This document is an engineering study for evaluating alternatives to determine the most cost effective closure plan for the 209E Facility, Critical Mass Laboratory. This laboratory is located in the 200 East Area of the Hanford Site and contains a Critical Assembly Room and a Mix room were criticality experiments were once performed.

This Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) will identify characterization objectives for sample collection, laboratory analytical evaluation, and reporting requirements for tank 241-AP-108 (AP 108). It is written in accordance with the Tank 241-AP-108 Tank Characterization Plan, the Tank Safety Screening Data Quality Objective, the 242-A Evaporator Liquid Effluent Retention Facility Data Quality Objectives, and the Data Quality Objectives for Tank Farms Waste Compatibility Program.

The Waste Receiving and Processing Facility, Module 1 (WRAP 1) Box Non- Destructive Examination (NDE) System is designed to use x-ray technology to safely examine boxes containing radioactive and mixed waste. It is designed to meet the requirements of the Code of Federal Regulations, the Washington Administrative Code, and the American National Standards Institute. This Acceptance Test Procedure (ATP) has been prepared to demonstrate that the WRAP- 1 Box NDE System will function as intended by the Integrated Construction Forces Kaiser Engineers Hanford Company (ICF KH) procurement requisition KEH- 5368. This document is prepared in compliance with Section 13533 and Appendix A of the W-026 Construction Specification. The test results will be issued as an Acceptance Test Report (ATR) after all testing is complete. The test will be performed in WRAP 1.

The Tower Shielding Facility (TSF) is the only reactor facility in the US that was designed and built for radiation-shielding studies in which both the reactor source and shield samples could be raised into the air to allow measurements to be made without interference from ground scattering or other spurious effects. The TSF proved its usefulness as many different programs were successfully completed. It became active in work for the Defense Atomic Support Agency (DASA) Space Nuclear Auxiliary Power, Defense Nuclear Agency, Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor Program, the Gas-Cooled and High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor programs, and the Japanese-American Shielding Program of Experimental Research, just to mention a few of the more extensive ones. The history of the TSF as presented in this report describes the various experiments that were performed using the different reactors. The experiments are categorized as to the programs which they supported and placed in corresponding chapters. The experiments are described in modest detail, along with their purpose when appropriate. Discussion of the results is minimal, but references are given to more extensive topical reports.

This document summarizes the activities which occurred to resolve an Unreviewed Safety Question (USQ) for the 324 Facility [Waste Technology Engineering Laboratory] involving Potential HEPA Filter Breach. The facility ventilation system had the capacity to fail the HEPA filters during accident conditions which would totally plug the filters. The ventilation system fans were modified which lowered fan operating parameters and prevented HEPA filter failures which might occur during accident conditions.

This document is a manual for the use of the FEHM application, a finite-element heat- and mass-transfer computer code that can simulate nonisothermal multiphase multicomponent flow in porous media. The use of this code is applicable to natural-state studies of geothermal systems and groundwater flow. A primary use of the FEHM application will be to assist in the understanding of flow fields and mass transport in the saturated and unsaturated zones below the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. The equations of heat and mass transfer for multiphase flow in porous and permeable media are solved in the FEHM application by using the finite-element method. The permeability and porosity of the medium are allowed to depend on pressure and temperature. The code also has provisions for movable air and water phases and noncoupled tracers; that is, tracer solutions that do not affect the heat- and mass-transfer solutions. The tracers can be passive or reactive. The code can simulate two-dimensional, two-dimensional radial, or three-dimensional geometries. In fact, FEHM is capable of describing flow that is dominated in many areas by fracture and fault flow, including the inherently three-dimensional flow that results from permeation to and from faults and fractures. …

The development of a high current, heavy-ion beam driver for inertial confinement fusion requires a detailed understanding of the behavior of the beam, including effects of the strong self-fields. The necessity of including the self-fields of the beam makes particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation techniques ideal, and for this reason, the multi-dimensional PIC/accelerator code WARP has been developed. WARP has been used extensively to study the creation and propagation of ion beams both in experiments and for the understanding of basic beam physics. An overview of the structure of the code will be presented along with a discussion of features that make the code an effective tool in the understanding of space-charge dominated beam behavior. Much development has been done on WARP increasing its flexibility and generality. Major additions include a generalized field description, an efficient steady-state modelling technique, a transverse slice model with a bending algorithm, further improvement of the parallel processing version, and capabilities for linking to chamber transport codes. With these additions, the capability of modeling a large scale accelerator from end-to-end comes closer to reality.

