This report summarizes the 1981 experience and activities of the Monsanto Research Corporation relative to the control of ALO property damage from fires and other accidents.

This pamphlet prepared by the National Archives Trust Fund Board, National Archives Records Service provides an overview to a collection of formerly security classified `Top Secret` correspondence maintained by Major General Leslie Groves when commanding general of the Manhattan District from September, 1942 to December, 1946. The pamphlet describes the administrative history of the record collection. The records are described as well as how they are arranged along with finding aids and content of records. For further details concerning the se records the user is referred to the US National Archives, Washington.

A computer code, FCUP, developed by A. Craft computes currents of recoil protons from a time- and energy-dependent neutron flux striking a CH{sub 2} foil. Three problem areas need to be addressed to extend the code`s usefulness. First, FCUP computes a response that is not time dependent; that is, only the input time bin is broadened to account for the finite time distribution of protons from a single neutron energy; second, the time coordinate of the signal predicted is translated arbitrarily rather than absolutely relative to the time of maximum neutron production in the source; and third, the code does not account for electron pickup by protons at low proton energies in the target and absorber foils. This report describes the changes in calculational method used to overcome these problems.

FY 1981 laboratory and field studies related to the Radionuclide Migration project are described. Results are presented for radiochemical analyses of water samples collected from the RNM-1 well and the RNM-2S satellite well at the Cambric site. Data are included for tritium, {sup 85}Kr, {sup 129}I, and {sup 36}Cl. The maximum-concentration tritium, peak appears to have arrived at RNM-2S near the end of FY-1981. Laboratory studies emphasize the sorptive behavior of alluvium and tuff and its dependence on mineralogy. Results from batch measurements and crushed-rock and whole-core column studies are presented.

Each of these samples was analyzed using automated, scanning x-ray diffractometry. The blue vanadium surface was run in the as-received condition, while a new method of sample preparation was used for the scale. This new method involved (1) grinding the sample in a conventional fashion, (2) mixing the sample with collodion to form a castable slurry, (3) pouring and spreading the mixture on a taut, clean sheet of plastic film, and (4) then covering the resultant sample with a second plastic film layer to form a sandwich-type assembly. Only a few milligrams of sample are needed for this procedure, and the resultant data is much more accurate than that obtained by the previously-used Debye-Scherrer technique. The phase analysis for this sample finds vanadium as the major constituent and minor constituents of V{sub 2}C and a surface contaminant, PuO{sub 2}.

The objective of the waste package program is to insure that a package is designed suitable for a repository in tuff that meets performance requirements of the NRC. In brief, the current (draft) regulation requires that the radionuclides be contained in the engineered system for 1000 years, and that, thereafter, no more than one part in 10{sup 5} of the nuclides per year leave the boundary of the system. Studies completed as of this writing are thermal modeling of waste packages in a tuff repository and analysis of sodium bentonite as a potential backfill material. Both studies will be presented. Thermal calculations coupled with analysis of the geochemical literature on bentonite indicate that extensive chemical and physical alteration of bentonite would result at the high power densities proposed (ca. 2 kW/package and an area density of 25 W/m{sup 2}), in part due to compacted bentonite`s relatively low thermal conductivity when dehydrated ({similar_to}0.6 +- 0.2 W/m{sup 0}C). Because our groundwater contains K{sup +}, an upper hydrothermal temperature limit appears to be 120 to 150{sup 0}C. At much lower power densities (less than 1 kW per package and an areal density of 12 W/m{sup 2}), bentonite may be suitable.

A hydrologic test system has been designed to measure the intrinsic permeabilities of individual fractures in crystalline rock. This system is used to conduct constant pressure-declining flow rate and pressure pulse hydraulic tests. The system is composed of four distinct units: (1) the Packer System, (2) Injection system, (3) Collection System, and (4) Electronic Data Acquisition System. The apparatus is built in modules so it can be easily transported and re-assembled. It is also designed to operate over a wide range of pressures (0 to 300 psig) and flow rates (0.2 to 1.0 gal/min). This system has proved extremely effective and versatile in its use at the Climax Facility, Nevada Test Site.

This report is published by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the DOE Solar Thermal Technology Division to provide an account of work sponsored by the Division and to aid the community of people interested in solar thermal technology in gaining access to technical information. Contents include articles entitled the following: Solar system supplies thermal energy for producing chemicals at USS plant; Solar thermal power module designed for small community market; Roof-mounted trough system supplies process heat for Caterpillar plant; Solar thermal update -- 10 MW(e) pilot plant and 3-MW(t) total energy system; Solar steam processes crude oil; New York investigates solar ponds as a source of thermal energy; On-farm solar -- Finding new uses for the sun; and Topical index of solar thermal report articles.

