A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Health-care-associated infections (HAI) are infections that patients acquire while receiving treatment for other conditions. Normally treated with antimicrobial drugs, HAIs are a growing concern as exposure to multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) becomes more common. Infections caused by MDROs, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), lead to longer hospital stays, higher treatment costs, and higher mortality. In response to demands for more public information on HAIs, some states began to establish HAI public reporting systems. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed a system--the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN)--to collect HAI data from hospitals and some states have chosen to use it for their programs. In addition, some hospitals have adopted initiatives to reduce MRSA by routinely testing some or all patients and isolating those who test positive for MRSA from contact with other patients. GAO was asked to examine (1) the design and implementation of state HAI public reporting systems, (2) the initiatives hospitals have undertaken to reduce MRSA infections, and (3) the experience of certain early-adopting hospitals in overcoming challenges to implement such initiatives. GAO interviewed state officials, reviewed documents, and surveyed or …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To help defray the cost of prescription drugs for beneficiaries with limited means, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) included the low-income subsidy (LIS) in the Part D prescription drug insurance program. To qualify for the LIS, beneficiaries must be enrolled in a Part D plan and their assets and income must be less than the thresholds established by the law. Part D is administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Social Security Administration (SSA) administers the eligibility determination for the LIS. The MMA directed GAO to compare the utilization of and access to Part D prescription drugs among beneficiaries who received the LIS with those who were denied it because of the amount of their assets. This report focuses on beneficiaries' access to prescription drugs by examining (1) the importance of assets and income in LIS denials in 2006 and 2007, and (2) state and manufacturer programs providing access to prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries. To do this, GAO analyzed data from SSA, reviewed information on state and drug manufacturer pharmaceutical programs, and interviewed officials …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Genetically engineered (GE) crops--including crops engineered to resist pests or tolerate herbicides--are widespread in the United States and around the world. Taking direction from the 1986 Coordinated Framework for Regulation of Biotechnology, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulate GE crops to ensure that they are safe. The unauthorized mixing of some GE crops with non-GE crops has caused controversy and financial harm. GAO examined (1) unauthorized releases of GE crops, (2) coordination among the three agencies, and (3) additional actions they have proposed to improve oversight. GAO gathered data from agencies and stakeholders; used criteria from prior GAO work to assess coordination; and reviewed agency proposals."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service manage about 628 million acres of public land, mostly in the 11 western states and Alaska. Under the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA), revenue raised from selling BLM lands is available to the agencies, primarily to acquire nonfederal land within the boundaries of land they already own--known as inholdings, which can create significant land management problems. To acquire land, the agencies can nominate parcels under state-level interagency agreements or the Secretaries can use their discretion to initiate acquisitions. FLTFA expires in 2010. GAO was asked to determine (1) FLTFA revenue generated, (2) challenges to future sales, (3) FLTFA expenditures, and (4) challenges to future acquisitions. To address these issues, GAO interviewed officials and examined the act, agency guidance, and FLTFA sale and acquisition data."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since September 11, 2001, a concern has been that terrorists or their supporters would seek to immigrate to the United States (i.e., seek lawful permanent residency (LPR)). The Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducts background checks and the FBI conducts name checks for those applying for LPR. GAO was asked to review USCIS's processes for screening individuals applying for LPR. GAO assessed: (1) what available data show about the extent to which national security concerns were discovered during USCIS background checks for LPR applications, (2) what issues USCIS has encountered in its background check processes and what actions have been taken to resolve those issues, and (3) the extent to which USCIS has addressed fraud vulnerabilities in its adjudication procedures for LPR. To conduct this work, GAO analyzed USCIS background check and adjudication procedures, USCIS data on adjudications, and its assessments of fraud in applications for LPR, and interviewed USCIS and FBI officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Iraq has an estimated 115 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, the third largest in the world. Oil export revenues are critical to Iraq's reconstruction, accounting for over 90 percent of the Iraqi government's revenues. In June 2008, GAO reported low 2007 spending rates by the Iraqi government for some critical sectors in the face of declining U.S. investments in these sectors. This report examines (1) Iraq's estimated revenues from 2005 through 2008, (2) Iraq's estimated expenditures from 2005 through 2008, (3) Iraq's financial deposits through 2007 and budget surpluses, (4) U.S. cumulative expenditures on stabilization and reconstruction activities in Iraq since 2003, and (5) factors affecting Iraq's efforts to accelerate spending. GAO analyzed relevant data and reviewed documents, including Central Bank of Iraq oil receipts data, International Monetary Fund's (IMF) reports, translated copies of Iraqi budget and expenditures, and U.S. agency funding data and reports. GAO also interviewed officials from the Departments of Defense (DOD), Energy, State, Treasury, and the IMF. This report contains no recommendations. Treasury agreed with the report's findings and stated that Iraq has adequate funds to make and maintain capital investments …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission estimated that two supply-related recommendations now being implemented by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) would save the Department of Defense (DOD) about $4.8 billion over 20 years--about 13 percent of the 2005 base realignment and closure (BRAC) round's estimated long-term savings. These recommendations focus on business process reengineering by reconfiguring DLA's wholesale supply, storage, and distribution network and transferring procurement responsibility for depot-level reparables from the military services to DLA. This report is one in a series of reports on BRAC conducted under the Comptroller General's authority. It examines (1) the extent to which DLA's cost and savings estimates to implement these recommendations differ from those of the BRAC Commission and (2) DLA's progress and challenges in implementing the recommendations. GAO analyzed estimated cost and savings data and visited several of the military services' depots in its review."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report presents our opinion on the financial statements of the Capitol Preservation Fund (the Fund) for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2007, and 2006. It also discusses our consideration of the Fund's internal controls and our tests of compliance with laws and regulations during fiscal years 2007 and 2006. We conducted our audits pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 2084 and in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards. We appreciate the cooperation and assistance of the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, and the staff of the Library of Congress during our audits."

