The Database of Environmental Parameters, Organizations, and Tools (DEPOT) has been developed by the Department of Energy (DOE) as a central warehouse for access to data essential for environmental risk assessment analyses. Initial efforts have concentrated on groundwater and vadose zone transport data and bioaccumulation factors. DEPOT seeks to provide a source of referenced data that, wherever possible, includes the level of uncertainty associated with these parameters. Based on the amount of data available for a particular parameter, uncertainty is expressed as a standard deviation or a distribution function. DEPOT also provides DOE site-specific performance assessment data, pathway-specific transport data, and links to environmental regulations, disposal site waste acceptance criteria, other environmental parameter databases, and environmental risk assessment models.

The purpose of this report is to document the Geologic Framework Model (GFM), Version 3.1 (GFM3.1) with regard to data input, modeling methods, assumptions, uncertainties, limitations, and validation of the model results, qualification status of the model, and the differences between Version 3.1 and previous versions. The GFM represents a three-dimensional interpretation of the stratigraphy and structural features of the location of the potential Yucca Mountain radioactive waste repository. The GFM encompasses an area of 65 square miles (170 square kilometers) and a volume of 185 cubic miles (771 cubic kilometers). The boundaries of the GFM were chosen to encompass the most widely distributed set of exploratory boreholes (the Water Table or WT series) and to provide a geologic framework over the area of interest for hydrologic flow and radionuclide transport modeling through the unsaturated zone (UZ). The depth of the model is constrained by the inferred depth of the Tertiary-Paleozoic unconformity. The GFM was constructed from geologic map and borehole data. Additional information from measured stratigraphy sections, gravity profiles, and seismic profiles was also considered. This interim change notice (ICN) was prepared in accordance with the Technical Work Plan for the Integrated Site Model Process Model Report Revision 01 …

Room temperature impedance measurements of the LiMn2O4/LiPF6-EC-DMC interface have been used to identify a previously unreported step in the formation of the SEI layer on this cathode. The low frequency impedance and potential of pure dense LiMn2O4 films was found to depend logarithmically on time in the end-of-discharge (EOD) state. The rate of the impedance rise decreased with Mn3+ content. The increased impedance was removed by oxidation of the film to 4.5 V vs. Li/Li+. The observations are consistent with a reversible disproportionation of part of the LiMn2O4 into Li2Mn2O4 and l-Mn2O4. Analyses of cyclic voltammograms and impedance spectra at intervals during constant current cycling of the LiMn2O4 films suggest that Li2Mn2O4 on the surface also plays a major role in the capacity fade.

A new way of providing calibration services is evolving which employs the Internet to expand present capabilities and make the calibration process more interactive. Sandia National Laboratories and the National Institute of Standards and Technology are collaborating to set up and demonstrate a remote calibration of multijunction calibrators using this Internet-based technique that is becoming known as e-calibration. This paper describes the measurement philosophy and the Internet resources that can provide real-time audio/video/data exchange, consultation and training, as well as web-accessible test procedures, software and calibration reports. The communication system utilizes commercial hardware and software that should be easy to integrate into most calibration laboratories.

A proposed facility is being designed for the immobilization of Hanford underground storage tank radioactive waste. The waste is pretreated to split it into Low Activity Waste (LAW) and High Level Waste (HLW) streams for separate vitrification. One unit process in the facility is designed to remove radioactive technetium by ion-exchange from a highly alkaline aqueous phase.

A semi-analytical solution is developed for one-dimensional steady infiltration in unsaturated fractured rock. The differential form of the mass conservation equation is integrated to yield an analytical expression relating elevation to a function of capillary pressure and relative permeability of the fracture and rock matrix. Constitutive relationships for unsaturated flow in this analysis are taken from van Genuchten [1980] and Mualem [1976], but alternative relations can also be implemented in the integral solution. Expressions are presented for the liquid saturations and pore velocities in the fracture, matrix, and effective continuum materials as a function of capillary pressure and elevation. Results of the analytical solution are applied to examples of infiltration in fractured rock consisting of both homogeneous and composite (layered) domains. The analytical results are also compared to numerical simulations to demonstrate the use of the analytical solution as a benchmarking tool to address computational issues such as grid refinement.

