A major milestone was reached in Fiscal Year (FY) 2000--the completion of the Chicago Pile-5 (CP-5) D and D Project. CP-5, the first reactor built on the Argonne National Laboratory-East (ANL-E) site, was a 5-megawatt, heavy water-moderated, enriched uranium-fueled reactor. It was the principal reactor on the Argonne site used to produce neutrons for scientific research from 1954 to 1979. The reactor was shut down and defueled in 1979, and placed in a lay-up condition. In 1990, funding was provided to begin the decontamination and decommissioning (D and D) of this facility, and work began in June 1991. D and D tasks were performed by both ANL-E personnel and subcontractor personnel from Duke Engineering and Services, Marlborough MA, under the management of ANL-E D and D Program personnel. In July 2000, the final project report was presented to the Department of Energy, and the facility was formally decommissioned and transferred to the landlord. Total project duration was 97 months, and total project cost was $29.5M. Also, in FY 2000, work began on the 60 Cyclotron D and D Project. An accelerator used for basic research, this facility produced beams of deuterons, helium ions, singly charged hydrogen molecules, and neutrons of …

The fabrication of boron-covered crystal scintillation detectors is described. Bulk boron-loaded epoxy material was cast and cut into 0.5 mm-thick wafers that were mounted on CdWO{sub 4} and CsI(Tl) crystals. The crystals were mounted on miniature photomultiplier tubes and gamma spectra were obtained with the detectors. The ability of these small detectors to produce spectra that can be analyzed to provide isotopic identification has been demonstrated. In addition, the detector can produce a signature indicating the presence of neutrons. The same miniature size of these detectors that makes them attractive for hand-held portable use, may be a limiting factor in their efficiency. The small size of the scintillation crystals makes them not as efficient as larger NaI(Tl) crystals simply by virtue of significantly decreased sensitive volume and surface area. It may be worthwhile to consider slightly larger crystals (approximately 15 mm cubic CdWO{sub 4}) mounted on rectangular photomultipliers in a detecting head connected to the electronics package by a signal cable.

This is the FY00 Annual Progress report for the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program at Los Alamos National Laboratory. It gives an overview of the LDRD Program, summarizes progress on each project conducted during FY00, characterizes the projects according to their relevance to major funding sources, and provides an index to principal investigators. Project summaries are grouped by LDRD component: Directed Research and Exploratory Research. Within each component, they are further grouped into the ten technical categories: (1) atomic, molecular, optical, and plasma physics, fluids, and beams, (2) bioscience, (3) chemistry, (4) computer science and software engineering, (5) engineering science, (6) geoscience, space science, and astrophysics, (7) instrumentation and diagnostics, (8) materials science, (9) mathematics, simulation, and modeling, and (10) nuclear and particle physics.

The fabrication of boron-covered crystal scintillation detectors is described. Bulk boron-loaded epoxy material was cast and cut into 0.5 mm-thick wafers that were mounted on CdWO{sub 4} and CsI(Tl) crystals. The crystals were mounted on miniature photomultiplier tubes and gamma spectra were obtained with the detectors. The ability of these small detectors to produce spectra that can be analyzed to provide isotopic identification has been demonstrated. In addition, the detector can produce a signature indicating the presence of neutrons. The same miniature size of these detectors that makes them attractive for hand-held portable use, may be a limiting factor in their efficiency. The small size of the scintillation crystals makes them not as efficient as larger NaI(Tl) crystals simply by virtue of significantly decreased sensitive volume and surface area. It may be worthwhile to consider slightly larger crystals (approximately 15 mm cubic CdWO{sub 4}) mounted on rectangular photomultipliers in a detecting head connected to the electronics package by a signal cable.

Most large-scale high-critical-temperature superconductor applications require wires or tapes that an carry high currents in applied magnetic fields. This report describes technical progress of research and development efforts aimed at producing superconducting components and devices in the Y-Ba-Cu-O and Bi-(Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O systems. Topics discussed are formation of first- and second-generation composite conductors, characterization of structures and superconducting and mechanical properties, modeling of grain-boundary current transport, and fabrication and analysis of prototype components.

