Under ER63662, 3-D Seismic Experimentation and Advanced Processing/Inversion Development for Investigations of the Shallow Subsurface, we have completed a number of subprojects associated with the Hill Air Force Base (HAFB) high resolution 3-D reflection/tomography dataset.

We report three new structures of mitochondrial respiratory Complex II (succinate ubiquinone oxidoreductase, E.C. 1.3.5.1) at up to 2.1 {angstrom} resolution, with various inhibitors. The structures define the conformation of the bound inhibitors and suggest the residues involved in substrate binding and catalysis at the dicarboxylate site. In particular they support the role of Arg297 as a general base catalyst accepting a proton in the dehydrogenation of succinate. The dicarboxylate ligand in oxaloacetate-containing crystals appears to be the same as that reported for Shewanella flavocytochrome c treated with fumarate. The plant and fungal toxin 3-nitropropionic acid, an irreversible inactivator of succinate dehydrogenase, forms a covalent adduct with the side chain of Arg297. The modification eliminates a trypsin cleavage site in the flavoprotein, and tandem mass spectroscopic analysis of the new fragment shows the mass of Arg 297 to be increased by 83 Da and to have potential of losing 44 Da, consistent with decarboxylation, during fragmentation.

This document is a 21-page summary of the 200+ page analysis that explores one clearly defined scenario for providing 20% of our nation's electricity demand with wind energy by 2030 and contrasts it to a scenario of no new U.S. wind power capacity.

Fluor Hanford (FH) is responsible for providing support to the Department of Energy Richland Operations Office (RL) in the implementation of the Hanford Emergency Preparedness (EP) program. During fiscal year 2000, a number of program improvements were identified from various sources including a major range fire (24 Command Fire). Evaluations of the emergency preparedness program have confirmed that it currently meets all requirements and that performance of personnel involved is good, however the desire to effect continuous improvement resulted in the development of this improvement program plan. This program plan defines the activities that will be performed in order to achieve the desired performance improvements.

A minor leak was detected in a drain line for Hood 2B located in the 222-S Laboratory. The line transfers radioactive waste, spent analytical standards, and chemicals used in various analytical procedures. Details are in the report provided by David Comstock, 2B NDE June 2008, work package LAB-WO-07-2012. Including the noted leak, the 222-S Laboratory has experienced two drain line leaks in approximately the last two years of operation. As a consequence, CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc. (CH2M HILL) requested the support of ChemMet, Ltd., PC (ChemMet) at the Hanford Site 222-S Laboratory. The corrosion expertise from ChemMet was required prior to preparation of a compatibility assessment for the 222-S Laboratory waste transfer system to assure the expected life of the piping system is extended as much as practicable. The system includes piping within the 222-S Laboratory and the 219-S Waste Storage and Transfer Facility and Operations Process. The ChemMet support was required for an assessment by 222-S staff to analyze what improvements to operational activities may be implemented to extend the tank/piping system life. This assessment will include a summary of the various material types, age, and locations throughout the facility. The assessment will also include a discussion of …

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The 1999 results for the Bettis-Pittsburgh radiological and nonradiological environmental monitoring programs are presented. The results demonstrate that the existing procedures ensured that releases to the environment during 1999 were in accordance with applicable Federal, State, County, and local regulations. Evaluation of the environmental data indicates that current operations at the Site continue to have no adverse effect on human health and the quality of the environment. A conservative assessment of radiation exposure to the general public as a result of Site operations demonstrates that the dose received by any member of the public was well below the most restrictive dose limits established by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the US Department of Energy. A risk assessment of potentially exposed populations to chemical residues in the environment at the Site demonstrates that these residues do not pose any significant risk to human health or the environment.

The 2001 results for the Bettis-Pittsburgh radiological and nonradiological environmental monitoring programs are presented. The results demonstrate that the existing procedures ensured that releases to the environment during 2001 were in accordance with applicable Federal, State, County, and local regulations. Evaluation of the environmental data indicates that current operations at the Site continue to have no adverse effect on human health and the quality of the environment. A conservative assessment of radiation exposure to the general public as a result of Site operations demonstrates that the dose received by any member of the public was well below the most restrictive dose limits established by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the U.S. Department of Energy. A risk assessment of potentially exposed populations to chemical residues in the environment at the Site demonstrates that any potential risk posed by these residues is much less than the risks encountered in normal everyday life.

The Pacific Northwest Loads and Resources Study (White Book), which is published annually by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), establishes one of the planning bases for supplying electricity to customers. The White Book contains projections of regional and Federal system load and resource capabilities, along with relevant definitions and explanations. The White Book also contains information obtained from formalized resource planning reports and data submittals including those from individual utilities, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (Council), and the Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee (PNUCC). The White Book is not an operational planning guide, nor is it used for determining BPA revenues, although the database that generates the data for the White Book analysis contributes to the development of BPA's inventory and ratemaking processes. Operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) is based on a set of criteria different from that used for resource planning decisions. Operational planning is dependent upon real-time or near-term knowledge of system conditions that include expectations of river flows and runoff, market opportunities, availability of reservoir storage, energy exchanges, and other factors affecting the dynamics of operating a power system. In this loads and resources study, resource availability is compared to an expected …

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The Pacific Northwest Loads and Resources Study (White Book), which is published annually by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), establishes one of the planning bases for supplying electricity to customers. The White Book contains projections of regional and Federal system load and resource capabilities, along with relevant definitions and explanations. The White Book also contains information obtained from formalized resource planning reports and data submittals including those from individual utilities, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (Council), and the Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee (PNUCC). The White Book is not an operational planning guide, nor is it used for determining BPA revenues, although the database that generates the data for the White Book analysis contributes to the development of BPA's inventory and ratemaking processes. Operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) is based on a set of criteria different from that used for resource planning decisions. Operational planning is dependent upon real-time or near-term knowledge of system conditions that include expectations of river flows and runoff, market opportunities, availability of reservoir storage, energy exchanges, and other factors affecting the dynamics of operating a power system. The load resource balance of BPA and/or the region is determined by comparing …

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This brochure describes the Solar Decathlon, an international competition among college and university teams to design, build, and operate the most attractive, energy-efficient, solar-powered house.