This report contains an explanation of the major provisions of the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. The discussion divides the federal estate tax into three components: the gross estate, deductions from the gross estate, and computation of the tax, including allowable tax credits. The federal estate tax is computed through a series of adjustments and modifications of a tax base known as the "gross estate." Certain allowable deductions reduce the gross estate to the "taxable estate," to which is then added the total of all lifetime taxable gifts made by the decedent. The tax rates are applied and, after reduction for certain allowable credits, the amount of tax owed by the estate is reached.

This document reports the results of Phase I Single Cell testing of an SO{sub 2}-Depolarized Water Electrolyzer. Testing was performed primarily during the first quarter of FY 2008 at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) using an electrolyzer cell designed and built at SRNL. Other facility hardware were also designed and built at SRNL. This test further advances this technology for which work began at SRNL in 2005. This research is valuable in achieving the ultimate goal of an economical hydrogen production process based on the Hybrid Sulfur (HyS) Cycle. The focus of this work was to conduct single cell electrolyzer tests to further develop the technology of SO{sub 2}-depolarized electrolysis as part of the HyS Cycle. The HyS Cycle is a hybrid thermochemical cycle that may be used in conjunction with advanced nuclear reactors or centralized solar receivers to produce hydrogen by water-splitting. Like all other sulfur-based cycles, HyS utilizes the high temperature thermal decomposition of sulfuric acid to produce oxygen and regenerate sulfur dioxide. The unique aspect of HyS is the generation of hydrogen in a water electrolyzer that is operated under conditions where dissolved sulfur dioxide depolarizes the anodic reaction, resulting in substantial voltage reduction. Low cell …

The assured limit of detection (LOD), where 100% of the PCR assays are successful, for the Qiagen spin column is dramatically improved when combined with an ethanol precipitation step of the eluted sample. A detailed SOP for the ethanol precipitation was delivered as a separate report. A key finding in the precipitation work was to incubate the ethanol precipitation at -20{sup o}C overnight when concentrating low copy number samples. Combining this modified ethanol precipitation with the Qiagen spin columns, the limit of assured detection was improved by 1-2 orders of magnitude, for the aliquot and assay variables used. The lower limit of detection (defined as when at least 1 assay of 1 aliquot was positive) was only improved by approximately 1 order of magnitude. The packed bed process has the potential of a 20-fold improvement in the limit of detection compared to Qiagen plus precipitation, based on a mass balance analysis for the entire DNA concentration and purification processes. Figure ES1 shows a mass balance for all the DNA processing steps. The packed bed process minimizes losses from elution, precipitation, and pipetting (aliquoting and transferring). Figure ES1 assumes that 100 copies of DNA serve as the input sample. Efficiencies for …