Problems with pipeline plugs at Hanford have occurred throughout its tank farm system. Most cross-site transfer lines at Hanford are no longer functional due to these plugs. Waste transfers frequently led to partial line plugs, resulting in substantial amounts of water being added to the tank system in an attempt to free the lines. In response to these plugs, the Hanford tank farm developed waste acceptance criteria that a waste must pass before it can be transferred (Shekarriz et al., 1997). The criteria, which include physical properties such as viscosity, specific gravity, and percent solids, are based primarily on past operational experience. Unfortunately, the chemistry of the waste solutions was not included in the criteria even though the tank farm operators are fully aware of its importance. Pipeline plugs have also occurred during relatively short waste transfers at Hanford. In FY 2000, the effort to saltwell pump 50,000 gal of filtered waste from tank U-103 to tank SY-102 was delayed for several weeks due to a plugged pipeline. Attempts to locate the plug(s) determined that it had occurred in the 02-A flex and that other plugs were possible in each of the SY-farm flexes. Modifications such as larger flex jumpers …

The Wastewater Triad Project (WTP) consists of three operational units: the cesium removal (CsR) system, the out-of-tank evaporator (OTE) system, and the solid/liquid separation (SLS) system. These systems were designed to reduce the volume and radioactivity of low-level liquid waste (LLLW) stored in the Melton Valley Storage Tanks (MVSTs) and are operated independently or in series in order to accomplish the treatment goals. Each is a modular, skid-mounted system that is self-contained, individually shielded, and designed to be decontaminated and removed once the project has been completed. The CsR and OTE systems are installed inside Building 7877; the SLS system is installed adjacent to the east side of the MVST 7830 vault cover. The CsR, which consists of ion-exchange equipment for removing {sup 137}Cs from LLLW, was demonstrated in 1997. During the Cesium Removal Demonstration, 30,853 gal of radioactive supernate was processed and 1142 Ci of {sup 137}Cs was removed from the supernate and loaded onto 70 gal of a crystalline silicotitanate sorbent manufactured by UOP, Inc. The OTE system is a subatmospheric single-stage evaporator system designed to concentrate LLLW to smaller volumes. It was previously demonstrated in 1996 and was operated in 1998 to process about 80,000 gal of …

This document reports the low-level radioactive waste, mixed low-level radioactive waste, and Polychlorinated Biphenyl contaminated low-level waste transported to or from the Nevada Test Site during fiscal year 2000.

Over 200 single-pass flow-through experiments were completed with LAWABP1 glass, the reference glass for the 2001 Immobilized Low-Activity Waste Performance Assessment. These data provided the kinetic rate law parameters and Na ion-exchange rate needed to conduct long-term performance analyses using the reactive chemical transport code STORM. Pressurized unsaturated flow (PUF) experiments with five prototypic LAW glasses were also performed. The PUF test provides a means to dramatically accelerate the weathering process in a simulated vadose zone environment. The performance of these five next generation LAW glasses in the PUF test (and other accelerated tests) improved dramatically from earlier glass compositions that were being developed by BNFL, Inc. No autocatalytic corrosion rate accelerations were observed in tests that were conducted for over 1 year. SPFT and PUF experiments were run with a commercial humic acid solution, 25 to 50 times more concentrated than expected in Hanford vadose zone pore water. No difference in glass dissolution rate versus the rate measured in deionized water could be detected within experimental error. Initial development and testing of a parallelized lattice-Boltzmann method for solving reactive chemical transport problems in complex geometries was completed. This method is being examined as a means to dramatically decrease the …

This document describes activities of the Deactivation and Decommissioning Focus Area for the past year.