Most recent improvements in building envelope technologies suggest that in the near future, residences will be routinely constructed to operate with very low heating and cooling loads. In that light, the application of novel building materials containing active thermal components (e.g., phase change materials [PCMs,] sub-venting, radiant barriers, and integrated hydronic systems) is like a final step in achieving relatively significant heating and cooling energy savings from technological improvements in the building envelope. It is expected that optimized building envelope designs using PCMs for energy storage can effectively bring notable savings in energy consumption and reductions in peak hour power loads. During 2006/07, a research team at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) performed a series of laboratory and field tests of several wall and roof assemblies using PCM-enhanced cellulose insulation. This report summarizes the test results from the perspective of energy performance. The ORNL team is working on both inorganic and organic PCMs; this report discusses only paraffinic PCMs. A limited economical analysis also is presented. PCMs have been tested as a thermal mass component in buildings for at least 40 years. Most of the research studies found that PCMs enhanced building energy performance. In the case of the application …

The concepts and technical challenges related to developing a 4th generation ECR ion source with an RF frequency greater than 40 GHz and magnetic confinement fields greater than twice Becr will be explored in this paper. Based on the semi-empirical frequency scaling of ECR plasma density with the square of operating frequency, there should be significant gains in performance over current 3rd generation ECR ion sources, which operate at RF frequencies between 20 and 30 GHz. While the 3rd generation ECR ion sources use NbTi superconducting solenoid and sextupole coils, the new sources will need to use different superconducting materials such as Nb3Sn to reach the required magnetic confinement, which scales linearly with RF frequency. Additional technical challenges include increased bremsstrahlung production, which may increase faster than the plasma density, bremsstrahlung heating of the cold mass and the availability of high power continuous wave microwave sources at these frequencies. With each generation of ECR ion sources, there are new challenges to be mastered, but the potential for higher performance and reduced cost of the associated accelerator continue to make this a promising avenue for development.

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) initiated processing of Sludge Batch 4 (SB4) in May 2007. SB4 was the first DWPF sludge batch to contain significant quantities of HM or high Al sludge. Initial testing with SB4 simulants showed potential negative impacts to DWPF processing; therefore, Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) performed extensive testing in an attempt to optimize processing. SRNL's testing has resulted in the highest DWPF production rates since start-up. During SB4 processing, DWPF also began incorporating waste streams from the interim salt processing facilities to initiate coupled operations. While DWPF has been processing SB4, the Liquid Waste Organization (LWO) and the SRNL have been preparing Sludge Batch 5 (SB5). SB5 has undergone low-temperature aluminum dissolution to reduce the mass of sludge for vitrification and will contain a small fraction of Purex sludge. A high-level review of SB4 processing and the SB5 preparation studies will be provided.

This report describes PowerLight Corporation's significant progress toward the reduction of installed costs for commercial-scale, rooftop PV systems.

Neutrino oscillations were first discovered by experiments looking at neutrinos coming from extra-terrestrial sources, namely the sun and the atmosphere, but we will be depending on earth-based sources to take many of the next steps in this field. This article describes what has been learned so far from accelerator-based neutrino oscillation experiments, and then describe very generally what the next accelerator-based steps are. In section 2 the article discusses how one uses an accelerator to make a neutrino beam, in particular, one made from decays in flight of charged pions. There are several different neutrino detection methods currently in use, or under development. In section 3 these are presented, with a description of the general concept, an example of such a detector, and then a brief discussion of the outstanding issues associated with this detection technique. Finally, section 4 describes how the measurements of oscillation probabilities are made. This includes a description of the near detector technique and how it can be used to make the most precise measurements of neutrino oscillations.

This Technical Memorandum (TM) summarizes the accelerator and experiment operations for FY 2004. It is one of a series of annual publications intended to gather information in one place. In this case, the information concerns the FY 2004 Run II at the Tevatron Collider, the MiniBooNE neutrino experiment, and SY 120 activities.

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Interferometric fiber-optic links used in pulsed-power experiments are evaluated for accuracy in the presence of radiation fields which alter fiber transmission. Amplitude-modulated format (e.g., Mach-Zehnder) and phase-modulated formats are compared. Historically, studies of radiation effects on optical fibers have focused on degradation and recovery of the fibers transmission properties; such work is either in the context of survivability of fibers in catastrophic conditions or suitability of fibers installed for command and control systems within an experimental facility [1], [2]. In this work, we consider links used to transmit realtime diagnostic data, and we analyze the error introduced by radiation effects during the drive pulse. The result is increased uncertainties in key parameters required to unfold the sinusoidal transfer function. Two types of modulation are considered: amplitude modulation typical of a Mach-Zehnder (M-Z) modulator [3], and phase modulation, which offers more flexible demodulation options but relies on the spatiotemporal coherence of the light in the fiber. The M-Z link is shown schematically in Fig. 1, and the phase-modulated link is shown in Fig. 2. We present data from two experimental environments: one with intense, controlled radiation fields to simulate conditions expected at the next generation of pulsed-power facilities, and the second …