A pilot scale facility was designed and built in the Thermal Fluids Laboratory at the Savannah River Technology Center to test ion exchange resins for removing technetium and cesium from simulated Hanford Low Activity Waste (LAW). The facility supports the design of the Hanford River Protection Project for BNFL, Inc. The pilot scale system mimics the full-length of the columns and the operational scenario of the planned ion exchange system. Purposes of the testing include confirmation of the design, evaluation of methods for process optimization and developing methods for waste volume minimization. This report documents the performance of the technetium removal resin.

Palmierite (K{sub 2}Pb(SO{sub 4}){sub 2}) has been prepared via a chemical synthesis method. Intensity differences were observed when X-ray powder data from the newly synthesized compound were compared to the published powder diffraction card (PDF) 29-1015 for Palmierite. Investigation of these differences indicated the possibility of preferred orientation and/or chemical inhomogeneity affecting intensities, particularly those of the basal (00{ell}) reflections. Annealing of the Palmierite was found to reduce the effects of preferred orientation. Electron microprobe analysis confirmed K:Pb:S as 2:1:2 for the annealed Palmierite powder. Subsequent least-squares refinement and Rietveld analysis of the annealed powder showed peak intensities very close to that of a calculated Palmierite pattern (based on single crystal data), yet substantially higher than many of the PDF 29-1015 published intensities. Further investigation of peak intensity variation via calculated patterns suggested that the intensity discrepancies between the annealed sample and those found in PDF 29-1015 were potentially due to chemical variation in the K{sub 2}Pb(SO{sub 4}){sub 2} composition. X-ray powder diffraction and crystal data for Palmierite are reported for the annealed sample. Palmierite is Trigonal/Hexagonal with unit cell parameters a = 5.497(1){angstrom}, c = 20.864(2) {angstrom}, space group R-3m (166), and Z = 3.

The BAGPIPE sub-critical experiment was executed on September 26, 1998, at about 13:07 hours. A steel and fibercrete containment barrier had been built at the entrance to the U1a.101b drift at the Nevada Test Site to form the BAGPIPE zero-room. The invert of the zero-room was covered with concrete and the ribs and back were covered with about 15 cm of fibercrete. The face was left uncovered to facilitate gas bleed-off into the alluvial formation. The volume of the room was approximately 3894 ft{sup 3}. Four small experimental packages were detonated. The LLNL containment goal for the BAGPIPE experiment was to confine all special nuclear material (SNM) to the zero-room and the alluvium surrounding the zero-room. The experiment and containment objectives are discussed more fully in the BAGPIPE Containment Prospectus and the associated addendum. Alpha-particle radiation detectors outside the BAGPIPE zero-room remained at pre-shot background levels after the experiment. A large number of swipes were taken around the BAGPIPE primary containment barrier and in the diagnostics room. No evidence that any SNM was released into the tunnel complex was found and the BAGPIPE containment was considered successful.

This issue of Buildings for the 21st Century, a quarterly newsletter on the DOE building programs and technology, highlights the new high-performance visitor center at Zion National Park, Maryland's new Clean Energy Incentive Act, the Ohio State Weatherization Program, the Rebuild America Program and Native American communities joining forces, and Energy Star{reg_sign} clothes washers.

This as-built verification plan outlines the methodology and responsibilities that will be implemented during the as-built field verification activity for the Canister Storage Building (CSB) MCO HANDLING MACHINE (MHM). This as-built verification plan covers THE ELECTRICAL PORTION of the CONSTRUCTION PERFORMED BY POWER CITY UNDER CONTRACT TO MOWAT. The as-built verifications will be performed in accordance Administrative Procedure AP 6-012-00, Spent Nuclear Fuel Project As-Built Verification Plan Development Process, revision I. The results of the verification walkdown will be documented in a verification walkdown completion package, approved by the Design Authority (DA), and maintained in the CSB project files.

The pace of extraordinary advances in molecular biology has accelerated in the past decade due in large part to discoveries coming from genome projects on human and model organisms. The advances in the genome project so far, happening well ahead of schedule and under budget, have exceeded any dreams by its protagonists, let alone formal expectations. Biologists expect the next phase of the genome project to be even more startling in terms of dramatic breakthroughs in our understanding of human biology, the biology of health and of disease. Only today can biologists begin to envision the necessary experimental, computational and theoretical steps necessary to exploit genome sequence information for its medical impact, its contribution to biotechnology and economic competitiveness, and its ultimate contribution to environmental quality. High performance computing has become one of the critical enabling technologies, which will help to translate this vision of future advances in biology into reality. Biologists are increasingly becoming aware of the potential of high performance computing. The goal of this tutorial is to introduce the exciting new developments in computational biology and genomics to the high performance computing community.

