The nuclear/radioactive threat to homeland security posed by terrorists can be broken into four categories. Of highest concern is the use of an improvised nuclear device (IND). An IND, as its name implies, is a nuclear explosive device. It produces nuclear yield, and this nuclear yield has catastrophic effects. An IND is the ultimate terrorist weapon, and terrorist groups are actively attempting to acquire nuclear weapons. Detonation of an IND could dwarf the devastation of the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center. Dealing with the aftermath of an IND would be horrific. Rescue efforts and cleanup would be hazardous and difficult. Workers would have to wear full protection suits and self-contained breathing apparatus. Because of the residual radioactivity, in certain locations they could only work short times before acquiring their ''lifetime'' dose. As with the Chernobyl event, some rescue workers might well expose themselves to lethal doses of radiation, adding to the casualty toll. Enormous volumes of contaminated debris would have to be removed and disposed. If a terrorist group decides not to pursue an actual nuclear device, it might well turn to Radiological Dispersal Devices (RDDs) or ''dirty bombs'' as they are often called. RDDs spread radioactivity …

Despite recent intensive experimental effort, the electronic structure of Pu, particularly {delta}-Pu, remains ill defined. An evaluation of our previous synchrotron-radiation-based investigation of {alpha}-Pu and {delta}-Pu has lead to a new paradigm for the interpretation of photoemission spectra of U, Np, {alpha}-Pu, {delta}-Pu and Am. This approach is founded upon a model in which spin and spin-orbit splittings are included in the picture of the 5f states and upon the observation of chiral/spin-dependent effects in non-magnetic systems. By extending a quantitative model developed for the interpretation of core level spectroscopy in magnetic systems, it is possible to predict the contributions of the individual component states within the 5-f manifold. This has lead to a remarkable agreement between the results of the model and the previously collected spectra of U, Np, Pu and Am, particularly {delta}-Pu, and to a prediction of what we might expect to see in future spin-resolving experiments.

The shape of the spectrum associated with the quasicontinuous (QC) decay of superdeformed rotational bands in even- and odd-mass Pb isotopes is sensitive to the gap in level density at finite temperature and angular momentum at normal deformations. This gap in level density was deduced to be {approx}0.95 MeV at 6{Dirac_h} for {sup 194}Pb and {approx}0.4 MeV at 10{Dirac_h} for {sup 192}Pb, while the shape of the QC spectrum for {sup 195}Pb is consistent with no gap in the level density at about 11{Dirac_h}.

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This document summarizes progress on Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-01NT41185, Pilot Testing of Mercury Oxidation Catalysts for Upstream of Wet FGD Systems, during the time period July 1, 2002 through September 30, 2002. The objective of this project is to demonstrate at pilot scale the use of solid honeycomb catalysts to promote the oxidation of elemental mercury in the flue gas from coal combustion. The project is being funded by the U.S. DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory under Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-01NT41185. EPRI, Great River Energy (GRE), and City Public Service (CPS) of San Antonio are project co-funders. URS Group is the prime contractor. The mercury catalytic oxidation process under development uses catalyst materials applied to honeycomb substrates to promote the oxidation of elemental mercury in the flue gas from coal-fired power plants that have wet lime or limestone flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems. Oxidized mercury is removed in the wet FGD absorbers and co-precipitates in a stable form with the byproducts from the FGD system. The coprecipitated mercury does not appear to adversely affect the disposal or reuse properties of the FGD byproduct. The current project will test previously identified, effective catalyst materials at a larger, pilot scale and in a commercial …

Beams for heavy-ion fusion (HIF) are expected to require substantial neutralization in a target chamber. Present targets call for higher beam currents and smaller focal spots than most earlier designs, leading to high space-charge fields. Collisional stripping by the background gas expected in the chamber further increases the beam charge. Simulations with no electron sources other than beam stripping and background-gas ionization show an acceptable focal spot only for high ion energies or for currents far below the values assumed in recent HIF power-plant scenarios. Much recent research has, therefore, focused on beam neutralization by electron sources that were neglected in earlier simulations, including emission from walls and the target, photoionization by radiation from the target, and pre-neutralization by a plasma generated along the beam path. The simulations summarized here indicate that these effects can significantly reduce the beam focal-spot size.