The ICNS provides a focal point for the worldwide neutron user community to strengthen ties within this diverse group, while at the same time promoting neutron research among colleagues in related disciplines identified as “would-be” neutron users. The International Conference on Neutron Scattering thus serves a dual role as an international user meeting and a scientific meeting. As a venue for scientific exchange, the ICNS showcases recent results and provides forums for scientific discussion of neutron research in diverse fields such as hard and soft condensed matter, liquids, biology, magnetism, engineering materials, chemical spectroscopy, crystal structure, and elementary excitations, fundamental physics and development of neutron instrumentation through a combination of invited talks, contributed talks and poster sessions. Each of the major national neutron facilities (NIST, LANSCE, ANL, HFIR and SNS), along with their international counterparts, has an opportunity to exchange information with each other and to update users, and potential users, of their facility. This is also an appropriate forum for users to raise issues that relate to the facilities.

Two Corning monoliths and a non-carbon-based material have been identified as potential additives for mercury capture in syngas at temperatures above 400°F and pressure of 600 psig. A new Corning monolith formulation, GR-F1-2189, described as an active sample appeared to be the best monolith tested to date. The Corning SR Liquid monolith concept continues to be a strong candidate for mercury capture. Both monolith types allowed mercury reduction to below 5-μg/m{sup 3} (~5 ppb), a current U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) goal for trace metal control. Preparation methods for formulating the SR Liquid monolith impacted the ability of the monolith to capture mercury. The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC)-prepared Noncarbon Sorbents 1 and 2 appeared to offer potential for sustained and significant reduction of mercury concentration in the simulated fuel gas. The Noncarbon Sorbent 1 allowed sustained mercury reduction to below 5-μg/m{sup 3} (~5 ppb). The non-carbon-based sorbent appeared to offer the potential for regeneration, that is, desorption of mercury by temperature swing (using nitrogen and steam at temperatures above where adsorption takes place). A Corning cordierite monolith treated with a Group IB metal offered limited potential as a mercury sorbent. However, a Corning carbon-based monolith containing prereduced metallic …

The U.S. program of assistance to Afghanistan is intended to stabilize and strengthen the Afghan economic, social, political, and security environment so as to blunt popular support for extremist forces in the region. Since 2001, nearly $47 billion has been appropriated toward this effort. This report provides a "big picture" overview of the U.S. aid program and congressional action. It describes what various aid agencies report they are doing in Afghanistan. It does not address the effectiveness of their programs.

This report is about an Alternative Enhanced Chemical Cleaning Basic Studies Results FY09

Due to the need to close waste storage tanks, chemical cleaning methods are needed for the effective removal of the heels. Oxalic acid is the preferred cleaning reagent for sludge heel dissolution, particularly for iron-based sludge, due to the strong complexing strength of the oxalate. However, the large quantity of oxalate added to the tank farm from oxalic acid based chemical cleaning has significant downstream impacts. Optimization of the oxalic acid cleaning process can potentially reduce the downstream impacts from chemical cleaning. To optimize oxalic acid usage, a detailed understanding of the chemistry of oxalic acid based sludge dissolution is required. Additionally, other acid systems may be required for specific waste components with low solubility in oxalic acid and as a means to reduce oxalic acid usage in general. Solubility tests were conducted using non-radioactive, pure metal phases known to be the primary phases present in High Level Waste sludge. The metal phases studied included the aluminum phases gibbsite and boehmite and the iron phases magnetite and hematite. Hematite and boehmite are expected to be the most difficult iron and aluminum phases to dissolve. These mineral phases have been identified in both SRS and Hanford High Level Waste sludge. Acids …

This report discusses the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which provides broad nondiscrimination protection for individuals with disabilities in employment, public services, and public accommodations and services operated by private entities. Although the ADA does not include provisions specifically discussing its application to disasters, its nondiscrimination provisions are applicable to emergency preparedness and responses to disasters.