This Engineering Test Plan (ETP) describes field studies of radionuclide migration in fractured rock designed for the Climax grainite at the Nevada Test Site. The purpose of the ETP is to provide a detailed written document of the method of accomplishing these studies. The ETP contains the experimental test plans, an instrumentation plan, system schematics, a description of the test facility, and a brief outline of the laboratory support studies needed to understand the chemistry of the rock/water/radionuclide interactions. Results of our initial hydrologic investigations are presented along with pretest predictions based on the hydrologic test results.

Measurements of drift closure caused by the thermal load have been made routinely during the Spent Fuel Test in Climax granite since about six weeks after emplacement of the fuel. Horizontal and vertical closure was measured with a manually operated tape extensometer at various locations along the lengths of the drifts. Average closures ranged from 0 to 0.6 mm, horizontal and vertical, out to about 2.2 years since the start of the test. At the same time, displacements from the thermal loads were measured with rod extensometers emplaced to measure relative displacements between hole collars and anchor points in holes drilled from two parallel heater drifts. These data are compared with thermo-elastic finite element calculations which utilized measured properties of the Climax granite. The calculations show that more than half of the closures occur between fuel installation and the first closure measurement. The comparisons show that the results track each other, in that where closure followed by dilation is measured, the calculations also show this effect. The agreement is excellent, considering the averaged measured closures remain within 30% of the total calculated drift closures and the extremely small magnitude of the relative displacements (0.5 mm), measured or calculated.

Samples of the Bullfrog Member of the Crater Flat Tuff from the depth interval 758.9 to 759.2 m in hole USW-G1 on the Nevada Test Site were tested in triaxial compression. Test conditions were: (1) effective confining pressure to 20 MPa; (2) temperature of 200{sup 0}C; (3) both dry and with pore water pressures from 3.4 to 5 MPa; and (4) a strain-rate of 10{sup -4}/s. The results suggest that the presence of water causes the strength to decrease. In addition, the brittle-ductile transition pressure for this rock was found to be about 15 MPa, regardless of saturation. Below this pressure deformation is characterized by unstable stress drops and the development of a single fracture, and above this pressure deformation is stable and distributed more uniformly throughout the sample.

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) facility is proposed for development in the southeast portion of the State of New Mexico. The proposed horizon is in bedded salt located approximately 2150 ft below the surface. The purpose of the WIPP is to provide an R&D facility to demonstrate the safe disposal of radioactive wastes resulting from defense activities of the United States. As such, it will include a disposal demonstration for transuranic (TRU) wastes and an experimental area to address issues associated with disposal of defense high level wastes (DHLW) in bedded salt. All DHLW used in the experiments are planned for retrieval at the termination of testing; the TRU waste can be permanently disposed of at the site after the pilot phase is complete. This report addresses only the Plugging and Sealing program, which will result in an adequate and acceptable technology for final sealing and decommissioning of the facility at the WIPP site. The actual plugging operations are intended to be conducted on a commercial industrial basis through contracts issued by the DOE. This report is one in a series that is based on a technical program of modeling, laboratory materials testing and field demonstration which will provide …

The objective of this program is to develop nuclear waste packages that meet the Nuclear Regulatory Commission`s requirements for a licensed repository in tuff at the Nevada Test Site. Selected accomplishments for FY82 are: (1) Selection, collection of rock, and characterization of suitable outcrops (for lab experiments); (2) Rock-water interactions (Bullfrog Tuff); (3) Corrosion tests of ferrous metals; (4) Thermal modeling of waste package in host rock; (5) Preliminary fabrication tests of alternate backfills (crushed tuff); (6) Reviewed Westinghouse conceptual waste package designs for tuff and began modification for unsaturated zone; and (7) Waste Package Codes (BARIER and WAPPA) now running on our computer. Brief discussions are presented for rock-water interactions, corrosion tests of ferrous metals, and thermal and radionuclide migration modelling.

The Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations, which is evaluating potential locations for a high-level waste repository at the Nevada Test Site and environs, is currently focusing its investigations on tuff, principally in Yucca Mountain, as a host rock. This paper discusses some of the geochemical investigations. Particular emphasis is placed on definition of some basic elements and necessary technical approaches for the geochemistry data acquisition and modeling program. Some site-specific tuff geochemical information that is important for site selection and repository performance will be identified and the current status of knowledge will then be discussed.

The Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations (NNWSI) are studying the Nevada Test Site (NTS) area to establish whether it would qualify as a licensable location for a commercial nuclear waste repository; determining whether specific underground rock masses in the NTS area are technically acceptable for permanently disposing of highly radioactive solid wastes; and developing and demonstrating the capability to safely handle and store commercial spent reactor fuel and high-level waste. Progress reports for the following eight tasks are presented: systems; waste package; site; repository; regulatory and institutional; test facilities; land acquisition; and program management. Some of the highlights are: A code library was established to provide a central location for documentation of repository performance assessment codes. A two-dimensional finite element code, SAGUARO, was developed for modeling saturated/unsaturated groundwater flow. The results of an initial experiment to determine canister penetration rates due to corrosion indicate the expected strong effect of toxic environmental conditions on the corrosion rate of carbon steel in tuff-conditioned water. Wells USW-H3 and USW-H4 at Yucca Mountain have been sampled for groundwater analysis. A summary characterizing and relating the mineralogy and petrology of Yucca Mountain tuffs was compiled from the findings of studies of core samples from five …

The Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations (NNWSI) are investigating and determining whether specific underground rock masses are suitable for permanently disposing of highly radioactive wastes, studying and determining whether the Nevada Test Site (NTS) would qualify as a suitable repository site, and developing and demonstrating the capability to safely handle and store commercial spent reactor fuel and high-level waste. This document is a compilation of the technical progress of the principal project participants of the NNWSI in meeting the objectives described in the draft FY 1982 NNWSI Project Plan and revised planning documentation during the first quarter of FY 1982. The NNWSI Project Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for FY 1982 is comprised of eight tasks which form the main sections of this document. They are: systems; waste package; site; repository; regulatory and institutional; test facilities; land acquisition; and program management. Scenarios for the release of radionuclide from a repository in alternate rock types occuring in the southwest NTS area were ranked by probabilities. Analysis of data from 60 wells in and around NTS are nearing completion. A computerized data recording and earthquake detection system that is more efficient was made operational. A series of 55 evaluations of repository locations in …

The vadose zone in arid regions is considered as a possible environment for geologic isolation of nuclear waste. There are several topographic and lithologic combinations in the vadose zone of arid regions that may lend themselves to waste isolation considerations. In some cases, topographic highs such as mesas and interbasin ranges - comprised of several rock types, may contain essentially dry or partially saturated conditions favorable for isolation. The adjacent basins, especially in the far western and southwestern US, may have no surface or subsurface hydrologic connections with systems ultimately leading to the ocean. Some rock types may have the favorable characteristics of very low permeability and contain appropriate minerals for the strong chemical retardation of radionuclides. Environments exhibiting these hydrologic and geochemical attributes are the areas underlain by tuffaceous rocks, relatively common in the Basin and Range geomorphic province. Adjacent valley areas, where tuffaceous debris makes up a significant component of valley fill alluvium, may also contain thick zones of unsaturated material, and as such also lend themselves to strong consideration as respository environments. This paper summarizes the aspects of nuclear waste isolation in unsaturated regimes in alluvial-filled valleys and tuffaceous rocks of the Basin and Range province.

Reservoir designs consist of two primary features including the stem(s) and the body segment. The stem is either an integral part of the reservoir or is joined at some point in the fabrication sequence. The current interest is in high strength stems for advanced reservoir designs. The processing necessary to achieve these strength levels may result in heavily cold worked microstructures which may not interface well with the stem requirements. For instance, cold worked 316 plate stock has shown decreased hydrogen compatibility when contrasted to the annealed version in laboratory tests. More recently, Precision Forge produced a 100 ksi yield strength, 304L stem forging with a heavily deformed microstructure which also may show decreased compatibility in hydrogen. The proposed forging contract will evaluate the influence of forging parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 304L and 316 stem forgings. A summary of the data available on 304L stem forgings is shown graphically. The yield strength values are shown for each set of forging parameters. Tensile tests and microstructural examination will be conducted to complete the information for 304L and create a similar graph for 316 stem forgings.

