'Monosodium aluminate, the phase of aluminate found in waste tanks, is only stable over a fairly narrow range of water vapor pressure (22% relative humidity at 22 C). As a result, aluminate solids are stable at Hanford (seasonal average RH {approximately}20%) but are not be stable at Savannah River (seasonal average RH {approximately}40%). Monosodium aluminate (MSA) releases water upon precipitation from solution. In contrast, trisodium aluminate (TSA) consumes water upon precipitation. As a result, MSA precipitates gradually over time while TSA undergoes rapid accelerated precipitation, often gelling its solution. Raman spectra reported for first time for monosodium and trisodium aluminate solids. Ternary phase diagrams can be useful for showing effects of water removal, even with concentrated waste. Kinetics of monosodium aluminate precipitation are extremely slow (several months) at room temperature but quite fast (several hours) at 60 C. As a result, all waste simulants that contain aluminate need several days of cooking at 60 C in order to truly represent the equilibrium state of aluminate. The high level waste (HLW) slurries that have been created at the Hanford and Savannah River Sites over that last fifty years constitute a large fraction of the remaining HLW volumes at both sites. In …

Thermal sprayed ethylene methacrylic acid (EMAA) and ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), spray-and-bake ETFE and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and brushable ceramic-epoxy coatings were evaluated for corrosion protection in a biochemical process to treat geothermal residues. The findings are also relevant to other moderate temperature brine environments where corrosion is a problem. Coupon, Atlas cell, peel strength, cathodic disbondment and abrasion tests were performed in aggressive environments including geothermal sludge, hypersaline brine and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (Thiobadus ferrooxidans) to determine suitability for protecting storage tanks and reaction vessels. It was found that all of the coatings were resistant to chemical attack and biodegradation at the test temperature of 55 C. The EMAA coatings protected 316L stainless steel from corrosion in coupon tests. However, corrosion of mild steel substrates thermal sprayed with EMAA and ETFE occurred in Atlas cell tests that simulated a lined reactor operating environment and this resulted in decreased adhesive strength. Peel tests to measure residual adhesion revealed that failure mode was dependent on exposure conditions. Long-term tests on the durability of ceramic-epoxy coatings in brine and bacteria are ongoing. Initial indications are that this coating has suitable characteristics. Abrasion tests showed that the ceramic-epoxy had good resistance to the abrasive effects …

Thermal sprayed ethylene methacrylic acid (EMAA) and ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), spray-and-bake ETFE and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and brushable ceramic-epoxy coatings were evaluated for corrosion protection in a biochemical process to treat geothermal residues. Coupon, Atlas cell, peel strength, cathodic disbondment and abrasion tests were performed in aggressive environments including geothermal sludge, hypersaline brine and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (Thiobacillus ferrooxidans) to determine suitability for protecting storage tanks and reaction vessels. It was found that all of the coatings were resistant to chemical attack and biodegradation at the test temperature of 55 C. The EMAA coatings protected 316L stainless steel from corrosion in coupon tests. However, corrosion of mild steel substrates thermal sprayed with EMAA and ETFE occurred in Atlas cell tests that simulated a lined reactor operating environment and this resulted in decreased adhesive strength. Peel tests to measure residual adhesion revealed that failure mode was dependent on exposure conditions. Abrasion tests showed that the ceramic-epoxy had good resistance to the abrasive effects of sludge. Thermal sprayed EMAA coatings also displayed abrasion resistance. Cathodic disbondment tests in brine at room temperature indicated that EMAA coatings are resistant to disbondment at applied potentials of {minus}780 to {minus}1,070 mV SCE for the test conditions …

Report submitted by Amarillo College to the Texas 73rd regular legislature requesting appropriations to fund programming and activities. It includes an overview of the institution's goals, summaries of appropriations requests for fiscal years 1996 and 1997, and supporting documentation.

Several compounds were evaluated in a number of optical configurations in order to test the optical response of these compounds to changes in humidity. Reichardt`s betaine (Reichardt`s dye, ET-30 dye, 2,6-diphenyl-4-(2,4,6-triphenyl-N-pyridinio)phenolate), a solvatochromic molecule, and several vapochromic compounds were tested, and each responded to a wide range of humidity by exhibiting shifts in visible absorption. All compounds in the study suffered from some degree of hysteresis upon humidity cycling. It is unclear as to the mechanism for this hysteresis, but future work will attempt to either model or remove the hysteresis effects. In the case of the vapochromic compounds, the hysteresis may be due to structural changes in the crystal lattice of the solid state compound. A prototype sensor configuration was also developed involving an attenuated total reflectance probe. The future of the project will deal with elucidating the hysteresis mechanisms for each compound, evaluating several other vapochromic compounds, and testing different immobilization schemes for the compounds under study. In addition, several other optical technologies will be investigated for application in optical humidity sensing.

