The U.S. government has been funding research into controlled thermonuclear fusion since 1951. Since 1957, when the program was declassified, a public record is available in the form of appropriations and authorization reports presenting congressional decisions about fusion research. This report analyzes that record in order to assess how the program may fare in the future. The program recently underwent a major restructuring at the direction of Congress, and is currently establishing plans about how to proceed toward the goal of developing a practical fusion powerplant. These plans are likely to be the subject of close congressional scrutiny during review of the FY2001 budget request from the Department of Energy

This report discusses funding and policy issues regarding the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is responsible for ensuring the safety of foods, drugs, medical devices, cosmetics, and other products.

Funeral program for Mr. Leo J. Brown, Jr., born October 27, 1927 and died January 27, 2000. The funeral was held Monday, January 31, 2000 at Second Baptist Church, officiated by Rev. Robert L. Jemerson. Funeral arrangements were made through Lewis Funeral Home and he was buried in Sunset Memorial Park in San Antonio, Texas.

Funeral program for Mr. Morris S. Walker, Sr., born July 20, 1920. The funeral was held January 31, 2000 at the Palestine Baptist Church, officiated by Rev. L. A. Crenshaw. Funeral arrangements were made through D. W. Brooks Funeral Home, and he was buried in the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery near San Antonio, Texas.

Photograph of the grave marker of Frances Willis Pierson, located at the Baptist Rest Cemetery in Brundidge, Alabama. It reads: "Frances Willis, wife of T. J. Pierson, born May 1, 1817, died June 22, 1888."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO identified the private sector's key principles for strategically and effectively managing their human capital to provide federal agencies with information and examples to help them improve their human capital management."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information from state and federal agencies on the number of cramming complaints nationwide, focusing on: (1) determining whether they were seeing an increase or decrease in cramming complaints during 1999; (2) learning whether they were taking additional actions to protect consumers from cramming; and (3) obtaining updated information about their enforcement actions against crammers during 1999."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on enrollment in the Department of Defense's (DOD) pilot Medicare health maintenance organization (HMO) for military retirees, focusing on: (1) how successful the demonstration has been in enrolling eligible beneficiaries; (2) what influenced retirees to join DOD's pilot HMOs; and (3) what factors accounted for differences in enrollment rates across demonstration sites."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed how the Department of State has implemented its new responsibilities for U.S. policy regarding U.S. participation in the Universal Postal Union (UPU)."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the federal agencies who regulate workplace safety and health, focusing on the: (1) key federal agencies responsible for promoting workplace safety and health, specifically on those that have regulatory and enforcement authority or otherwise significantly assist in the enforcement process; and (2) federal laws and regulations that serve as the basis of enforcement and the types of worker and industries covered by these regulations."

The option of storage and eventual geologic disposal in Russia of spent fuel of US origin used in Taiwan provides a unique opportunity that can benefit many parties. Taiwan has a near term need for a spent fuel storage and geologic disposal solution, available financial resources, but limited prospect for a timely domestic solution. Russia has significant spent fuel storage and transportation management experience, candidate storage and repository sites, but limited financial resources available for their development. The US has interest in Taiwan energy security, national security and nonproliferation interests in Russian spent fuel storage and disposal and interest in the US origin fuel. While it is understood that such a project includes complex policy and international political issues as well as technical issues, the goal of this paper is to begin the discussion by presenting a technical path forward to establish the feasibility of this concept for Russia.

The overall objective of this research is to evaluate the kinetics of gasification of kraft black liquor under laboratory conditions simulating pressurized, oxygen-blown gasification. The significant independent variables are gasifier temperature, black liquor composition particle size, and particle residence time. The authors will quantify their impact on the concentration of major and trace gas phase species, as well as the composition of condensed phase inorganic products, including specification of the Na- and S-containing compounds and overall carbon conversion.

The migration of {sup 90}Sr in groundwater is a significant environmental concern at former nuclear weapons production sites in the US and abroad. Although retardation of {sup 90}Sr transport relative to mean groundwater velocity is known to occur in contaminated aquifers, Sr{sup 2+} does not sorb as strongly to iron oxides and other mineral phases as do other metal-radionuclides contaminants. Thus, some potential exists for extensive {sup 90}Sr migration from sources of contamination. Chemical or biological processes capable of retarding or immobilizing Sr{sup 2+} in groundwater environments are of interest from the standpoint of understanding controls on subsurface Sr{sup 2+} migration. In addition, it may be possible to exploit such processes for remediation of subsurface Sr contamination. In this study the authors examined the potential for the solid phase sorption and incorporation of Sr{sup 2+} into carbonate minerals formed during microbial Fe(III) oxide reduction as a first step toward evaluating whether this process could be used to promote retardation of {sup 90}Sr migrations in anaerobic subsurface environments. The demonstration of Sr{sup 2+} capture in carbonate mineral phases formed during bacterial HFO reduction and urea hydrolysis suggests that microbial carbonate mineral formation could contribute to Sr{sup 2+} retardation in groundwater environments. …

The author demonstrates that the two unexpected results in the local Universe: anomalous intrinsic (V--I){sub 0} colors of RR Lyrae stars and clump giants in the Galactic center, and very short distances to Magellanic Clouds inferred from clump giants, can be at least partially resolved with a modified coefficient of selective extinction A{sub V}/E(V--I). With this modification, the author found a new clump-giant distance modulus to the Large Magellanic Cloud, {mu}{sub LMC} = 18.27 {+-} 0.07, which is 0.09 larger than the Udalski (1998b) result. When distance estimates from the red clump, RR Lyrae stars and the eclipsing binary HV2274 are combined, one obtains {mu}{sub LMC} = 18.31 {+-} 0.04 (internal).