The 300 Area was selected as a location for an IFC because it offers excellent opportunities for field research on the influence of mass-transfer processes on uranium in the vadose zone and groundwater. The 300 Area was the location of nuclear fuel fabrication facilities and has more than 100 waste sites. Two of these waste sites, the North and South Process Ponds received large volumes of process waste from 1943 to 1975 and are thought to represent a significant source of the groundwater uranium plume in the 300 Area. Geophysical surveys and other characterization efforts have led to selection of the South Process Pond for the IFC.

Two experiments were conducted to explore the mechanism by which phosphorus is removed from Hanford tank sludge by caustic leaching. In the first experiment, a series of phosphate salts were treated with 3 M NaOH under conditions prototypic of the actual leaching process to be performed in the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). The phosphates used were aluminum phosphate, bismuth phosphate, chromium(III) phosphate, and -tri-calcium phosphate; all of these phases have previously been determined to exist in Hanford tank sludge. The leachate solution was sampled at selected time intervals and analyzed for the specific metal ion involved (Al, Bi, Ca, or Cr) and for P (total and as phosphate). The solids remaining after completion of the caustic leaching step were analyzed to determine the reaction product. In the second experiment, the dependence of P removal from bismuth phosphate was examined as a function of the hydroxide ion concentration. It was anticipated that a plot of log[phosphate] versus log[hydroxide] would provide insight into the phosphorus-removal mechanism. This report describes the test activities outlined in Section 6.3.2.1, Preliminary Investigation of Phosphate Dissolution, in Test Plan TP-RPP-WTP-467, Rev.1. The objectives, success criteria, and test conditions of Section 6.3.2.1 are summarized here.

The Hanford Site environmental report is prepared annually for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in accordance with regulatory requirements. The report provides an overview of activities at the site; demonstrates the status of the site’s compliance with applicable federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations, executive orders, and DOE policies and directives; and summarizes environmental data that characterize Hanford Site environmental management performance. The report also highlights signifi cant environmental and public protection programs and efforts. Some historical and early 2008 information is included where appropriate.

An advanced simulation environment to model incompressible MHD flows relevant to blanket conditions in fusion reactors has been developed at HyPerComp in research collaboration with TEXCEL. The goals of this phase-II project are two-fold: The first is the incorporation of crucial physical phenomena such as induced magnetic field modeling, and extending the capabilities beyond fluid flow prediction to model heat transfer with natural convection and mass transfer including tritium transport and permeation. The second is the design of a sequence of benchmark tests to establish code competence for several classes of physical phenomena in isolation as well as in select (termed here as “canonical”,) combinations. No previous attempts to develop such a comprehensive MHD modeling capability exist in the literature, and this study represents essentially uncharted territory. During the course of this Phase-II project, a significant breakthrough was achieved in modeling liquid metal flows at high Hartmann numbers. We developed a unique mathematical technique to accurately compute the fluid flow in complex geometries at extremely high Hartmann numbers (10,000 and greater), thus extending the state of the art of liquid metal MHD modeling relevant to fusion reactors at the present time. These developments have been published in noted international journals. …

