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An XRF specimen preparation method was developed to quantify the concentration of gallium in plutonium metal while minimizing the risk of contaminating the instrument with radioactive material. To ensure that homogeneous specimens are examined, plutonium is dissolved in dilute HCl and HNO{sub 3} prior to analysis. In the preliminary work here, non-radioactive aqueous gallium standards were prepared, and zinc was added as an internal standard to improve the accuracy and precision. Aliquots from these solutions were cast on Mylar XRF films and air dried prior to analysis. Two methods of casting the solutions were evaluated: (1) casting as a thin layer using a surfactant to wet the support film and (2) casting multiple small spots on the support film. Aqueous gallium standards were prepared and cast as dried residue specimens using each method. These specimens were then analyzed, and calibration curves were prepared. Highly linear calibrations were obtained for each preparation method when zinc was used as the internal standard (RMS values {le}1% of the standards concentration range in both cases). Based on this preliminary work, this dried residue process appears very promising for the accurate quantification of gallium in plutonium.

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The collection of programs broadly termed Transparency Initiatives frequently involves physics measurements that are applied to items with sensitive or classified properties. The inability or reluctance to perform quantitative measurements, in the safeguards tradition, to such items, and then to expose the results to international examination, has impelled development of an attributes approach to measurements, following the philosophy if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, call it a duck, This approach avoids certain of the classification issues that would otherwise be associated with such measurements. Use of the attributes approach, however, continues to pose problems of interpretation, in light of the need to establish numerical thresholds whereby data obtained from the measurements can be evaluated to determine whether the attribute is present. In this paper we examine the foundations of the attributes approach and the steps used to determine appropriate attributes and thresholds, using examples from contemporary threat-reduction initiatives where possible. Implications for the detector technologies used in the measurements will be discussed, as will the characteristics of so-called information barriers intended to prevent inadvertent release of sensitive information during attributes measurements.

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This paper compares the performance of recursive state estimation techniques for tracking the physical location of a radioactive source within a room based on radiation measurements obtained from a series of detectors at fixed locations. Specifically, the extended Kalman filter, algebraic observer, and nonlinear least squares techniques are investigated. The results of this study indicate that recursive least squares estimation significantly outperforms the other techniques due to the severe model nonlinearity.

Options for sequestration of CO{sub 2} are best viewed in light of the regional distribution of CO{sub 2} sources and potential sequestration sites. This study examines the distribution of carbon emissions from fossil fuel power plants in California and their proximity to three types of reservoirs that may be suitable for sequestration: (1) active or depleted oil fields, (2) active or depleted gas fields, and (3) brine formations. This paper also presents a preliminary assessment of the feasibility of sequestering CO{sub 2} generated from large fossil-fuel fired power plants in California and discusses the comparative advantages of three different types of reservoirs for this purpose. Based on a volumetric analysis of sequestration capacity and current CO{sub 2} emission rates from oil/gas fired power plants, this analysis suggests that oil reservoirs, gas fields and brine formations can all contribute significantly to sequestration in California. Together they could offer the opportunity to meet both short and long term needs. In the near term, oil and gas reservoirs are the most promising because the trapping structures have already stood the test of time and opportunities for offsetting the cost of sequestration with revenues from enhanced oil and gas production. In the long term, …

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This paper presents a demonstration of a novel lean premixed low-swirl injector (LSI) concept for ultra-low NOx gas turbines. Low-swirl flame stabilization method is a recent discovery that is being applied to atmospheric heating equipment. Low-swirl burners are simple and support ultra-lean premixed flames that are less susceptible to combustion instabilities than conventional high-swirl designs. As a first step towards transferring this method to turbines, an injector modeled after the design of atmospheric low-swirl burner has been tested up to T=646 F and 10 atm and shows good promise for future development.

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It is time to reconsider entombment of nuclear reactors and other facilities. Decommissioning worker exposure and safety, transportation, cost, potential loss of LLW disposal capacity, and need for strong technical basis are shared drivers for the renewed interest in developing the entombment D&D option. Entombment relies on retarding the release of radionuclides for a very long period, a number of factors must be considered prior to selection and implementation of entombment. A technical basis for addressing and evaluating these factors with associated stakeholder acceptance of the technology is needed before entombment becomes an accepted D&D option.

An experimental and calculational study has been performed to understand and prevent inadvertent activation of the criticality alarm system (CAS) from fuel-handling operations at the Irradiated Fuel Storage Facility. In conjunction with the study, the CAS neutron detectors were tested to verify the design specifications for gamma rejection capability and zero response limit. A minimum physical restrictive boundary around the CAS location was established based on a gamma ray dose rate limit of 10 rad/hr. The canister loaded with spent nuclear fuel must be moved in the area outside the exclusion zone so as not to trigger a false alarm from the CAS detectors.

With new safeguards measures (under old and new authority) now available to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), there will be fundamental changes in the manner IAEA safeguards are implemented, raising questions about their effectiveness in meeting expanded Agency safeguards objectives. In order to characterize the capability of various safeguards approaches in meeting their objectives, it will be necessary to fully understand what is involved in the new safeguards equation. Both old and new measures will be required to construct a comprehensive picture of a State's nuclear activities and capabilities, and they both have strengths and weaknesses. There are (for political and cost reasons) likely to be tradeoffs between the two types of measures. Significant differences among measures with respect to the probability of their detecting an anomaly, along with other characteristics, need be considered in this context. Given the important role of both types of measures in future approaches, their inherent differences with regard to their capabilities and limitations, and their potential impact on the credibility of safeguards, it will be essential to consider these measures systematically, independently, and in combination in any effectiveness evaluation. This paper will consider concepts and issues in addressing this need.

Applications of perturbative QCD to deeply virtual Compton scattering and hard exclusive electroproduction processes require a generalization of the usual parton distributions for the case when long-distance information is accumulated in non-diagonal matrix elements of quark and gluon light-cone operators. I describe two types of nonperturbative functions parametrizing such matrix elements: double distributions and skewed parton distributions, discuss their general properties, relation to the usual parton densities and form factors, evolution equations for both types of generalized parton distributions (GPD), models for GPDs and their applications in virtual and real Compton scattering.