Depleted uranium dioxide fill inside the waste package creates the potential for significant improvements in package performance based on uranium geochemistry, reduces the potential for criticality in a repository, and consumes DU inventory. As a new concept, significant uncertainties exist: fill properties, impacts on package design, post- closure performance.

This audit was initiated to determine if the US DOE`s acquisition of the Union Valley Sample Preparation Facility (UVSPF) was necessary and cost effective. To accomplish the audit objective, four actions were taken: (1) review of applicable laws and regulations, (2) analysis of procurement files for the lease and interviews of Department and contractor officials, (3) evaluation of facility justifications, and (4) assessment of workload and staffing requirements of Lockheed Martin Energy Systems` Analytical Services Organization. The audit found that Energy Systems did not base the acquisition of the UVSPF on valid mission requirements. This occurred because Energy Systems did not follow Department procedures in planning and developing the lease, and the Department approved the lease without adequate justification. It was recommended that the Manager, Oak Ridge Operations Office: (1) direct Energy Systems to follow Department policies and procedures and base acquisitions of property on valid mission requirements and an analysis of all viable alternatives; (2) direct project managers to follow Department orders and require approvals of construction projects and property leases to include (a) verification that projects are essential to meet mission requirements and (b) analysis of all viable alternatives; and (3) direct Energy Systems to give the required …

Adenylate kinase has been isolated from four related methanogenic members of the Archaea. For each the optimum temperature for enzyme activity was similar to the temperature for optimal microbial growth and was approximately 30 C for Methanococcus voltage, 70 C for Methanococcus thermolithotrophicus, 80 C for Methanococcus igneus and 80--90 C for Methanococcus jannaschii. The enzymes were sensitive to the adenylate kinase inhibitor, Ap{sub 5}A [P{sup 1}, P{sup 5}-di(adenosine-5{prime}) pentaphosphate], a property that was exploited to purify the enzymes by CIBACRON Blue affinity chromatography. The enzymes had an estimated molecular weight (approximately 23--25 kDa) in the range common for adenylate kinases. Each of the enzymes had a region of amino acid sequence close to its N-terminus that was similar to the canonical P-loop sequence reported for all adenylate kinases. However, the methanogen sequences lacked a lysine residue that has previously been found to be invariant in adenylate kinases including an enzyme isolated from the Archeon, Sulfolobus acidocaldarius. If verified as a nucleotide binding domain, the methanogen sequence would represent a novel nucleotide binding motif. There was no correlation between amino acid abundance and the optimal temperature for enzyme activity.

The overall contract objectives are to: (1) demonstrate repeatability of performance and preparation procedure of two high activity, high alpha iron Fischer-Tropsch catalysts synthesized at Texas A&M University, (2) seek potential improvements in the catalyst performance through variations in process condition, pretreatment procedures and/or modification in catalyst synthesis, (3) investigate performance of catalysts in a small scale bubble column slurry reactor, and (4) investigate feasibility of producing catalysts on a large scale in collaboration with a catalyst manufacturer. Work during this period included pretreatment effect research and catalyst characterization.

The technical information in this document is to evaluate waste drums stored in Solid Waste Project Management facilities that contain organic and potentially flammable gases. The document provides an evaluation of the planned venting of potentially flammable gases and the potential risks associated with the task.

We present a study of the short-time scale (< 250 ns) fluid dynamic response of water to a fiber-delivered laser pulse of variable energy and spatial profile. The laser pulse was deposited on a stress confinement time scale. The spatial profile was determined by the fiber core radius r (110 and 500 microns) and the water absorption coefficient {mu}{sub 2} (200 and 50 l/cm). Considering 2D cylindrical symmetry, the combination of fiber radius and absorption coefficient parameters can be characterized as near planar (1{mu}{sub 2} greater than r), symmetric (1/{mu}{sub 2}=r), and side-directed (1/{mu}{sub 2} less than r). The spatial profile study shows how the stress wave various as a function of geometry. For example, relatively small absorption coefficients can result in side-propagating shear and tensile fields.