In September 2005, the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA) initiated periodic sampling of groundwater in the vicinity of a grain storage facility formerly operated by the CCC/USDA at Morrill, Kansas. The sampling at Morrill is being performed on behalf of the CCC/USDA by Argonne National Laboratory, in accord with a monitoring program approved by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE 2005), to monitor levels of carbon tetrachloride contamination identified in the groundwater at this site (Argonne 2004, 2005a). This report provides results for monitoring events in April and September 2009. Under the KDHE-approved monitoring plan (Argonne 2005b), groundwater was initially sampled twice yearly for a period of two years (in fall 2005, in spring and fall 2006, and in spring and fall 2007). The samples were analyzed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as well as for selected geochemical parameters to aid in the evaluation of possible natural contaminant degradation (reductive dechlorination) processes in the subsurface environment. The analytical results for groundwater sampling events at Morrill from September 2005 to October 2008 were documented previously (Argonne 2006a,b, 2007, 2008a,b, 2009). Those results consistently demonstrated the presence of carbon tetrachloride contamination, at levels exceeding the …

The NTS is located approximately 105 km (65 mi) northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada. NNSA/NSO is the federal lands management authority for the NTS and NSTec is the Management & Operations contractor. Access on and off the NTS is tightly controlled, restricted, and guarded on a 24-hour basis. The NTS is posted with signs along its entire perimeter. NSTec is the operator of all solid waste disposal sites on the NTS. The U10C Disposal Site is located in the northwest corner of Area 9 at the NTS (Figure 1) and is located in a subsidence crater created by two underground nuclear events, one in October 1962 and another in April 1964. The disposal site opened in 1971 for the disposal of rubbish, refuse, pathological waste, asbestos-containing material, and industrial solid waste. A Notice of Intent form to operate the disposal site as a Class II site was submitted to the state of Nevada on January 26, 1994, and was acknowledged in a letter to the DOE on February 8, 1994. It operated as a state of Nevada Class II Solid Waste Disposal Site (SWDS) until it closed on October 5, 1995, for retrofit as a Class III SWDS. The retrofit …

The 100-HR-3 Groundwater Operable Unit (OU) second Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) 5-year review (DOEIRL-2006-20, The Second CERCLA Five-Year Review Report for the Hanford Site) set a milestone to conduct an investigation of deep hexavalent chromium contamination in the sediments of the Ringold upper mud (RUM) unit, which underlies the unconfined aquifer in the 100-H Area. The 5-year review noted that groundwater samples from one deep well extending below the aquitard (i.e., RUM) exceeded both the groundwater standard of 48 parts per billion (ppb) (Ecology Publication 94-06, Model Toxics Control Act Cleanup Statute and Regulation) and the federal drinking water standard of 100 {mu}g/L for hexavalent chromium. The extent of hexavalent chromium contamination in this zone is not well understood. Action 12-1 from the 5-year review is to perform additional characterization of the aquifer below the initial aquitard. Field characterization and aquifer testing were performed in the Hanford Site's 100-H Area to address this milestone. The aquifer tests were conducted to gather data to answer several fundamental questions regarding the presence of the hexavalent chromium in the deep sediments of the RUM and to determine the extent and magnitude of deeper contamination. The pumping tests …

Commercial spent fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts provided by Engelhard and Albemarle were used as supports for Fe-based catalysts with the goal of improving the attrition resistance of typical F-T catalysts. Catalysts with the Ruhrchemie composition (100 Fe/5 Cu/4.2 K/25 spent FCC on mass basis) were prepared by wet impregnation. XRD and XANES analysis showed the presence of Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} in calcined catalysts. FeC{sub x} and Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} were present in the activated catalysts. The metal composition of the catalysts was analyzed by ICP-MS. F-T activity of the catalysts activated in situ in CO at the same conditions as used prior to the attrition tests was measured using a fixed bed reactor at T = 573 K, P = 1.38 MPa and H{sub 2}:CO ratio of 0.67. Cu and K promoted Fe supported over Engelhard provided spent FCC catalyst shows relatively good attrition resistance (8.2 wt% fines lost), high CO conversion (81%) and C{sub 5}+ hydrocarbons selectivity (18.3%).