The Pine Hollow Project (1999-010-00) is an on-going watershed restoration effort administered by Sherman County Soil and Water Conservation District and spearheaded by Pine Hollow/Jackknife Watershed Council. The headwaters are located near Shaniko in Wasco County, and the mouth is in Sherman County on the John Day River. Pine Hollow provides more than 20 miles of potential summer steelhead spawning and rearing habitat. The watershed is 92,000 acres. Land use is mostly range, with some dryland grain. There are no water rights on Pine Hollow. Due to shallow soils, the watershed is prone to rapid runoff events which scour out the streambed and the riparian vegetation. This project seeks to improve the quality of upland, riparian and in-stream habitat by restoring the natural hydrologic function of the entire watershed. Project implementation to date has consisted of construction of water/sediment control basins, gradient terraces on croplands, pasture cross-fences, upland water sources, and grass seeding on degraded sites, many of which were crop fields in the early part of the century. The project is expected to continue through about 2007. From March 2000 to June 2001, the Pine Hollow Project built 6 sediment basins, 1 cross-fence, 2 spring developments, 1 well development, …

This report summarizes the activities of the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory (ACL) at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2000 (October 1999 through September 2000). This annual progress report, which is the seventeenth in this series for the ACL, describes effort on continuing projects, work on new projects, and contributions of the ACL staff to various programs at ANL. The ACL operates within the ANL system as a full-cost-recovery service center, but it has a mission that includes a complementary research and development component: The Analytical Chemistry Laboratory will provide high-quality, cost-effective chemical analysis and related technical support to solve research problems of our clients--Argonne National Laboratory, the Department of Energy, and others--and will conduct world-class research and development in analytical chemistry and its applications. The ACL handles a wide range of analytical problems that reflects the diversity of research and development (R&D) work at ANL. Some routine or standard analyses are done, but the ACL operates more typically in a problem-solving mode in which development of methods is required or adaptation of techniques is needed to obtain useful analytical data. The ACL works with clients and commercial laboratories if a large number of routine analyses are required. Much …

Report summarizing the work of the Texas Environmental Enforcement Task Force for fiscal years 1991-2001. It provides an overview of the task force organization and activities, general progress, and supporting statistical data. The report also discusses specific programs -- Environmental Crime Prevention Week in Texas, and training for law enforcement allies to prevent pollution -- and discusses new challenges for the group.

Bimonthly publication of the Texas Veterans Commission discussing specific topics of relevance to veterans in Texas. This pamphlet providess a report of total monetary benefits paid during fiscal year 2000 listed by county.

Report summarizing budgets and performance information for Texas agencies, organized by government function: general, health and human services, education, judiciary, public safety and criminal justice, natural resources, business and economic development, and regulatory activities.

Report on the activities of the Health Professions Council for fiscal year 2000, highlighting the organization's accomplishments and budget.

Annual report of the Texas Department of Health Bureau of HIV & STD Prevention describing their activities and statistics on HIV and STD cases in Texas during 2000.

Annual report of the Texas Racing Commission describing goals, activities, and accomplishments during fiscal year 2000

Annual report regarding the Lemon Law in Texas describing complaint process, complaint fileds, complaints closed during fiscal year 2000

This report provides an overview of U.S. assistance before the Plan Colombia proposal, describes the Clinton Administration Plan Colombia proposal, and tracks Congressional action on it. It also covers the Bush Administration’s Andean Regional Initiative (ARI), which incorporated the Bush Administration’s Andean Counterdrug Initiative (ACI). Table 3 provides a breakdown of the ARI by country, purpose, and account. Table 1 provides an overview of U.S. assistance from FY1999-FY2001, and Table 2 provides an overview of Plan Colombia funding for Colombia and the Status of the commitment of funds provided in the State Department sections of P.L. 106-246, as of the spring of 2001. Tables 4 and 5 compare in detail the Clinton Administration’s Plan Colombia proposal with House, Senate, and conference action on it, and Table 6 charts U.S. assistance from FY1989-FY1998.