Nationwide, more than 370,000 leaks from underground storage tanks (USTs) have been detected, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) projects that many more could be confirmed as older tanks are upgraded, replaced, or closed to meet regulations that went into effect on December 22, 1998.

Currently, congressional appropriations decisions for an agency or program are based generally on the following three factors: the amount of funding provided previously, the President's request, and the policy preferences of Congress. The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA, or the Results Act)(1) is intended to add a significant new factor--the performance of agencies in achieving their program goals.

Weekly student newspaper from McMurry University in Abilene, Texas that includes local, state and campus news along with advertising.

Weekly student newspaper from Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas that includes campus and local news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from The Colony, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) efforts to reduce the size and cost of its headquarters activities, focusing on DOD's: (1) efforts to reduce headquarters positions and associated costs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and Washington Headquarters Services, as required by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997; (2) efforts to reduce headquarters positions across DOD as required by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998; and (3) reporting of personnel on temporary assignment to OSD from other DOD components."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on Department of Defense (DOD) efforts to improve joint operations, focusing on: (1) the U.S. Atlantic Command's (USACOM) actions to establish itself as the joint force trainer, provider, and integrator of most continental U.S.-based forces; (2) views on the value of the Command's contributions to joint military capabilities; and (3) recent expansion of the Command's responsibilities and its possible effects on the command."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed reports of erroneous Department of Education payments to schools participating in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP) during the conversion to a new computerized payment system, focusing on: (1) the transition from the old payment system to the new payment system; and (2) whether the Department erroneously disbursed $400 million to schools participating in the direct loan program during the conversion."

Semiweekly newspaper from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas that includes local, national, and campus news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Wylie, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with advertising.

In listing web sites that are of special interest to the Affordable Comfort community, we will try to categorize sites in six major areas: Green Building Product Directories, Software Tools on the Web, Good Places for Learning, Health and Indoor Environment Information, Important Discussion Groups and E-mail Lists, and Sites of Sites. Since we can not help but leave out a great deal, we invite the reader to contact us for lists of sites that we could not include.

This paper focuses on two main areas: understanding sensor response times so as to obtain improved time response in the field when needed for vapor tracking and classification, and improved theoretical understanding of the sensor response properties that generate the pattern on the array in response to a given analyte.

The sonic reaction zone length may be measured by four methods: (1) size effect, (2) detonation front curvature, (3) crystal interface velocity and (4) in-situ gauges. The amount of data decreases exponentially from (1) to (4) with there being almost no gauge data for prompt detonation at steady state. The ease and clarity of obtaining the reaction zone length increases from (1) to (4). The method of getting the reaction zone length, <x{sub e}>, is described for the four methods. A measure of non-ideality is proposed: the reaction zone length divided by the cylinder radius. N = <x{sub e}>/R{sub o}. N = 0 for true ideality. It also decreases with increasing radius as it should. For N < 0.10, an equilibrium EOS like the JWL may be used. For N > 0.10, a time-dependent description is essential. The crystal experiment, which measures the particle velocity of an explosive-transparent material interface, is presently rising in importance. We examine the data from three experiments and apply: (1) an impedance correction that transfers the explosive C-J particle velocity to the corresponding value for the interface, and (2) multiplies the interface time by 3/4 to simulate the explosive speed of sound. The result is …

Current criticality safety calculations for the transportation of irradiated LWR fuel make the very conservative assumption that the fuel is fresh. This results in a very substantial overprediction of the actual k{sub eff} of the transportation casks; in certain cases, this decreases the amount of spent fuel which can be loaded in a cask, and increases the cost of transporting the spent fuel to the repository. Accounting for the change of reactivity due to fuel depletion is usually referred to as ''burnup credit.'' The US DOE is currently funding a program aimed at establishing an actinide only burnup credit methodology (in this case, the calculated reactivity takes into account the buildup or depletion of a limited number of actinides). This work is undergoing NRC review. While this methodology is being validated on a significant experimental basis, it implicitly relies on additional margins: in particular, the absorption of neutrons by certain actinides and by all fission products is not taken into account. This provides an important additional margin and helps guarantee that the methodology is conservative provided these neglected absorption are known with reasonable accuracy. This report establishes the accuracy of fission product absorption rate calculations: (1) the analysis of European …

The mechanisms of proton radioactivity from deformed rare earth nuclei are discussed and preliminary results on the fine structure decay of {sup 131}Eu are presented.