List containing authoritative resources to assist in responding to a broad range of questions and concerns about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), P.L. 111-5. It includes links to the full text of the act, Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates, White House fact sheets, and federal, state, and municipal government websites are included, along with other useful information.

This report analyzes Brazil's political, economic, and social conditions, and how those conditions affect its role in the region and its relationship with the United States.

The performance parameters of a superconducting cavity, notably accelerating field and quality factor, are first obtained in a cryogenic vertical test Dewar, and again after the final assembly in its cryostat. The tests involve Network Analyzer (NA) measurements in which the cavity is excited through an input coupler and the properties are obtained from the reflected signal at the input and the transmitted signal from the output coupler. The interpretation of the scattering coefficients in terms of field strength requires the knowledge of the Fundamental Power Coupler (FPC) and Pick-Up (PU) coupler strength, as expressed by their 'external' and Q{sub FPC} Q{sub PU}. The coupler strength is independent of the field level or cavity losses and thus can be determined at low levels with the scattering coefficients S{sub 11} and S{sub 21}, assuming standard 50 {Omega} terminations in the network analyzer. Also needed is the intrinsic cavity parameter, R{sub a} /Q{sub 0} {triple_bond} {l_brace}R/Q{r_brace}, a quantity independent of field or losses which must be obtained from simulation programs, such as the Microwave Studio.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As Congress considers reauthorization of the laws which provide funding for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), there is interest in understanding what accounts for recent trends in child care subsidy receipt among eligible families and what research says about subsidies' effects on parents' ability to obtain and maintain employment. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) administers CCDF, but states have flexibility in its implementation. As requested, GAO examined: (1) trends in federal estimates of the number and proportion of eligible children and families who receive child care subsidies, (2) factors that may affect trends in estimates of the number of children served, and (3) what is known about the extent to which access to subsidies supports low-income parents' employment. To address these issues, GAO reviewed recent federal estimates of the number and proportion of eligible children and families served; conducted a survey of state child care administrators in 50 states and the District of Columbia; interviewed HHS officials, state officials in four selected states, and researchers and experts in child care subsidies; and reviewed research on the relationship between subsidy receipt …

This report is categorized into five categories: (I) Background, (II) US.-China Agricultural Trade, (III) U.S. Regulation of Poultry Safety, (IV) China Poultry Rule and (V) Trade Implication and Outlook.

This report discusses GATT Article XIX and the WTO Agreement on Safeguards, Paragraph 16 of China's WTO Accession Protocol, Section 421 of the Trade Act of 1974 and Section 421 Investigation.

This report discusses the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, which was created by Title I of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-322). The mission of the COPS program is to advance community policing in all jurisdictions across the United States. Several bills introduced in the 111th Congress would either modify the COPS program, reauthorize appropriations for the program, or both.

Soliant Energy is a venture-capital-backed startup focused on bringing advanced concentrating solar panels to market. Our fundamental innovation is that we are the first company to develop a racking solar concentrator specifically for commercial rooftop applications, resulting in the lowest LCOE for rooftop electricity generation. Today, the commercial rooftop segment is the largest and fastest-growing market in the solar industry. Our concentrating panels can make a major contribution to the SAI's objectives: reducing the cost of solar electricity and rapidly deploying capacity. Our commercialization focus was re-shaped in 2009, shifting from an emphasis solely on panel efficiency to LCOE. Since the inception of the SAI program, LCOE has become the de facto standard for comparing commercial photovoltaic systems. While estimation and prediction models still differ, the emergence of performance-based incentive (PBI) and feed-in tariff (FIT) systems, as well as power purchase agreement (PPA) financing structures make LCOE the natural metric for photovoltaic systems. Soliant Energy has designed and demonstrated lower-cost, higher-power solar panels that consists of 6 (500X) PV module assemblies utilizing multi-junction cells and an integrated two-axis tracker. In addition, we have designed and demonstrated a prototype 1000X panel assembly with 8. Cost reductions relative to conventional flat panel …

This report provides information about the Latest Action and Brief Overview of Recent Practices on Continuing Resolutions.