This paper describes the approach used to resolve the Nuclear Criticality Safety Issue for the Hanford Site high-level waste tanks. Although operational controls have been in place at the Hanford Site throughout its operating life to minimize the amount of fissile material discarded as waste, estimates of the total amount of plutonium that entered the waste tanks range from 500 to 1,000 kg. Nuclear criticality safety concerns were heightened in 1991 based on a review of waste analysis results and a subsequent U.S. Department of Energy 1399 review of the nuclear criticality program. Although the DOE review team concluded that there was no imminent risk of a criticality at the Hanford Site tank farms, the team also stated its concern regarding the lack of definitive knowledge of the fissile material inventory and distribution within the waste tanks and the lack of sufficient management support for the overall criticality safety program. An in-depth technical review of the nuclear criticality safety of the waste tanks was conducted to develop a defensible technical basis to ensure that waste tanks are subcritical. The review covered all relevant aspects of nuclear criticality safety including neutronics and chemical and physical phenomena of the waste form under …

This Acceptance Test Report for the PUREX Surveillance and Monitoring and Control System (SAMCONS) Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) Acceptance Test Procedure validates the operation of the UPS, all alarming and display functions and the ability of the UPS to supply power to the SAMCONS as designed. The proper installation of the PUREX SAMCONS Trailer UPS components and wiring will be systematically evaluated by performance of this procedure. Proper operation of the SAMCONS computer UPS will be verified by performance of a timed functional load test, and verification of associated alarms and trouble indications. This test procedure will be performed in the SAMCONS Trailer and will include verification of receipt of alarms at the SAMCONS computer stations. This test may be performed at any time after the completion of HNF-SD-CP-ATP-083, PUREX Surveillance and Monitoring and Control System (SAMCONS) Acceptance Test Procedure, when computer display and alarm functions have been proven to operate correctly.

In May 1994, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) issued DNFSB Recommendation 94-1 (Conway 1994), which identified concerns related to US Department of Energy (DOE) management of legacy fissile materials remaining from past defense production activities. The DNFSB expressed concern about the existing storage conditions for these materials and the slow pace at which the conditions were being remediated. The DNFSB also expressed its belief that additional delays in stabilizing these fissile materials would be accompanied by further deterioration of safety and unnecessary increased risks to workers and the public. In February 1995, DOE issued the DNFSB Recommendation 94-1 Implementation Plan (O`Leary 1995) to address the concerns identified in DNFSB Recommendation 94-1. The Implementation Plan (IP) identifies several DOE commitments to achieve safe interim storage for the legacy fissile materials, and constitutes DOE`s baseline DNFSB Recommendation 94-1 Integrated Program Plan (IPP). The IPP describes the actions DOE plans to implement within the DOE complex to convert its excess fissile materials to forms or conditions suitable for safe interim storage. The IPP was subsequently supplemented with an Integrated Facilities Plan and a Research and Development Plan, which further develop complex-wide research and development and long-range facility requirements and plans. The …

This document describes the Bill of Materials (BOM) for the Federal Emergency Management Information System (FEMIS) for version 1.3. FEMIS runs on a client/server platform consisting of a UNIX system, employed as a data server, and personal computers (PCs) using the Windows NT operating system. Servers and PCs require the operating system, utility software, communications and other internal cards that are also listed in the following sections. FEMIS will support the use of Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software applications and tools. Several configurations are possible at a Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) site. In this description, a site is understood to be compromised of several installations, including the depot, surrounding Immediate Response Zone (IRZ) and Protective Action Zone (PAZ) counties, and one or more state Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs). In general, the main differences between possible configurations are the number of users at an installation, the location of the UNIX data server(s), and wide area network (WAN) link between installations. The number of PC workstations will vary between installations.

The objective if this program is to explore the potential application of a multistage column equipped with concentric draft- tubes (multistage column) for fine coal cleaning. The aim is to identify design parameters of the separation process. In the last quarter we conducted the gas holdup measurement which is an essential part of the hydrodynamic experiments for establishing a process model for engineering design and scale-up.

Over the past 2 years, we have been studying the use of Hot Electron Tunneling sensors for use in high-energy-resolution x-ray and gamma-ray spectrometers. These sensors promise several advantages over existing cryogenic sensors, including simultaneous high count rate and high resolution capability, and relative ease of use. Using simple shadow mask lithography, we verified the basic principles of operation of these devices and discovered new physics in their thermal behavior as a function applied voltage bias. We also began to develop ways to use this new sensor in practical x-ray and gamma-ray detectors based on superconducting absorbers. This requires the use of quasiparticle trapping to concentrate the signal in the sensing elements.