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A numerical ground-water flow model is being constructed for the Death Valley regional ground-water system, an area that encompasses approximately 80,000 km{sup 2} in southern Nevada and southeastern California. Effective construction and calibration of the regional-scale steady-state flow model, developed using MODFLOW-2000, is dependent upon integration of hydrogeologic data and parameter-estimation techniques. A three-dimensional hydrogeologic-framework model of the region was initially constructed to provide a conceptual model of the geometry, composition, and hydraulic properties of the materials that control the regional ground-water flow system. This framework was resampled at the scale of the flow model to define the hydrogeologic units present in each of the 15 flow-model layers. In addition, there are non-traditional types of geologic data in the hydrogeologic-framework model that are used during flow-model calibration. For each hydrogeologic unit, the spatial distribution of geologic features important to the hydrologic system is defined. The volumetric cells can be populated by various hydrogeologic data such as the hydrogeologic unit, lithology, hydraulic conductivity, faulting, tectonic features, stratigraphic or lithologic facies, porosity, and derivative data calculated from these attributes. The approach for using this arsenal of geologic data is dependent on utilizing parameter-estimation techniques available within MODFLOW-2000. The principle of parsimony is …

Yucca Mountain comprises a series of north-trending ridges composed of tuffs within the southwest Nevada volcanic field, 120 km northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada. These ridges are formed of east-dipping blocks of interbedded welded and nonwelded tuff that are offset along steep, mostly west-dipping faults that have tens to hundreds of meters of vertical separation. Yucca Mountain is currently under study as a potential site for underground storage of high-level radioactive waste, with the principle goal being the safe isolation of the waste from the accessible environment. To this end, an understanding of the behavior of ground-water flow through the mountain in the unsaturated zone and beneath the mountain in the saturated zone is critical. The percolation of water through the mountain and into the ground-water flow system beneath the potential repository site is predicated on: (1) the amount of water available at the surface as a result of the climatic conditions, (2) the hydrogeologic characteristics of the volcanic strata that compose the mountain. and (3) the hydrogeologic characteristics of the structures, particularly fault zones and fracture networks, that disrupt these strata. This paper addresses the hydrogeologic characteristics of the fault zones at Yucca Mountain, focusing primarily on the central …

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This packaging design criteria provides the criteria for the design, fabrication, safety evaluation, and use of the steel waste package (SWP) to transport remote-handled waste and special-case waste from the 324 facility to Central Waste Complex (CWC) for interim storage.

We report on the raw disk i/o performance of a set of Compaq StorageWorks RAID arrays connected to our cluster of Compaq ES40 computers via Fibre Channel. The best cumulative peak sustained data rate is l17MB/s per node for reads and 77MB/s per node for writes. This value occurs for a configuration in which a node has two Fibre Channel interfaces to a switch, which in turn has two connections to each of two Compaq StorageWorks RAID arrays. Each RAID array has two HSG80 RAID controllers controlling (together) two 5+p RAID chains. A 10% more space efficient arrangement using a single 1l+p RAID chain in place of the two 5+P chains is 25% slower for reads and 40% slower for writes.

There is provided an apparatus and method for assisting speech recovery in people with inability to speak due to aphasia, apraxia or another condition with similar effect. A hollow, rigid, thin-walled tube with semi-circular or semi-elliptical cut out shapes at each open end is positioned such that one end mates with the throat/voice box area of the neck of the assistor and the other end mates with the throat/voice box area of the assisted. The speaking person (assistor) makes sounds that produce standing wave vibrations at the same frequency in the vocal cords of the assisted person. Driving the assisted person's vocal cords with the assisted person being able to hear the correct tone enables the assisted person to speak by simply amplifying the vibration of membranes in their throat.

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The talks presented and the work performed on electron beam-driven accelerators in plasmas and structures are summarized. Highlights of the working group include new experimental results from the E-157 Plasma Wakefield Experiment, the E-150 Plasma Lens Experiment and the Argonne Dielectric Structure Wakefield experiments. The presentations inspired discussion and analysis of three working topics: electron hose instability, ion channel lasers and the plasma afterburner.