An important issue for the performance of underground nuclear waste repositories is the rate of seepage into the waste emplacement drifts. A prediction of this rate is particularly complicated for the potential repository site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, because it is located in thick, unsaturated, fractured tuff formations. Underground opening in unsaturated media might act as capillary barriers, diverting water around them. In the present work, they study the potential rate of seepage into drifts as a function of the percolation flux at Yucca Mountain, based on a stochastic model of the fractured rock mass in the drift vicinity. A variety of flow scenarios are considered, assuming present-day and possible future climate conditions. They show that the heterogeneity in the flow domain is a key factor controlling seepage rates, since it causes channelized flow and local ponding in the unsaturated flow field.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to assessing whether the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (Department) has established controls necessary to fulfill its mission and to identify opportunities for improvement in its management controls.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to the determination of adequate controls in six small agencies to meet legislative mandates and deliver intended benefits, and to the identification of weaknesses in controls over human resources, financial management, policy management, management information systems, and licensing/enforcement.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to determining whether state entities complied with the requirements of the Public Funds Investment Act, which requires investing state entities to satisfy requirements regarding investment policies, management controls, quarterly investment reports, ethics and conflict of interest disclosure, training of board members and investment officers, and broker/dealer acknowledgment of investment policies.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to determining the reliability of the Child and Adult Protective System (CAPS) and the reports generated from its data.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to evaluating the management control systems within the Alcoholic Beverage Commission and identifying strengths and opportunities for improvement.

The high desert near Barstow, California, has witnessed the development of this country`s first two solar power towers. Solar One operated successfully from 1982 to 1988 and proved that power towers work efficiently to produce utility-scale power from sunlight. Solar Two was connected to the utility grid in 1996 and is operating today. Like its predecessor, Solar Two is rated at 10 megawatts. An upgrade of the Solar One plant, Solar Two demonstrates how solar energy can be stored in the form of heat in molten salt for power generation on demand. The experience gained with these two pilot power towers has established a foundation on which industry can develop its first commercial plants. These systems produce electricity on a large scale. They are unique among solar technologies because they can store energy efficiently and cost effectively. They can operate whenever the customer needs power, even after dark or during cloudy weather.

This country`s efforts to successfully develop and commercialize concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies depend on specialized research and testing capabilities. To Support this effort, the US Department of Energy`s Concentrating Solar Power Program maintains two major test facilities: the National Solar Thermal Test Facility at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the High Flux Solar Furnace at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. These test facilities combine to be instrumental in the development of parabolic dishes, troughs, and solar power towers.

The report describes the markets for concentrating solar power. As concentrating solar power technologies advance into the early stages of commercialization, their economic potential becomes more sharply defined and increasingly tangible.

This Management Work Plan (MWP) describes the process flow, quality assurance controls, and the Environment, Safety, and Health requirements of the Cesium Legacy Safety Project. This MWP provides an overview of the project goals and methods for repackaging the non-conforming Type W overpacks and packaging the CsCl powder and pellets. This MWP is not intended to apply to other activities associated with the CsCl Legacy Safety Program (i.e., clean out of South Cell).

This document is a compilation of presentation packages and white papers for the Flammable Gas Double Shell Tank Expert Elicitation Workshop {number_sign}2. For each presentation given by the different authors, a separate section was developed. The purpose for issuing these workshop presentation packages and white papers as a supporting document is to provide traceability and a Quality Assurance record for future reference to these packages.

This report summarizes the proposals that have emerged and the issues surrounding them.

This report is on Ban of Use of Polygraph Evidence Does not amount to Abridgment of Military Defendant's Right to Present a Defense.

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H.R. 400 and S. 507 are similar but different omnibus patent reform proposals. Both bills generally transform the Patent and Trademark Office into a government corporation; require publication of patent applications 18 months after filing, subject to certain exceptions that differ in these bills; and extend the patent term for certain delays in patent issuance. S. 507 also contains provisions on patent reexamination reform. This report summarizes and compares the bills and reviews arguments for and against the proposals.