The results of the Phase 1 Toxics Loading study suggested that runoff from the land surface and atmospheric deposition directly to marine waters have resulted in considerable loads of contaminants to Puget Sound (Hart Crowser et al. 2007). The limited data available for atmospheric deposition fluxes throughout Puget Sound was recognized as a significant data gap. Therefore, this study provided more recent or first reported atmospheric deposition fluxes of PAHs, PBDEs, and select trace elements for Puget Sound. Samples representing bulk atmospheric deposition were collected during 2008 and 2009 at seven stations around Puget Sound spanning from Padilla Bay south to Nisqually River including Hood Canal and the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Revised annual loading estimates for atmospheric deposition to the waters of Puget Sound were calculated for each of the toxics and demonstrated an overall decrease in the atmospheric loading estimates except for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and total mercury (THg). The median atmospheric deposition flux of total PBDE (7.0 ng/m2/d) was higher than that of the Hart Crowser (2007) Phase 1 estimate (2.0 ng/m2/d). The THg was not significantly different from the original estimates. The median atmospheric deposition flux for pyrogenic PAHs (34.2 ng/m2/d; without TCB) shows …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), there are thousands of facilities in the United States that if destroyed by a disaster could cause casualties, economic losses, or disruptions to national security. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 gave DHS responsibility for leading and coordinating the nation's effort to protect critical infrastructure and key resources (CIKR). Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7 (HSPD-7) defined responsibilities for DHS and certain federal agencies--known as sector-specific agencies (SSAs)--that represent 18 industry sectors, such as energy. In accordance with the Homeland Security Act and HSPD-7, DHS issued the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) in June 2006 to provide the approach for integrating the nation's CIKR. GAO was asked to study DHS's January 2009 revisions to the NIPP in light of a debate over whether DHS has emphasized protection--to deter threats, mitigate vulnerabilities, or minimize the consequences of disasters---rather than resilience---to resist, absorb, or successfully adapt, respond to, or recover from disasters. This report discusses (1) how the 2009 NIPP changed compared to the 2006 NIPP and (2) how DHS and SSAs addressed resiliency as part of their planning efforts. GAO …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In response to the ongoing threats to federal systems and operations posed by cyber attacks, President Bush established the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI) in 2008. This initiative consists of a set of projects aimed at reducing vulnerabilities, protecting against intrusions, and anticipating future threats. GAO was asked to determine (1) what actions have been taken to develop interagency mechanisms to plan and coordinate CNCI activities and (2) what challenges CNCI faces in achieving its objectives related to securing federal information systems. To do this, GAO reviewed CNCI plans, policies, and other documentation and interviewed officials at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), among other agencies. GAO also reviewed studies examining aspects of federal cybersecurity and interviewed recognized cybersecurity experts."

This report addresses the importance of wetlands in general, the ecology of the coastal wetlands in the Gulf, impacts of oil spills on wetland habitats, response options, the implications of hurricane season for the spill's impacts, and cleanup and recovery issues.3 The emphasis is on the nearshore environment, though a few species found in deeper waters will be mentioned. In addition, some lessons from past spills such as the Exxon Valdez in Alaska will be discussed along with issues that may arise in the years after the leak from the deepwater well is capped.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is acquiring two new tactical wheeled vehicles (TWV): the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) and the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV). The $12.5 billion M-ATV is for use in Afghanistan; JLTV is the future replacement for vehicles like the High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV). GAO was asked to assess (1) DOD's progress in rapidly acquiring and fielding M-ATVs, (2) JLTV's expected features and cost compared to other TWV, and (3) the extent to which the current plans for M-ATV and JLTV are consistent with the services' TWV investment strategies. GAO reviewed documents and held discussions with key officials to determine program strategies, costs, performance, and anticipated features; and compared M-ATV and JLTV plans with service strategies."