Several ultrasonic inspection methods were developed at the Federal Aviation Administration's Airworthiness Assurance NDI Validation Center (AANC) to easily and rapidly detect hidden stress corrosion cracks in all vertical windshield posts on the US Coast Guard (USCG) HU-25 Guardian aircraft. The inspection procedure locates cracks as small as 2.0 millimeters emanating from internal fastener holes and determines their length. A test procedure was developed and a baseline assessment of the USCG fleet was conducted. Inspection results on twenty-five aircraft revealed a good correlation with results made during subsequent structural disassembly and visual inspection.

Today's insurance industry strongly emphasizes developing cost-effective hazard mitigation programs, increasing and retaining commercial and residential customers through better service, educating customers on their exposure and vulnerabilities to natural disasters, collaborating with government agencies and emergency management organizations, and exploring the use of new technologies to reduce the financial impact of disasters. In June of 1998, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the National Association of Independent Insurers (NAII) sponsored a seminar titled, ''Solar Technology and the Insurance Industry.'' Presentations were made by insurance company representatives, insurance trade groups, government and state emergency management organizations, and technology specialists. The meeting was attended by insurers, brokers, emergency managers, and consultants from more than 25 US companies. Leading insurers from the personal line and commercial carriers were shown how solar technology can be used in underwriting, claims, catastrophe response, loss control, and risk management. Attendees requested a follow-up report on solar technology, cost, and applications in disasters, including suggestions on how to collaborate with the utility industry and how to develop educational programs for business and consumers. This report will address these issues, with an emphasis on pre-disaster planning and mitigation alternatives. It will also discuss how energy efficiency and renewable …

As III-V nitride device structures become more complicated and design rules shrink, well-controlled etch processes are necessary. Due to limited wet chemical etch results for the group-III nitrides, a significant amount of effort has been devoted to the development of dry etch processing. Dry etch development was initially focused on mesa structures where high etch rates, anisotropic profiles, smooth sidewalls, and equi-rate etching of dissimilar materials were required. For example, commercially available LEDs and laser facets for GaN-based laser diodes have been patterned using reactive ion etching (RIE). With the recent interest in high power, high temperature electronic devices, etch characteristics may also require smooth surface morphology, low plasma-induced damage, and selective etching of one layer over another. The principal criteria for any plasma etch process is its utility in the fabrication of a device. In this study, we will report plasma etch results for the group-III nitrides and their application to device structures.

Uranium-233 (with concomitant {sup 232}U) is a man-made fissile isotope of uranium with unique nuclear characteristics which require high-integrity alpha containment biological shielding, and remote handling. The special handling considerations and the fact that much of the {sup 233}U processing and large-scale handling was performed over a decade ago underscore the importance of identifying the people within the DOE complex who are currently working with or have worked with {sup 233}U. The availability of these key personnel is important in ensuring safe interim storage, management and ultimate disposition of {sup 233}U at DOE facilities. Significant programs are ongoing at several DOE sites with actinides. The properties of these actinide materials require many of the same types of facilities and handling expertise as does {sup 233}U.

The results of these studies clearly demonstrate that both pH and organic matter have a significant influence on europium and uranium mobility in SRS shallow waste burial environments.

Chelex100, a commercially available ion exchange resin, has been identified in this study as having a significant affinity for copper and zinc in the A-01 outfall water. Removal of copper and zinc from A-01 outfall water will ensure that the outfall meets the state of South Carolina's limit on these heavy metals.

Scoping tests have been completed examining the effects of Gilsulate, sodium aluminum silicate, and some organic materials on the operation of tank level conductivity probes. This report documents the results of scoping studies completed to examine the effect of those materials on conductivity probes.

Recently a meeting was held to discuss technical support for developing a conceptual design and estimate for installing and operating an in-line ion exchange system to treat seven Technical Area Sumps with elevated levels (high ppb - low ppm) of copper and potentially zinc (copper level is above the outfall limits). These sump waters are currently routed to the A01 outfall, which is permitted by the State of South Carolina. a study of potential treatment options and followup laboratory work done in the summer of 1997 by Larry Oji and John Hage identified two commercially available ion exchange resins, Duolit GT-73 and Chelex 100, for treating waters at these metals concentrations.

Excessive bed expansion and material expulsion have occurred during experiments with the 3-inch diameter Cylindrical Induction Melter (CIM). Both events were attributed in part to the high power density in the bottom of the melter and the correspondingly high temperatures there. It is believed that the high temperatures resulted in the generation of gasses at the bottom of the bed which could not escape. The gasses released during heating and the response of the bed to gas evolution depend upon the composition of the bed.