The Human Resources Staffing Plan quantified the equivalent staffing needs required for the Tank Farm Contractor (TFC) and its subcontractors to execute the readiness to proceed baseline between FY 2000-2008. The TFC staffing needs were assessed along with the staffings needs of Fluor Hanford and the privatization contractor. The plan then addressed the staffing needs and recruitment strategies required to execute the baseline.

The main aim of National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) is to establish the fusion physics principles of the innovative spherical torus (ST) concept. Physics outcome of the NSTX research program is relevant to near-term applications such as the Volume Neutron Source (VNS) and burning plasmas, and future applications such as the pilot and power plants. The NSTX device began plasma operations in February 1999 and the plasma current was successfully ramped up to the design value of 1 million amperes (MA) on December 14, 1999. The CHI (Coaxial Helicity Injection) and HHFW (High Harmonic Fast Wave) experiments have also started. Stable CHI discharges of up to 133 kA and 130-msec duration have been produced using 20 kA of injected current. Using eight antennas connected to two transmitters, up to 2 MW of HHFW power was successfully coupled to the plasma. The Neutral-beam Injection (NBI) heating system and associated NBI-based diagnostics such as the Charge-exchange Recombination Spectrometer (CHERS) will be operational in October 2000.

The document describes the systematic integrated baseline planning process and provides a summary of the Tank Farm Contractor scope, schedule and cost analysis developed in support of the Phase 1 privatization mission.

This document is a plan presenting the process, strategies and approaches for vendor contracting by the Tank Farm Contractor. The plan focuses on contracting structures, practices, methods, and desired approaches in contracting. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of River Protection (ORP) has contracted with the CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc. (CHG), as the Tank Farm Contractor (TFC), to support vitrification of Hanford Site tank waste by the Privatization Contractor. During Waste Feed Delivery Phase 1, waste will be retrieved from certain double-shell tanks and delivered to the Privatization Contractor to meet contract feed delivery requirements. Near-term project goals include upgrading infrastructure systems; retrieving and delivering the waste; and accepting the waste packages for interim onsite storage and disposal. Project Delivery includes individual projects assigned to provide the infrastructure and systems responsible to provide engineering, design, procurement, installation/construction, and testing/turnover of systems for retrieval of waste from Hanford double-shell tanks. This plan sets the requirements for projects work scope, contracting practices, structures, methods, and performance measurements. The plan is designed to integrate Life-Cycle Projects acquisitions and provide a consistent contracting approach. This effort will serve as a step improvement in contract reform implementing commercial practices into DOE projects.

The purpose of the Financial Analysis for Phase 1 Privatization for the Tank Farm Contractor is to provide a third-party quantitative and qualitative cost and schedule risk analysis of HNF-1946. The purpose of this Financial Analysis for Phase 1 Privatization for the Tank Farm Contractor (TFC) is to document the results of the risk-based financial analysis of HNF-1946, Programmatic Baseline Summary for Phase 1 Privatization f o r the Tank Farm Contractor (Diediker 2000). This analysis was performed to evaluate how well the proposed baseline meets the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of River Protection (ORP) Letter OO-MSO-009, ''Contract NO. DE-AC06-99RL14047--The US Department of Energy, Office of River Protection (ORP) Mission Planning Guidance for Fiscal Year (FY) 2002--Revision 1'' (Short 2000). The letter requires a confidence level in the baseline schedule that is consistent with the Phase 1A readiness-to-proceed (RTP) assessment conducted in fiscal year (FY) 1998. Because the success of the project depends not only on the budget but also on the schedule, this risk analysis addresses both components of the baseline.

Seventy million cubic meters of ground and three trillion liters of groundwater have been contaminated by leaking radioactive waste generated in the United States during the Cold War. A cleanup technology is being developed based on the extremely radiation resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans that is being engineered to express bioremediating functions. Research aimed at developing D. radiodurans for organic toxin degradation in highly radioactive waste sites containing radionuclides, heavy metals, and toxic organic compounds was started by this group.Work funded by the existing grant has already contributed to eleven papers on the fundamental biology of D. radiodurans and its design for bioremediation of highly radioactive waste environments

This report describes the groundwater monitoring and corrective-action program at the M-Area Hazardous Waste Management Facility (HWMF) and the Metallurgical Laboratory (Met Lab) HWMF at the Savannah River Site (SRS) during the third and fourth quarters of 2001. The report also provides a summary of the corrective-action program for the entire year. This program is required by South Carolina Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Hazardous Waste Permit SC1 890 008 989 and Section 264.100(g) of the South Carolina Hazardous Waste Management Regulations.