This document sets forth the specification of the BABAR superconducting solenoid and power supply which is being supplied to the BABAR collaboration by INSTITUTO NAZIONALE DI FISICA NUCLEARE (INFN). The solenoid will be installed in the BABAR detector which will be located at Interaction Region 2 (IR2) of the PEP II machine, a positron electron collider, presently under construction at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) located in Menlo Park, California. The solenoid will become part of the BABAR detector which will be used in SLAC`s high energy physics program. Intense beams of electrons and positrons are made to collide inside the solenoid magnet. High field uniformity quality, precise mechanical alignment and long term stability are essential characteristics of the solenoid. INFN will set up a committee that will provide contractual and technical oversight throughout the design, fabrication and installation phases of the BABAR solenoid construction. That committee will be the final authority to resolve any differences between these specifications and the INFN supplied drawings, in addition to any differences between these specifications or the INFN supplied drawings and the proposals from the vendor. All submissions for approval to INFN whether for design changes, material approval, design submissions or others …

A research program at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) which deals with the development and application of processes for the treatment of geothermal brines and sludges has led to the identification and design of cost-efficient and environmentally friendly treatment methodology. Initially the primary goal of the processing was to convert geothermal wastes into disposable materials whose chemical composition would satisfy environmental regulations. An expansion of the r and D effort identified a combination of biochemical and chemical processes which became the basis for the development of a technology for the treatment of geothermal brines and sludges. The new technology satisfies environmental regulatory requirements and concurrently converts the geothermal brines and sludges into commercially promising products. Because the chemical composition of geothermal wastes depends on the type of the resource, the emerging technology has to be flexible so that it can be readily modified to suit the needs of a particular type of resource. Recent conceptional designs for the processing of hypersaline and low salinity brines and sludges will be discussed.

Silicon carbide is being evaluated as an armor material because of its lightweight, high-hardness, and excellent armor efficiency. However, one of the problems associated with silicon carbide is the high cost associated with achieving fully dense tiles. Full density requires either hot pressing and sintering or reaction bonding. Past efforts have shown that hot pressed tiles have a higher armor efficiency than those produced by reaction bonded sintering. An earlier stuy showed that the acoustic properties of fully-dense silicon carbide tiles were enhanced through the use of post-sintered microwave heat treatments. One of the least expensive forming techniques is to isostatically press-and-sinter. In this study, the authors have used microwave energy to densify silicon carbide green bodies. Microwave sintering has been demonstrated to be a very quick way to sinter ceramics such as alumina to exceptionally high densities. Previous work has shown that microwave post treatment of fully-dense reaction bonded silicon carbide tiles significantly improves the acoustic properties of the tiles. These properties include Poisson`s ratio, Young`s modulus, shear modulus, and bulk modulus.

As part of its initiative to fulfill its responsibilities to provide support for the incorporated County of Los Alamos (the County) as an Atomic Energy Community, while simultaneously fulfilling its obligations to enhance the self-sufficiency of the County under authority of the Atomic Energy Community Act of 1955 and the Defense Authorization Act, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposes to lease undeveloped land in Los Alamos, New Mexico, to the County for private sector use as a research park. The Proposed Action is intended to accelerate economic development activities within the County by creating regional employment opportunities through offering federal land for private sector lease and use. As a result of the proposed land lease, any government expenditures for providing infrastructure to the property would be somewhat supplemented by tenant purchase of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) expertise in research and development activities. The presence of a research park within LANL boundaries is expected to allow private sector tenants of the park to be able to quickly and efficiently call upon LANL scientific expertise and facility and equipment capabilities as part of their own research operations and LANL research personnel, in turn, would be challenged in areas complementary to …

This report is an evaluation of solubility data for U, Np, Pu, Am, Tc, Ni and Zr compounds at ambient and elevated temperatures. We review the status of such data in light of the most recently reported experimental results. The focus is on the solid phases that may control solubilities under expected conditions in and near a potential nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Solubility data or reliable predictions over the temperature range 20 to 150{degrees}C will be used in geochemical modeling studies of the Yucca Mountain Project [96PAL].