Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has developed a new laser-based machining technology that utilizes ultrashort-pulse (0.1-1.0 picosecond) lasers to cut materials with negligible generation of heat or shock. The ultrashort pulse laser, developed for the Department of Energy (Defense Programs) has numerous applications in operations requiring high precision machining. Due to the extremely short duration of the laser pulse, material removal occurs by a different physical mechanism than in conventional machining. As a result, any material (e.g., hardened steel, ceramics, diamond, silicon, etc.) can be machined with minimal heat-affected zone or damage to the remaining material. As a result of the threshold nature of the process, shaped holes, cuts, and textures can be achieved with simple beam shaping. Conventional laser tools used for cutting or high-precision machining (e.g., sculpting, drilling) use long laser pulses (10{sup -8} to over 1 sec) to remove material by heating it to the melting or boiling point (Figure 1.1a). This often results in significant damage to the remaining material and produces considerable slag (Figure 1.2a). With ultrashort laser pulses, material is removed by ionizing the material (Figure 1.1b). The ionized plasma expands away from the surface too quickly for significant energy transfer to the remaining …

The authors examine the transient residual thermal signal resulting from an underground nuclear test (buried below the water table) and its potential to affect local groundwater flow and radionuclide migration in a saturated, fractured, volcanic aquifer system. Thermal profiles measured in a drillback hole between 154 days and 6.5 years after the test have been used to calibrate a non-isothermal model of fluid flow. In this process, they have estimated the magnitude and relative changes in permeability, porosity and fracture density between different portions of the disturbed and undisturbed geologic medium surrounding the test location. The relative impacts of buoyancy forces (arising from the thermal residual of the test and the background geothermal gradient) and horizontal pressure gradients on the post-test flow system are better understood. A transient particle/streamline model of contaminant transport is used to visualize streamlines and streaklines of the flow field and to examine the migration of non-reactive radionuclides. Sensitivity analyses are performed to understand the effects of local and sub-regional geologic features, and the effects of fractured zones on the movement of groundwater and thermal energy. Conclusions regarding the overall effect of the thermal regime on the residence times and fluxes of radionuclides out of the …

The general philosophy of this work is to develop an integrated set of decontamination methods and tools that will work on the major CBW threat agents. The work includes some near term techniques that can be demonstrated within a year and implemented soon thereafter as well as longer term research objectives. It is recognized that there is a balance between somewhat less effective methods which can be demonstrated quickly and more effective ones which may require a much longer time to fruition. The optimum goal of this study is to find a single decontamination system for chemical and biological agents which is non-toxic, non-corrosive, and easily deployable. One of the goals is to have decontamination systems that might be used by first responders as well as more complete systems to be used by specialized decontamination teams. Therefore, the overall project goal is to develop better decontamination methods that can be quickly implemented by these organizations. This includes early demonstrations and field work with companies or other government agencies who can identify implementation concerns and needs. The approach taken in this work is somewhat different than the standard military approach to decontamination. In a battlefield scenario, it is critical to decontaminate …

None

The Department of Energy plans to dispose of approximately 2100 metric tons of spent metallic uranium fuel in the mined repository at Yucca Mountain. Laboratory studies at Argonne National Laboratory have shown that corrosion of metallic uranium fuel with groundwater generates significant quantities of stable colloids. This finding is considered very important in light of the recent report (1) of rapid subsurface transport of radionuclides at the Nevada Test Site via colloids. Thus, sparingly soluble radionuclides can be transported with the colloids through the subsurface aqueous environment to much greater distances than is predicted based on the aqueous volubility of the radionuclides alone. Accordingly, characterization of colloids generated by fuel corrosion is necessary for assessing the long-term fate and transport of radionuclides in the repository environment.

This plan has been prepared in response to direction from the U.S. Department of Energy. The purpose of the plan is to define approaches that will be implemented to ensure protection of the public and the environment when active Low-Level Burial Grounds (LLBGs) at the Hanford Site are closed. Performance assessments for active burial grounds in the 200 East and West 200 Areas provide current estimates of potential environmental contamination and doses to the ''maximum exposed individual'' from burial ground operation and closure and compare dose estimates to performance objective dose limits for the facilities. This is an Operational Closure Plan. The intent of the guidance in DOE Order 435.1 is that this plan will be a living document, like the facility performance assessments, and will be revised periodically through the operational life of the LLBGs to reflect updated information on waste inventory. management practices, facility transition planning, schedule dates, assessments of post-closure performance, and environmental consequences. Out year dates identified in this plan are tentative. A Final Closure Plan will be prepared in the future when the timing and extent of closure-related activities for LLBGs can be established with greater certainty. After current operations at the LLBGs are concluded, …