When initiated by the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Rebuild America Program (RBA), this project--Strengthening the Partnerships Between the State and Territory Energy Offices and the U.S. Department of Energy--was geared toward addressing some project development and communications barriers between the State Energy Offices and the RBA program. While successful in some states, RBA officials were having difficulty assisting states in forming partnerships with communities and taking advantage of the programs technical assistance and other resources. NASEO's efforts under the project were, in large part, aimed at educating state energy offices about RBA's resources and delivering timely information to help move the program forward by emphasizing the successes of key states and identifying concerns and problems in states beginning to implement RBA activities. This report defines these outreach needs and challenges, the tasks designed to address these issues, and results during the first year of the project. As contemplated in NASEO's workplan, the approach during the first year of the agreement focuses on working through NASEO's State Energy Committee structure. Support provided under the agreement for tasks one and two during year one was intended to address partnerships in the buildings …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Although most federal contracts are awarded through competition, the government also buys unique products and services, including sophisticated weapons systems, for which it cannot always rely on competition to get the best prices and values. Instead, it uses a single source for its procurements. In these cases, contractors and subcontractors provide the government with cost or pricing data supporting their proposed prices and certify that the data submitted are accurate, complete, and current, as required by the Truth in Negotiations Act. This ensures that the government has the data it needs to effectively negotiate with the contractor and avoid paying inflated prices. The government can waive the requirement for certified data in exceptional cases. In these instances, contracting officers use other techniques to arrive at fair and reasonable prices. Using the Department of Defense's (DOD) contract database, GAO found 20 waivers, each valued at more than $5 million, in fiscal year 2000. The total value of these waivers was $4.4 billion. In each case, the contract pricing or waiver documents stated that sufficient information was available to determine the price to be fair and reasonable without …

The primary goal of this program is to develop a commercially viable enthalpy exchangers that exhibits performance comparable to state-of-the-art exchangers, meets flammability test standards, supports no biological growth, maintains mechanical integrity for a 10 year life (typical of competitive warrantees) and exhibits a total media raw material cost of approximately 1/5 of that of the competition. The first three program tasks were devoted to: (1) gathering background information on competitors and their methods of manufacturing; (2) establishing experimental and evaluation procedures for the program; (3) identifying potential desiccants, supports and binders to be tested; (4) preparing matrix combinations on a laboratory scale; (5) testing component combinations for equilibrium moisture uptakes at different relative humidities (isotherms) and dynamic moisture adsorption rates; (6) using media adsorption properties to models to predict exchanger performance; (7) estimating ease of manufacture and finished wheel costs; and (8) calculating raw material, wheel and cassette costs based on the best media formulations. Since the rotary enthalpy exchangers have high rotational speeds, uptake rate is at least as important as equilibrium moisture uptake. Therefore, a procedure and apparatus were developed to determine adsorption rate so that the Lewis number (the ratio of mass transfer resistance to heat …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Allegations of racial profiling at the Department of Energy's (DOE) weapons laboratories raised questions about the equitable treatment of minorities and women in personnel actions at these laboratories. The former secretary of energy reiterated a policy of zero tolerance of discrimination of any kind and said that he expected and required full compliance with both the spirit and letter of all civil rights laws, regulations, and policies. The current secretary has reaffirmed this commitment. In 2000, the percentage of minority employees at each of the laboratories ranged from 19 percent at Lawrence Livermore to 34 percent at Los Alamos. The minority population at the laboratories increased from 1995 to 2000 but not for each minority group at each laboratory. For fiscal years 1998 through 2000, GAO found statistically significant differences in some personnel actions, but not in others, when minority men and women and white women in managerial and professional job categories were compared with white men in these categories. Comparing men and women of same race or ethnicity, GAO found that white, Asian, and Hispanic women earned less than did their male counterparts. GAO found …

The Federal Railroad Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation is the primary federal agency that promotes and regulates railroad safety. To implement its safety responsibilities, the Federal Railroad Administration uses numerous strategies including the Safety Assurance and Compliance Program, field inspections; and to help improve its regulations, the administration uses the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee. This report contains information on the Federal Railroad Administration's Safety Program, railroad safety statistics, key reauthorization issues, and related information.

