Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. federal government has played an ever-increasing role in providing benefits to individuals injured as a result of exposure to harmful substances. Over the years, it has established several key compensation programs, including the Black Lung Program, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program (RECP), and the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program (EEOICP), which GAO has reviewed in prior work. Most recently, the Congress introduced legislation to expand the benefits provided by the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. As these changes are considered, observations about other federal compensation programs may be useful. In that context, GAO's testimony today will focus on four federal compensation programs, including (1) the structure of the programs; (2) the cost of the programs through fiscal year 2004, including initial cost estimates and the actual costs of benefits paid, and administrative costs; and (3) the number of claims filed and factors that affect the length of time it takes to finalize claims and compensate eligible claimants. To address these issues, GAO relied on its 2005 report on four federal compensation programs. As part of that work, …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is simultaneously implementing a number of force realignments that contribute to personnel growth at military installations throughout the United States. DOD plans to execute over 800 actions from the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round, which entail relocating over 123,000 personnel. Concurrent with its BRAC 2005 actions, DOD is also implementing or planning to implement other extensive worldwide transformation initiatives, which include relocating about 50,000 soldiers primarily from Europe and Korea to the United States; transforming the Army's force structure from an organization based on divisions to more rapidly deployable, brigade-based units (known as Army modularity); and increasing its active duty end strength by 92,000, all of which will affect DOD's facilities infrastructure. These force realignments will result in dramatic growth at some DOD installations across the United States. Based on data provided by the services, the DOD Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) had identified, as of January 2008, 20 locations where expected growth as a result of force realignments in fiscal years 2006 through 2012 will adversely affect surrounding communities. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 mandated that …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On November 16, 2007, we issued our report on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) fiscal years 2007 and 2006 financial statements and on SEC's internal control as of September 30, 2007. We also reported on the results of our tests of SEC's compliance with selected provisions of laws and regulations during fiscal year 2007. The purpose of this report is to present areas of SEC's internal controls identified during our fiscal year 2007 audit that could be improved. This report contains 14 recommendations to SEC to improve these internal controls and procedures. These recommendations are in addition to those we already provided to SEC as a result of our prior audits of SEC's financial statements."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "With health care spending increasing in the United States, you enacted legislation effective in 2004 establishing tax advantaged health savings accounts (HSA) to be coupled with high-deductible health insurance plans. HSA-eligible high-deductible health plans typically have lower premiums than traditional health plans and HSAs allow account holders to accumulate tax-free savings to pay for medical expenses. The novel structure of HSA-eligible plans coupled with HSAs has raised questions about who selects them and how they use the accounts. Proponents contend that the low premiums of HSA-eligible plans and the tax-free savings potential of HSAs appeal to many consumers, while the high deductibles encourage them to be more astute health care consumers. However, some critics are concerned that HSA-eligible plans may attract enrollees who seek lower premiums but lack the resources to contribute to an HSA, and wealthy enrollees who may seek to use the HSA primarily to accumulate tax-advantaged savings rather than pay for medical expenses. In a 2006 report, GAO described individuals' early experiences with HSA-eligible plans and HSAs and certain characteristics of HSA account holders. You asked us to update certain information from that report with …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Military physicians and other health care professionals are needed to support operational forces during war or other military conflicts and to maintain the well-being of the forces during nonoperational periods. These professionals also provide health care services to military retirees and dependents. The Department of Defense (DOD) acquires its health care professionals primarily through two programs--the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program and the Financial Assistance Program--with which it recruits and trains military health care providers who fill medical specialty positions. These programs offer participants reimbursement for tuition, books, fees, other education expenses, and a stipend, which is a fixed amount of money given to the participants on a monthly basis, in return for an active duty service obligation. Recruiting and retaining highly qualified health care professionals, however, is becoming more challenging for each of the military services. The added stresses of repeated deployments and the general perceptions of war, along with the potential for health care providers to earn significantly more money outside of DOD, have caused some professionals to choose to separate themselves from military service, even after DOD has paid for all or part of …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Many of the approximately 100,000 people who did not evacuate before Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in 2005 lacked access to a vehicle. In the aftermath of the storm, questions were raised about how well federal, state, and local governments were prepared to evacuate such transportation-disadvantaged populations. Hurricane Katrina, which ultimately resulted in over 1,300 deaths, also demonstrated difficulties for evacuating hospital patients and nursing home residents and raised questions about the role of the federal government in assisting in such evacuations. While responding to disasters and managing evacuations is largely a state and local responsibility, the federal government can provide assistance when state and local governments are overwhelmed. The federal government also provides grants and technical assistance for disaster preparedness. In January 2008, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the National Response Framework (NRF)--replacing the National Response Plan. Its annexes detail the roles and responsibilities of local, state, and federal agencies during emergencies. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), within DHS, is the lead coordinating agency for federal emergency assistance. The NRF details the responsibilities of supporting federal agencies, including the Department of Transportation (DOT), …