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This report discusses criteria to consider when judging the quality of an internet site and the best strategies for locating information on the World Wide Web. There are two ways to search the Internet. The first is to use subject guides (e.g., Yahoo, Galaxy, or WWW Virtual Library), which are compiled by human indexers. These present an organized hierarchy of categories so a searcher can “drill down” through their links. The second option is to use a search engine (e.g., Alta Vista, Hotbot, or InfoSeek), an automated software robot which indexes Web pages and retrieves information based on relevancy-ranked algorithms. This report describes how search engines index the World Wide Web, as well as various features common to most search engines. In addition, the report suggests searching tips for retrieving the most precise information. Finally, the report discusses Usenet news groups, email discussion lists, gophers, and miscellaneous Web resources.

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This report is the technical basis for the accident and consequence analyses used in the Hanford Tank Farms Basis for Interim Operation. The report also contains the scientific and engineering information and reference material needed to understand the organic solvent safety issue. This report includes comments received from the Chemical Reactions Subcommittee of the Tank Advisory Panel.

Buildings account for more than one third of the energy used in the United States each year, consuming vast amounts of electricity, natural gas, and fuel oil. Given this level of consumption, the buildings sector is rife with opportunity for alternative energy technologies. The US Department of Energy`s Solar Buildings Program was established to take advantage of this opportunity. The Solar Buildings Program is engaged in research, development, and deployment on solar thermal technologies, which use solar energy to produce heat. The Program focuses on technologies that have the potential to produce economically competitive energy for the buildings sector.

Solar dish/engine systems convert the energy from the sun into electricity at a very high efficiency. Using a mirror array formed into the shape of a dish, the solar dish focuses the sun`s rays onto a receiver. The receiver transmits the energy to an engine that generates electric power. Because of the high concentration ratios achievable with parabolic dishes and the small size of the receiver, solar dishes are efficient at collecting solar energy at very high temperatures. Tests of prototype systems and components at locations throughout the US have demonstrated net solar to electric conversion efficiencies as high as 30%. This is significantly higher than any other solar technology.

Hanford`s missions are to safely clean up and manage the site`s legacy wastes, and to develop and deploy science and technology. Through these missions Hanford will contribute to economic diversification of the region. Hanford`s environmental management or cleanup mission is to protect the health and safety of the public, workers, and the environment; control hazardous materials; and utilize the assets (people, infra structure, site) for other missions. Hanford`s science and technology mission is to develop and deploy science and technology in the service of the nation including stewardship of the Hanford Site. Pollution Prevention is a key to the success of these missions by reducing the amount of waste to be managed and identifying/implementing cost effective waste reduction projects. Hanford`s original mission, the production of nuclear materials for the nation`s defense programs, lasted more than 40 years, and like most manufacturing operations, Hanford`s operations generated large quantities of waste and pollution. However, the by-products from Hanford operations pose unique problems like radiation hazards, vast volumes of contaminated water and soil, and many contaminated structures including reactors, chemical plants and evaporation ponds. The cleanup activity is an immense and challenging undertaking, which includes characterization and decommissioning of 149 single shell storage …

Tank Characterization Technical Sampling Basis (this document) is the first step of an in place working process to plan characterization activities in an optimal manner. This document will be used to develop the revision of the Waste Information Requirements Document (WIRD) (Winkelman et al. 1997) and ultimately, to create sampling schedules. The revised WIRD will define all Characterization Project activities over the course of subsequent fiscal years 1999 through 2002. This document establishes priorities for sampling and characterization activities conducted under the Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Tank Waste Characterization Project. The Tank Waste Characterization Project is designed to provide all TWRS programs with information describing the physical, chemical, and radiological properties of the contents of waste storage tanks at the Hanford Site. These tanks contain radioactive waste generated from the production of nuclear weapons materials at the Hanford Site. The waste composition varies from tank to tank because of the large number of chemical processes that were used when producing nuclear weapons materials over the years and because the wastes were mixed during efforts to better use tank storage space. The Tank Waste Characterization Project mission is to provide information and waste sample material necessary for TWRS to define …