None

None

Advanced nuclear reactor design has, in recent years, focused increasingly on the use of heavy-liquid-metal coolants, such as lead and lead-bismuth eutectic. Similarly, programs on accelerator-based transmutation systems have also considered the use of such coolants. Russian experience with heavy-metal coolants for nuclear reactors has lent credence to the validity of this approach. Of significant concern is the compatibility of structural materials with these coolants. We have used a thermal convection-based test method to allow exposure of candidate materials to molten lead and lead-bismuth flowing under a temperature gradient. The gradient was deemed essential in evaluating the behavior of the test materials in that should preferential dissolution of components of the test material occur we would expect dissolution in the hotter regions and deposition in the colder regions, thus promoting material transport. Results from the interactions of a Si-rich mild steel alloy, AISI S5, and a ferritic-martensitic stainless steel, HT-9, with the molten lead-bismuth are presented.

None

The spherical tokamak (ST), because of its slender central column, has very limited volt-second capability relative to a standard aspect ratio tokamak of similar plasma cross-section. Recent experiments on the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) have begun to quantify and optimize the ohmic current drive efficiency in a MA-class ST device. Sustainable ramp-rates in excess of 5MA/sec during the current rise phase have been achieved on NSTX, while faster ramps generate significant MHD activity. Discharges with IP exceeding 1MA have been achieved in NSTX with nominal parameters: aspect ratio A=1.3-1.4, elongation k=2-2.2, triangularity d=0.4, internal inductance li=0.6, and Ejima coefficient CE =0.35. Flux consumption efficiency results, performance improvements associated with first boronization, and comparisons to neo-classical resistivity are described.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Forest Service consolidated its Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station with its Intermountain Research Station. The resulting consolidated station was renamed the Rocky Mountain Research Station and was relocated to Fort Collins, Colorado. The Forest Service originally proposed consolidating the two stations in 1992 but delayed taking any action until it completed its reorganizational assessment in May 1997. The Forest Service cut 18 managerial and administrative staff positions during the consolidation. The positions that were eliminated were either transferred to other Forest Service units or were vacated through retirement or employee buyouts. Since 1992, the research funding available to the merged station has remained relatively constant, about 15 percent of the Forest Service's budget for research stations, and the number of employees has remained relatively stable."

None

This report documents results of a preliminary hazard analysis (PHA) covering the existing Crane Chempump and the new salt well pumping design. Three hazardous conditions were identified for the Chempump and ten hazardous conditions were identified for the new salt well pump design. This report also presents the results of the control decision/allocation process. A backflow preventer and associated limiting condition for operation were assigned to one hazardous condition with the new design.

A radio frequency (rf) system has been installed on the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) with the aim of heating the plasma and driving plasma current. The system consists of six rf transmitters, a twelve element antenna and associated transmission line components to distribute and couple the power from the transmitters to the antenna elements in a fashion to allow control of the antenna toroidal wavenumber spectrum. To date, power levels up to 3.85 MW have been applied to the NSTX plasmas. The frequency and spectrum of the rf waves has been selected to heat electrons via Landau damping and transit time magnetic pumping. The electron temperature has been observed to increase from 400 to 900 eV with little change in plasma density resulting in a plasma stored energy of 59 kJ and a toroidal beta, bT , =10% and bn = 2.7.

This interim report describes a DOE project currently underway to establish what is known about decontamination of buildings and people and the procedures and protocols used to determine when and how people or buildings are considered ''clean'' following decontamination. To fulfill this objective, the study systematically examined reported decontamination experiences to determine what procedures and protocols are currently employed for decontamination, the timeframe involved to initiate and complete the decontamination process, how the contaminants were identified, the problems encountered during the decontamination process, how response efforts of agencies were coordinated, and the perceived social psychological effects on people who were decontaminated or who participated in the decontamination process. Findings and recommendations from the study are intended to aid decision-making and to improve the basis for determining appropriate decontamination protocols for recovery planners and policy makers for responding to chemical and biological events.