The purpose ofthis document is to describe research, monitoring, and evaluation (RME) for the Federal Columbia River Estuary Program. The intent of this RME effort is to provide data and information to evaluate progress toward meeting program goals and objectives and support decision-making in the Estuary Program. The goal of the Estuary Program is to understand, conserve, and restore the estuary ecosystem to improve the performance of listed salmonid populations. The Estuary Program has five general objectives, designed to fulfill the program goal, as follows. 1. Understand the primary stressors affecting ecosystem controlling factors, such as ocean conditions and invasive species. 2. Conserve and restore factors controlling ecosystem structures and processes, such as hydrodynamics and water quality. 3. Increase the quantity and quality of ecosystem structures, i.e., habitats, juvenile salmonids use during migration through the estuary. 4. Maintain the food web to benefit salmonid performance. 5. Improve salmonid performance in terms of life history diversity, foraging success, growth, and survival. The goal of estuary RME is to provide pertinent and timely research and monitoring information to planners, implementers, and managers of the Estuary Program. In conclusion, the estuary RME effort is designed to meet the research and monitoring needs of …

Groundwater beneath much of Hanford's 100 Areas is contaminated with hexavalent chromium (Cr{sup +6}) as a consequence of treating reactor cooling water to prevent corrosion. Several treatment systems are in place to remove Cr{sup +6} from the groundwater; however, these systems currently do not reduce Cr{sup +6} to concentrations below aquatic standards. Of concern is the transport of Cr{sup +6} to areas within the channel of the river, as sensitive species inhabit the river and its associated transition zone. The aquatic standard for Cr{sup +6} is currently 11 ug/l under the Record of Decision (ROD) for Interim Action and Department of Energy (DOE) currently plans to pursue remediation of the groundwater to achieve the 11 ug/l standard. Because the compliance wells used to monitor the current remediation systems are located some distance from the river, they may not provide an accurate indication of Cr{sup +6} concentrations in the water that reaches the riverbed. In addition, because salmon spawning areas are considered a high priority for protection from Hanford contaminants, it would be advantageous to understand (1) to what extent Cr{sup +6} discharged to the near-shore or river ecosystems is diluted or attenuated and (2) mechanisms that could mitigate the exposure …

The objective of this work is to develop a solid scientific understanding of the creation and characteristics of surface fractures formed during the grinding and polishing of brittle materials, specifically glass. In this study, we have experimentally characterized the morphology, number density, and depth distribution of various surface cracks as a function of various grinding and polishing processes (blanchard, fixed abrasive grinding, loose abrasive, pitch polishing and pad polishing). Also, the effects of load, abrasive particle (size, distribution, foreign particles, geometry, velocity), and lap material (pitch, pad) were examined. The resulting data were evaluated in terms of indentation fracture mechanics and tribological interactions (science of interacting surfaces) leading to several models to explain crack distribution behavior of ground surfaces and to explain the characteristics of scratches formed during polishing. This project has greatly advanced the scientific knowledge of microscopic mechanical damage occurring during grinding and polishing and has been of general interest. This knowledge-base has also enabled the design and optimization of surface finishing processes to create optical surfaces with far superior laser damage resistance. There are five major areas of scientific progress as a result of this LDRD. They are listed in Figure 1 and described briefly in this …

This literature review presents treatment options for nitrate, iodine-129, and uranium, which are present in groundwater at the 200-ZP-I Groundwater Operable Unit (OU) within the 200 West Area of the Hanford Site. The objective of this review is to determine available methods to treat or sequester these contaminants in place (i.e., in situ) or to pump-and-treat the groundwater aboveground (i.e., ex situ). This review has been conducted with emphasis on commercially available or field-tested technologies, but theoretical studies have, in some cases, been considered when no published field data exist. The initial scope of this literature review included only nitrate and iodine-I 29, but it was later expanded to include uranium. The focus of the literature review was weighted toward researching methods for treatment of nitrate and iodine-129 over uranium because of the relatively greater impact of those compounds identified at the 200-ZP-I OU.