At Yucca Mountain, a potential site for a high-level nuclear waste repository on the Nevada Test Site in southern Nevada, evaluation of the geologic setting and rock physical properties, along with previous regional hydrologic studies, has provided background that can be used for construction of a preliminary conceptual hydrologic model of the unsaturated zone. The 500-m-thick unsaturated portion of Yucca Mountain consists of alternating layers of two contrasting types of tuff. One type consists of highly fractured, densely welded, relatively nonporous but highly transmissive ash-flow tuffs. The other type consists of relatively unfractured, nonwelded, highly porous but relatively nontransmissive, argillic and zeolitic bedded tuffs and ash-flow tuffs. The contrast between these two sets of distinctive physical properties results in a stratified sequence best described as "physical-property stratigraphy" as opposed to traditional petrologic stratigraphy of volcanic rocks. The vast majority of recharge through the unsaturated zone is assumed to be vertical; the dominant migration may occur in fractures of densely welded tuffs and in the matrix of nonwelded tuff, but the mode of fluid flow in these unsaturated systems is undetermined. Limited lateral flow of recharge may occur at horizons where local perched water tables may exist above relatively nontransmissive zeolitized …

Thermal-conductivity and bulk-property measurements were made on welded and nonwelded silicic tuffs from the upper portion of Hole USW-G1, located near the southwestern margin of the Nevada Test Site. Bulk-property measurements were made by standard techniques. Thermal conductivities were measured at temperatures as high as 280{sup 0}C, confining pressures to 10 MPa, and pore pressures to 1.5 MPa. Extrapolation of measured saturated conductivities to zero porosity suggests that matrix conductivity of both zeolitized and devitrified tuffs is independent of stratigraphic position, depth, and probably location. This fact allows development of a thermal-conductivity stratigraphy for the upper portion of Hole G1. Estimates of saturated conductivities of zeolitized nonwelded tuffs and devitrified tuffs below the water table appear most reliable. Estimated conductivities of saturated densely welded devitrified tuffs above the water table are less reliable, due to both internal complexity and limited data presently available. Estimation of conductivity of dewatered tuffs requires use of different air thermal conductivities in devitrified and zeolitized samples. Estimated effects of in-situ fracturing generally appear negligible.

A general three-dimensional continuum description is presented for a material containing regularly spaced and approximately parallel jointing planes within a representative elementary volume. Constitutive relationships are introduced for linear behavior of the base material and nonlinear normal and shear behavior across jointing planes. Furthermore, a fracture permeability tensor is calculated so that deformation induced alterations to the in-situ values can be measured. Examples for several strain-controlled loading paths are presented.

In order to assess in situ joint permeability near waste repositories, it has been proposed that instrumentation holes with axes parallel to the joint plane be drilled. However, the drill holes after the normal stress across the joint. The resultant stress concentration decreases the joint aperture and can significantly affect the joint permeability. Different intersections of the hold axis relative to the joint plane were examined utilizing a plane-strain, elastic analysis. It was found that a tangential joint intersection minimized the normal stress change. Stress along the joint increased by 10 to 15 percent and the permeability-aperture product decreased to 65 to 70 percent of its original flow.

A laboratory study was made of the effects of a massive dose of {gamma} irradiation upon the mechanical properties of Climax stock quartz monzonite. Twenty-nine cylinders of rocks were tested using the Brazilian method and 26 strain gauged cylinders were tested to failure in uniaxial compression. One-half the cylinders in each group were subjected to a {gamma} ray dose of 13.2 MGy (1.32 x 10{sup 9} rads), or six times the maximum five-year dose to rock at the Spent Fuel Test-Climax, Nevada Test Site. The irradiation treatment lowered the ultimate compressional strength and lowered Young`s modulus under uniaxial loads greater than 20 MPa. The treatment did not measurable affect the elastic behavior of the rock in compression, nor did it affect the Brazilian tensile strength. These trends suggest that the {gamma} irradiation lowered the threshold stress at which microfractures begin to form. The irradiation has apparently not directly induced microfracturing in the rock, so a direct degrading effect on thermal and fluid transport properties is not expected.

The tuffs of the Nevada Test Site are currently under investigation as a possible deep geologic site for high-level radioactive waste disposal. This report characterizes tuff retrieved in core from two drill holes, USW-G2 and UE25b-1H, at the Yucca Mountain block. The USW-G2 drill core is from the northernmost extent of the block, whereas UE25b-1H is adjacent to an earlier drill hole, UE25a-1. The drill cores USW-G2 and UE25b-1H bottomed at 6000 and 4200 ft, respectively. Petrographic and x-ray diffraction studies of the two drill cores are presented in this report and indicate that tuffs (composed primarily of variably welded ash flows) are partially recrystallized to secondary minerals. Correlations of stratigraphy are also made with previous drill cores from Yucca Mountain.