'The purpose of this project is to develop a computer code for joint in-version of seismic and electrical data, to improve underground imaging for site characterization and remediation monitoring. The computer code developed in this project will invert geophysical data to obtain direct estimates of porosity and saturation underground, rather than inverting for seismic velocity and electrical resistivity or other geophysical properties. This is intended to be a significant improvement in the state-of-the-art of under-ground imaging, since interpretation of data collected at a contaminated site would become much less subjective. The schedule of this project is as follows: In the first year, investigators perform laboratory measurements of elastic and electrical properties of sand-clay mixtures containing various fluids. Investigators also develop methods of relating measurable geophysical properties to porosity and saturation by using rock physics theories, geostatistical, and empirical techniques together with available laboratory measurements. In the second year, investigators finish any necessary laboratory measurements and apply the methods de-veloped in the first year to invert available borehole log data to predict measured properties of cores and sediments from a borehole. Investigators refine the inversion code in the third year and carry out a field experiment to collect seismic and electrical …

'The background for the project is briefly reviewed and the work done during the nine months since funding was received is documented. Work began in January, 1997. A post doctoral fellow joined the team in April. The major activities completed this fiscal year were: staffing the project, design of the experimental system, procurement of components, assembly of the system. preparation of the Safe Operating Procedure and ES and H compliance, pressure testing, establishing data collection and storage methodology, and catalyst preparation. Objective The objective of the project is to develop new chemistry for the removal of organic contaminants from supercritical carbon dioxide. This has application in processes used for continuous cleaning and extraction of parts and waste materials. A secondary objective is to increase the fundamental understanding of photocatalytic chemistry. Cleaning and extraction using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO{sub 2}) can be applied to the solution of a wide range of environmental and pollution prevention problems in the DOE complex. Work is being done that explores scCO{sub 2} in applications ranging from cleaning contaminated soil to cleaning components constructed from plutonium. The rationale for use of scCO{sub 2} are based on the benign nature, availability and low cost, attractive solvent properties, …

The UCSD/TEXTOR collaboration has achieved the completion of three major tasks this year: (1) pump limiter studies; (2) RI-mode turbulence studies; and (3) velocity shear stabilization of turbulence. Brief summaries of progress in each area are given.

FFTF was originally designed/constructed/operated to develop LMFBR fuels and materials. Inherent safety became a major focus of the US nuclear industry in the mid 1980`s. The inherent safety characteristics of LMFBRs were recognized but additional enhancement was desired. The presentation contents are: Fast Flux Test Facility history and status; Overview of contract activities; Summary of loss of flow without scram with GEMs testing; and Summary of pump start with GEMs testing.

This report provides basic eligibility rules, recipient numbers, and FY1996-FY1998 expenditure data for 80 programs that have provided cash or non-cash benefits to low-income persons.

Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico, conducts the Energy Storage Systems Program, which is sponsored by the US Department of Energy`s Office of Utility Technologies. The goal of this program is to collaborate with industry in developing cost-effective electric energy storage systems for many high-value stationary applications. Sandia National Laboratories is responsible for the engineering analyses, contracted development, and testing of energy storage components and systems. This report details the technical achievements realized during fiscal year 1997. 46 figs., 20 tabs.

To model tank waste aging and interpret tank waste speciation results, the authors began measuring the reactivity of organic complexants and related compounds towards radiation-induced oxidation reactions. Because of the high efficiency of scavenging of the primary radicals of water radiolysis by nitrate and nitrite ion, the major radiolytically-generated radicals in these solutions, and in Hanford tank wastes, are NO{sub 2}, NO and O{sup {minus}}. Prior to this effort, little quantitative information existed for the reactions of these radicals with organic compounds such as those that were used in Hanford processes. Therefore, modeling of actual waste aging, or even simulated waste aging, was not feasible without measuring reactivities and determining reaction paths. The authors have made the first rate measurements of complexant aging and determined some of their degradation products.

Report providing an overview of provisions and funding related to food and agriculture program as a part of a supplemental appropriations bill (P.L. 105-18, H.R. 1871).