Welcome to Berkeley Lab. You are joining or are already a part of a laboratory with a sterling tradition of scientific achievement, including eleven Nobel Laureates and thirteen National Medal of Science winners. No matter what job you do, you make Berkeley Lab the outstanding organization that it is. Without your hard work and dedication, we could not achieve all that we have. We value you and thank you for choosing to be part of our community. This Employee Handbook is designed to help you navigate the Lab. With over 3,000 employees, an additional 3,000 guests visiting from countries around the world, a 200-acre campus and many policies and procedures, learning all the ins and outs may seem overwhelming, especially if you're a new employee. However, even if you have been here for a while, this Handbook should be a useful reference tool. It is meant to serve as a guide, highlighting and summarizing what you need to know and informing you where you can go for more detailed information. The general information provided in this Handbook serves only as a brief description of many of the Lab's policies. Policies, procedures and information are found in the Lab's Regulations and …

Aqueous radioactive wastes from Savannah River Site (SRS) separations and vitrification processes are contained in large underground carbon steel tanks. The 2007 inspection program revealed that the structural integrity and waste confinement capability of the Savannah River Site waste tanks were maintained. A very small amount of material had seeped from Tank 12 from a previously identified leaksite. The material observed had dried on the tank wall and did not reach the annulus floor. A total of 5945 photographs were made and 1221 visual and video inspections were performed during 2007. Additionally, ultrasonic testing was performed on four Waste Tanks (15, 36, 37 and 38) in accordance with approved inspection plans that met the requirements of WSRC-TR-2002- 00061, Revision 2 'In-Service Inspection Program for High Level Waste Tanks'. The Ultrasonic Testing (UT) In-Service Inspections (ISI) are documented in a separate report that is prepared by the ISI programmatic Level III UT Analyst. Tanks 15, 36, 37 and 38 are documented in 'Tank Inspection NDE Results for Fiscal Year 2007'; WSRC-TR-2007-00064.

The Supernova Science Center (SNSC) was founded in 2001 to carry out theoretical and computational research leading to a better understanding of supernovae and related transients. The SNSC, a four-institutional collaboration, included scientists from LANL, LLNL, the University of Arizona (UA), and the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC). Intitially, the SNSC was funded for three years of operation, but in 2004 an opportunity was provided to submit a renewal proposal for two years. That proposal was funded and subsequently, at UCSC, a one year no-cost extension was granted. The total operational time of the SNSC was thus July 15, 2001 - July 15, 2007. This document summarizes the research and findings of the SNSC and provides a cummulative publication list.

The F-area pump tanks are used to transfer supernate, sludge, and other materials. In any transfer, the solution must stay well mixed without allowing particulate matter to settle out of the liquid and, thus, accumulate in the bottom of the pump tank. Recently, the pulse jet mixing in F-area Pump Tank 1 (FPT1) has been decommissioned. An analysis of the liquid transfer through FPT1 has been performed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods to assess whether or not the velocities throughout the tank will remain high enough to keep all particulate suspended using only transfer and recirculation pumps. The following paragraph is an abbreviated synopsis of the transfer procedure for FPT1 [1, 2]. Prior to a transfer, FPT1 begins to be filled with inhibited water through the inlet transfer line (TI). When the tank liquid level reaches 52.5 inches above the absolute tank bottom, the recirculation pump (RI and RO) is activated. At a tank liquid level of 72.5 inches above the absolute tank bottom, the outlet transfer line (TO) is activated to reduce the liquid level in FPT1 and transfer inhibited water to H-area Pump Tank 7 (HPT7). The liquid level is reduced down to 39.5 inches, with an …

SRNL was tasked to provide an assessment of the downstream impacts (or lack thereof) to DWPF of decisions regarding the implementation of Al-dissolution to support sludge mass reduction and processing. Based on future sludge batch compositional projections, assessments have been made with respect to the ability to maintain comparable projected operating windows for sludges with high temperature Al-dissolution and without Al-dissolution. In general, paper study assessments indicated that most of the future sludge batches (twelve with and fourteen without high temperature Al-dissolution) had multiple frits available that yielded relatively large operating windows. The projected operating windows were defined by the waste loading (WL) interval over which glasses were classified as acceptable based on current process control models and their related constraints. Although multiple frits were identified, using a 17-point width as a general guide for a reasonable operating window (e.g., 25-41% WL), there generally appeared to be more flexibility in frit selection for the without Al-dissolution flowsheets. This larger frit compositional platform could allow frit development efforts to make more significant adjustments to melt rate. However, based on the general observations of the paper study, there is essentially no clear distinction between the two options with which to drive a …