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Multiphase composite alloys based on the Mo-Si-B system are candidate materials for ultra-high temperature applications. In non load-bearing uses such as thermal barrier coatings or heat exchangers in fossil fuel burners, these materials may be ideally suited. The present work investigated the effect of water vapor on the oxidation behavior of Mo-Si-B phase assemblages. Three alloys were studied: Alloy 1 = Mo{sub 5}Si{sub 3}B{sub x} (T1)- MoSi{sub 2}- MoB, Alloy 2 = T1- Mo{sub 5}SiB{sub 2} (T2)- Mo{sub 3}Si, and Alloy 3 = Mo- T2- Mo{sub 3}Si. Tests were conducted at 1000 and 1100C in controlled atmospheres of dry air and wet air nominally containing 18, 55, and 150 Torr H{sub 2}O. The initial mass loss of each alloy was approximately independent of the test temperature and moisture content of the atmosphere. The magnitude of these initial losses varied according to the Mo content of the alloys. All alloys formed a continuous, external silica scale that protected against further mass change after volatilization of the initially formed MoO{sub 3}. All alloys experienced a small steady state mass change, but the calculated rates cannot be quantitatively compared due to statistical uncertainty in the individual mass measurements. Of particular interest is that …

The results of the 2000 environmental surveillance and monitoring program for the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) are presented and discussed. The purpose of this report is to provide the U.S. Department of Energy and the public with information on the level of radioactive and nonradioactive pollutants (if any) that are added to the environment as a result of PPPL's operations. The report also summarizes environmental initiatives, assessments, and programs that were undertaken in 2000. The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory has engaged in fusion energy research since 1951. The long-range goal of the U.S. Magnetic Fusion Energy Research Program is to create innovations to make fusion power a practical reality -- an alternative energy source. The year 2000 marked the second year of National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) operations and Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) dismantlement and deconstruction activities. A collaboration among fourteen national laboratories, universities, and research institutions, the NSTX is a major element in the U.S. Fusion Energy Sciences Program. It has been designed to test the physics principles of spherical torus (ST) plasmas. The ST concept could play an important role in the development of smaller, more economical fusion power plants. With its completion within budget and …

In the first meeting of this series (which took place at BNL on February 22, 2002), we focused on the upgrades which are expected to be completed prior to the end of this year and thus available for the next run. The two main items are the Spin Rotators in RHIC and the CNI polarimeter for the AGS. In addition, because of the progress on technical issues related to the design of partial snake in the AGS, we also had a presentation on this topic. And, finally, in keeping with a tradition of having some theoretical presentations to accompany the experimental and machine presentations, we had presentations on single spin transverse asymmetries in proton-proton reactions and Coulomb-Nuclear Interference analyzing powers in proton-carbon elastic scattering.

Congressional Research Service (CRS) report entailing information about the context and background of the Safe and Drug-Free schools and Communities Program. Topics include, impact evaluation, the national coordinator program, grants to reduce alcohol abuse etc..

One of the least controversial provisions of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (P.L. 94-163) established corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for new passenger cars. This report presents a brief background and analysis regarding the price of crude oil that brought into sharp focus the fuel inefficiency of U.S. automobiles. The report also discusses the previous issues and the most recent developments regarding CAFE.

About a dozen federally supported child nutrition programs and related activities – including school meal programs and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (the WIC program) – reach over 37 million children and almost 2 million lower-income pregnant and postpartum women. Total FY2002 spending on these efforts was $15.1 billion. FY2003 spending is projected at an estimated $15.9 billion under the Agriculture Department appropriations portion (Division A) of the FY2003 Consolidated Appropriations Resolution (P.L. 108-7; H.Rept. 108-10; enacted February 20,2003). And the Administration anticipates spending $16.3 billion under its FY2004 budget.

Restrictions on travel to Cuba have been a key and often contentious component in U.S. efforts to isolate the communist government of Fidel Castro for much of the past 40 years. Over time, there have been numerous changes to the restrictions, and for 5 years, from 1977 until 1982, there were no restrictions on travel to Cuba. In March 2003, the Administration eased restrictions on those visiting close family members in Cuba, while at the same time it eliminated travel for people-to-people educational exchanges unrelated to academic coursework.

This report includes an overlook at issues regarding various endangered species. Issues include recovery plans, permits, and critical habitats.

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This report discusses the India economic development and its trade relations with the United States