A Straight-line code, which consists of assignment, addition, and multiplication statements is an abstraction of a serial computer program to compute a function with n inputs. Given a serial straight-line code with N statements, the authors derive an algorithm that automatically evaluates not only the function but also its first-order derivatives with respect to the n inputs on a parallel computer. The basic idea of the algorithm is to marry automatic computation of derivatives with automatic parallelization of serial programs. The algorithm requires O(M{sub N} log of N) scalar operations, where O(M{sub N}) is the time complexity of a parallel multiplication of two dense N x N matrices and it represents a measure of the complexity of the straight-line code. Although it can be exponential in N in the worse case, it tends to be only polynomial in N for many important problems.

None

The main aim of the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) is to establish the fusion physics principles of the spherical torus (ST) concept. The NSTX device began plasma operations in February 1999 and the plasma current Ip was successfully brought up to the design value of 1 million amperes on December 14, 1999. The planned plasma shaping parameters, k = 1.6 {+-} 2.2 and d = 0.2 {+-} 0.4, were achieved in inner limited, single null and double null configurations. The CHI (Coaxial Helicity Injection) and HHFW (High Harmonic Fast Wave) experiments were also initiated. A CHI injected current of 27 kA produced up to 260 kA of toroidal current without using an ohmic solenoid. With an injection of 2.3 MW of HHFW power, using twelve antennas connected to six transmitters, electrons were heated from a central temperature of 400 eV to 900 eV at a centraldensity of 3.5 x 1013 cm-3 increasing the plasma energy to 59 kJ and the toroidal beta, bT to 10 %. Finally, the NBI system commenced operatio n in Sept. 2000. The initial results with two ion sources (PNBI = 2.8 MW) shows good heating, producing a total plasma stored energy of 90 kJ …

Compact stellarators have the potential to combine the best features of the stellarator and the advanced tokamak, offering steady state operation without current drive and potentially without disruptions at an aspect ratio similar to tokamaks. A quasi-axisymmetric stellarator is developed that is consistent with the boot-strap current and passively stable to the ballooning, kink, Mercier, vertical, and neoclassical tearing modes at b=4.1 % without need for conducting walls or external feedback. The configuration has good flux surfaces and fast ion confinement. Thermal transport analysis indicates that the confinement should be similar to tokamaks of the same size, allowing access to the b-limit with moderate power. Coils have been designed to reproduce the physics properties. Initial analysis indicates the coils have considerable flexibility to manipulate the configuration properties. Simulations of the current evolution indicate the kink-mode can remain stable during the approach to h igh-beta.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "As Congress considers Medicare beneficiaries' access to prescription drug coverage, there is increased interest in the range of options available to help vulnerable populations obtain access to needed medications. Patient assistance programs, offered voluntarily by drug companies, are generally designed to provide prescription drugs to low-income persons who lack drug coverage. These programs typically rely on health care providers' involvement with some or all stages of applying for and receiving drugs from the programs. Drug companies characterize their programs as a last-resort source of prescription drugs, and most programs are not designed to provide long-term prescription drug coverage. To comply with the programs' eligibility criteria, which are intended to target patients who need assistance, application procedures require information about the patient's financial and insurance status. The provider's role in the application process is significant, involving obtaining applications, completing all or part of the forms, and receiving and dispensing drugs."

This NOC describes the activities to remove all spent nuclear fuel (SNF) assemblies from the spent fuel pool in the T Plant Complex 221-T canyon for interim storage in the Canister Storage Building (CSB). The unabated total effective dose equivalent (TEDE) estimated for the public hypothetical maximally exposed individual (MEI) is 5.7 E-6 millirem (mrem) per year for this fuel removal NOC. The abated TEDE conservatively is estimated to account for 2.9 E-9 mrem per year to the MEI.

Health Physics recommends that daily field screening levels be determined for gross gamma monitoring at the Double Tracks RADSAFE Area. This recommendation is predicated on the fact that there is significant daily variation in gross gamma detector response, even in the absence of a radiation source. Calculating daily field screening levels will help ensure the detection of radiation contamination in soil. The following sections of this memorandum discuss the radiation survey instruments that will be used during the characterization of the Double Tracks site, the anticipated radionuclides in the radiological source term, the survey instrument response to these radionuclides, the definition of the field screening levels, and recommendations on how to select the daily gross gamma field screening level.

Plasma perturbations in the acceleration channel of a Hall thruster are found to be unstable in the presence of collisions. Both electrostatic lower-hybrid waves and electromagnetic Alfven waves transverse to the applied electric and magnetic field are found to be unstable due to collisions in the E X B electron flow. These results are obtained assuming a two-fluid hydrodynamic model in slab geometry. The characterisitic frequencies of these modes are consistent with experimental observations in Hall current plasma thrusters.