-27 Wh gal{sup -1}, depending on cell voltage and flow rate. The requirement for brackish water desalination is less, 1.2-2.5 Wh gal{sup -1} at 1600 ppM. This is assuming that stored electrical energy is reclaimed during regeneration.

Hazardous-materials workers and firefighters wear clothing that protects them from external hazards, but the sealed environment of a protective suit makes its wearer susceptible to heat stress. A prototype of the Telemetric Heat Stress Monitor (THSM) was developed at LANL to warn workers, and personnel monitoring the workers, of incipient heat stress by detecting the workers` elevated temperatures and heart rates. The purpose of this CRADA was to transfer the information and technology from LANL to the industrial partner, and to assist in the further development of a commercial THSM product. The THSM is the first extensive telemetric physiological monitor to be developed; previous monitors used wires between the sensors and the recording and display equipment. Developing a reliable, small, battery-powered, inexpensive telemetry system to share the RF spectrum with today`s proliferating wireless devices was a significant technical accomplishment.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), through the Interagency Agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), has initiated a three-phase program with the Consortium for Coal-Water Mixture Technology, with the aim of decreasing DOD`s reliance on imported oil by increasing its use of coal. The program is being conducted as a cooperative agreement between the Consortium and DOE. Activities this reporting period are summarized by phase. During this reporting period, preparation of the Phase I final report continued. Work on Phase II focused on emissions reductions, coal beneficiation/preparation studies, and economic analyses of coal use. Emissions reductions investigations included initiating a study to identify appropriate SO{sub 2} and NO{sub x} control technologies for coal-fired industrial boilers. In addition, work started on the design of a ceramic filtering device for installation on the demonstration boiler. The ceramic filter device will be used to demonstrate a more compact and efficient filtering device for retrofit applications. Coal preparation and utilization activities, and the economic analysis were completed and work focused on preparing the final report. Work on Phase III focused on coal preparation studies and economic analyses of coal use. Coal preparation studies were focused on continuing activities on particle size control, …

The purpose of this report is to compile all documentation associated with facility preparation of WESF to receive 25 cesium capsules from ARECO. The WESF validated it`s preparedness by completing a facility preparedness review using a performance indicator checklist.

Radclac for Windows is a user friendly menu-driven Windows compatible software program with applications in the transportation of radioactive materials. It calculates the radiolytic generation of hydrogen gas in the matrix of low-level and high-level radioactive wastes. It also calculates pressure buildup due to hydrogen and the decay heat generated in a package at seal time. It computes the quantity of a radionuclide and its associated products for a given period of time. In addition, the code categorizes shipment quantities as reportable quantity (RQ), radioactive Type A or Type B, limited quality (LQ), low specific activity (LSA), highway road controlled quality (HRCQ), and fissile excepted using US Department of Transportation (DOT) definitions and methodologies.

This document supports the development and presentation of the following accident scenario in the TWRS Final Safety Analysis Report: Natural Phenomena - High Wind. The calculations needed to quantify the risk associated with this accident scenario are included within.

This Sampling and Analysis Plan contains requirements for characterizing the 340 vault tank 1. The objective of the sampling and characterization is to determine if the tank is homogeneous when agitated and which sampling method provides the most representative sample. A secondary objective is to collect and characterize solid samples.

Toxicological consequences were calculated for a postulated maximum caustic soda (NaOH) solution spray leak during addition to a waste tank to adjust tank pH. Although onsite risk guidelines were exceeded for the unmitigated release, site boundary consequences were below the level of concern. Means of mitigating the release so as to greatly reduce the onsite consequences were recommended.

The proton linac for APT (Accelerator Production of Tritium) will produce a nominal CW beam power of 130 MW at 1300 MeV. Two designs are currently under consideration. Reference design is composed entirely of normal-conducting (NC) copper accelerating structures, while an advanced-technology design employs superconducting Nb cavities above 217 MeV. Front-end accelerator for both concepts is a 100-mA NC linac. In this paper, the two APT linac designs are described and compared in terms of key factors, including power efficiency, beam loss control, machine availability and flexibility, and construction and operating costs.

A summary is provided of basic parameters used to evaluate criticality safety of high-level tank waste at the Hanford Site.Critical sizes and plutonium concentrations are based on a conservative waste model with reduced neutron absorption and optimized water. Figures were provided of sphere and slab minimum critical dimensions and plutonium critical masses.Minimum subcritical limit absorber/plutonium mass ratios are provided for selected waste components. Component contributions to subcriticality can be combined by adding the individual actual-to-minimum subcritical mass fractions. A discussion is provided of the margin of safety inherent in tank waste.

Some of the glasses being formulated by SRTC researchers contain niobium oxide. In this report, the free energy of hydration of the oxide is calculated from the free energies of formation of the oxide, the hydroxide, and water. This value can be used in calculations of the free energy of hydration of glasses containing niobium.

Lasers generate phase aberrated light that can damage laser glass, frequency conversion crystals, lenses, and mirror coatings and can also reduce extractable energy and power. Spatial pinhole filters can partly eliminate such ``hot spots.`` Problems are that the pinhole closes during the laser pulse and has to be made too large initially. Debris from the pinhole can coat or damage spatial filter lenses. This paper presents a novel design for a more robust pinhole filter. Phase distorted (hot spot) light refracts at grazing incidence by plasma on the wall of a funnel shaped filter resulting in less absorption and debris. Refracted light absorbs at low intensities on the vacuum wall. We present 2D hydrodynamic computer simulations and compare the two types of filters with experiment.