The FY1997 agriculture appropriations act (P.L. 104-180) was signed into law on August 6, 1996. P.L. 104-180 provides $52.84 billion in FY1997 budget authority for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and related agencies, an amount which is $5.60 billion below the Administration's FY1997 request and $10.25 billion below the FY1996 enacted level. Much of the reduction in funding from FY1996 levels is attributable to an $8.9 billion reduction in the reimbursement for net realized losses of the Commodity Credit Corporation, which is the funding mechanism for USDA's commodity programs. The act also requires recipients of the new farm bill-authorized market transition payments to use eligible land for farm production, or place it in a conserving use.

This report includes a brief analysis of federal research and development funding trends for the past six years as well as R&D funding projects to FY2000.

It has become apparent that anthropogenic aerosols exert radiative influence on the climate. This influence is comparable in magnitude but opposite in sign to that of greenhouse gases. The modeling effort here at LLNL has been designed to provide data and information for climate detection studies in order to help understand the role of anthropogenic aerosols over the interannual and decadal time scales.

The purpose of the piezometer network is to establish baseline hydraulic head data for the water table aquifer at the F- and H-Area seeplines prior to startup of the groundwater extraction/injection remediation system.

The President signed P.L. 104-205, the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997, (FY1997 Act) on September 30, 1996. This action completes work on Department of Transportation (DOT) and related agencies appropriations for the year.

Summary describing the work completed at Foster Associates, Inc. for the Social and Economic Consequences of Onshore OCS Related Activities in Coastal Alabama. It includes background information on the project funding and sponsorship, goals, methodology, and findings.

Subsurface contamination from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has been found at many Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Defense (DoD) and industrial sites due to the widespread use of organic solvents and hydrocarbon fuels. At ambient pressures and temperatures in the shallow subsurface, these substances are liquids that are immiscible with water; hence they are commonly designated as non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs). At some DOE sites, NAPLs are the presumed source of groundwater contamination in fractured rocks, such as basalts (at Hanford and Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL)), shales (Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant), and welded tuffs (Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)). The flow, transport and biodegradation processes controlling NAPL behavior in the vadose zone must be understood in order to establish the possible extent of contamination, the risk to groundwater supplies, and appropriate remediation action. This is particularly important in and sites with deep water tables (such as at Hanford, INEEL and LANL). In fractured rock aquifers, NAPL migration is likely to be dominated by the highly permeable pathways provided by rock fractures and joints. Two- and three-phase fluid phases may be present in vadose zone fractures, including NAPL-gas, NAPL-water (in regions of perched water) and NAPL-water-gas.

The FY 1997 Multi-Year Work Plan (MYWP) technical baseline describes the functions to be accomplished and the technical standards that govern the work. The following information is provided in this FY 1997 MYWP: technical baseline, work breakdown structure, schedule baseline, cost baseline, and execution year.

Annual report of the Gulf Coast Waste Disposal Authority describing goals, activities, and accomplishments during fiscal year 1997.

The focus of this work is the production of 2-mm P{alpha}MS mandrels by microencapsulation for use as National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser targets. It is our findings thus far that the processing techniques used previously for the 0.5-mm and 1.0-mm targets are no longer useful for preparation of the larger targets for a few fundamental reasons. The driving force for sphericity (from the minimization of interracial energy) decreases as the radius of curvature increases. Simultaneously, the mechanical robustness /stability of the water-oil-water emulsion droplets decreases as the droplet size increases. The impact of these physical conditions and the possibilities of circumventing these limitations have been examined while attempting to meet the NIF shell power spectrum criteria. Identifying the key parameters in the transition (solidification) from a w-o-w droplet to a solid polymer shell has been understood implicitly to be the paramount goal. It is believed through the knowledge gained that it will be possible to minimize the deleterious forces and maximize shell sphericity. At this point it is believed that properties intrinsic to the polymer (i.e., P{alpha}MS) such as its solution behavior and evolution of film stresses control the overall shell sphericity.

Experimental cryogenic capabilities are essential for the study of ICF high-gain target and weapons effects issues involving dynamic materials response at low temperatures. This report describes progress during the period 2/97-11/97 on the FY97 LDRD project ``Cryogenic EOS Capabilities on Pulsed Radiation Sources (Z Pinch)``. The goal of this project is the development of a general purpose cryogenic target system for precision EOS and shock physics measurements at liquid helium temperatures on the Z accelerator Z-pinch pulsed radiation source. Activity during the FY97 LDRD phase of this project has focused on development of a conceptual design for the cryogenic target system based on consideration of physics, operational, and safety issues, design and fabrication of principal system components, construction and instrumentation of a cryogenic test facility for off-line thermal and optical testing at liquid helium temperatures, initial thermal testing of a cryogenic target assembly, and the design of a cryogenic system interface to the Z pulsed radiation source facility. The authors discuss these accomplishments as well as elements of the project that require further work.