As the Sandia National Laboratories' Environmental Restoration (ER) project moves toward closure, the project's experiences--including a number of successes in the public participation arena--suggest it is time for a new, more interactive model for future government-citizen involvement. This model would strive to improve the quality of public interaction with the Department of Energy (DOE) and Sandia, by using subject-specific working groups and aiming for long-term trustful relationships with the community. It would make use of interactive techniques, fewer formal public forums, and a variety of polling and communication technologies to improve information gathering and exchange.

None

Laboratory research indicates that wax is amenable to removal by froth flotation provided it is free or detached from the fiber. The only effective means, at this time, of maximizing detachment of wax is through the use of low consistency pulping at temperatures above the melting point of wax. Wax removal from WCC through washing, flotation, or a combination of both was approximately 90% in these laboratory studies, indicating that not all of the wax is detached from fibers. These results were summarized in Annual Report 1, December 1, 1997 to November 30, 1998. Pilot trials were conducted in which the authors simulated a conventional OCC repulping process with and without flotation. Additional aggressive washing and water clarification were also examined during the study. The inclusion of flotation in the OCC stock preparation system significantly improved the removal of wax spots and extractable material from the furnish. Based on this study, the authors predict that a compact flotation system with 2 lb surfactant/ton of fiber would improve the OCC pulp quality with regard to wax spots by 60% and would not negatively affect strength properties. Flotation losses would be in the 2-5% range. Two mill trials were conducted during the …

The objectives are to Provide Key Enabling Materials Technologies to Increase Energy Efficiency and Reduce Exhaust Emissions. The following goals are listed: Goal 1: By 3rd quarter 2002, complete development of materials enabling the maintenance or improvement of fuel efficiency {ge} 45% of class 7-8 truck engines while meeting the EPA/Justice Department ''Consent Decree'' for emissions reduction. Goal 2: By 4th quarter 2004, complete development of enabling materials for light-duty (class 1-2) diesel truck engines with efficiency over 40%, over a wide range of loads and speeds, while meeting EPA Tier 2 emission regulations. Goal 3: By 4th quarter 2006, complete development of materials solutions to enable heavy-duty diesel engine efficiency of 50% while meeting the emission reduction goals identified in the EPA proposed rule for heavy-duty highway engines.''

The Online Measurement of Decontamination project team received a commitment for a demonstration in May from the Sacramento (California) Municipal Utility District (SMUD) Rancho Seco site. Since this site is a member of the DOE Commercial Utilities Consortium, the demonstration will fulfill the DOE and commercial technology demonstration requirements. Discussion on deployment of the Integrated Vertical and Overhead Decontamination (IVOD) System at Rancho Seco was conducted; date for deployment tentatively scheduled for early spring. Based upon fictional requirements from SRS for a shiny monitor in a high-level waste tank, FIU-HCET developed and delivered a draft slurry monitor design and draft test plan. Experiments measuring slurry settling time for SRS slurry simulant at 10 wt% have been completed on FIU-HCET'S flow loop with SRS dip. The completed design package of the test mockup for evaluating Non-Intrusive Location of Buried Items Technologies was sent to Fluor Fernald and the Operating Engineers National Hazmat Program for review. Comments are due at the end of January. Preliminary experiments to determine size distribution of aerosols generated during metal cutting were performed. A 1/4-inch-thick iron plate was cut using a plasma arc torch, and the size distribution of airborne particles was measured using a multistage impactor. …

None

We have been exploring the rate capabilities of nanostructured Li-ion battery electrodes. These nanostructured electrodes are prepared via the template method - a general procedure used to prepare nanomaterials pioneered in the P.I.'s laboratory. The nanostructured electrodes consist of nanofibers or tubules of the electrode material that protrude from a current-collector surface like the bristles of a brush. These nanostructured electrodes show dramatically improved rate capabilities relative to conventional electrode designs.

The annual report begins with an overview of the IEA Hydrogen Agreement, including guiding principles and their strategic plan followed by the Chairman's report providing the year's highlights. Annex reports included are: the final report for Task 11, Integrated Systems; task updates for Task 12, Metal Hydrides and Carbon for Hydrogen Storage, Task 13, Design and Optimization of Integrated Systems, Task 14, Photoelectrolytic Production of Hydrogen, and Task 15, Photobiological Production of Hydrogen; and a feature article by Karsten Wurr titled 'Large-Scale Industrial Uses of Hydrogen: Final Development Report'.

None

This is a summary of the following activities: (1) CO2 membrane material development; (2) use of USC protocol for M and P low cost ceramic substrate; (3) thermal and hydrothermal stability test; (4) alternative carbon membrane development; (5) economic analysis; (6) field test preparation; and (7) presentation.