This brochure describes the 2005 demonstration home designed by NREL and the Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver. The completed home produced 24% more energy than it consumed over 12 months.

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This project supports the Solar America Initiative by: (1) providing a consistent framework for analyzing and comparing power system costs and performance across the range of solar technologies and markets, PV, solar heat systems, CSP, residential, commercial and utility markets; (2) developing and validating performance models to enable accurate calculation of levelized cost of energy (LCOE); (3) providing a consistent modeling platform for all TPP's; and (4) supporting implementation and usage of cost models.

This Corrective Action Decision Document (CADD)/Closure Report (CR) has been prepared for Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 545, Dumps, Waste Disposal Sites, and Buried Radioactive Materials, in Areas 2, 3, 9, and 20 of the Nevada Test Site, Nevada, in accordance with the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order that was agreed to by the State of Nevada; U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Environmental Management; U.S. Department of Defense; and DOE, Legacy Management (1996, as amended February 2008). Corrective Action Unit 545 is comprised of the following eight Corrective Action Sites (CASs): • 02-09-01, Mud Disposal Area • 03-08-03, Mud Disposal Site • 03-17-01, Waste Consolidation Site 3B • 03-23-02, Waste Disposal Site • 03-23-05, Europium Disposal Site • 03-99-14, Radioactive Material Disposal Area • 09-23-02, U-9y Drilling Mud Disposal Crater • 20-19-01, Waste Disposal Site While all eight CASs are addressed in this CADD/CR, sufficient information was available for the following three CASs; therefore, a field investigation was not conducted at these sites: • For CAS 03-08-03, though the potential for subsidence of the craters was judged to be extremely unlikely, the data quality objective (DQO) meeting participants agreed that sufficient information existed about disposal and releases at the site …

We report the results of charge transport studies on single CdTe nanocrystals contacted via evaporated Pd electrodes. Device charging energy, E{sub c}, monitored as a function of electrode separation drops suddenly at separations below {approx}55 nm. This drop can be explained by chemical changes induced by the metal electrodes. This explanation is corroborated by ensemble X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies of CdTe films as well as single particle measurements by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-Rays (EDX). Similar to robust optical behavior obtained when Nanocrystals are coated with a protective shell, we find that a protective SiO2 layer deposited between the nanocrystal and the electrode prevents interface reactions and an associated drop in E{sub c,max}. This observation of interface reactivity and its effect on electrical properties has important implications for the integration of nanocrystals into conventional fabrication techniques and may enable novel nano-materials.

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is developing a generalized fabrication flaw distribution for the population of nuclear reactor pressure vessels and for piping welds in U.S. operating reactors. The purpose of the generalized flaw distribution is to predict component-specific flaw densities. The estimates of fabrication flaws are intended for use in fracture mechanics structural integrity assessments. Structural integrity assessments, such as estimating the frequency of loss-of-coolant accidents, are performed by computer codes that require, as input, accurate estimates of flaw densities. Welds from four different reactor pressure vessels and a collection of archived pipes have been studied to develop empirical estimates of fabrication flaw densities. This report describes the fabrication flaw distribution and characterization in the repair weld metal of vessels and piping. This work indicates that large flaws occur in these repairs. These results show that repair flaws are complex in composition and sometimes include cracks on the ends of the repair cavities. Parametric analysis using an exponential fit is performed on the data. The relevance of construction records is established for describing fabrication processes and product forms. An analysis of these records shows there was a significant change in repair frequency over the years when these components were …

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The project description is: (1) it supports crosscutting activities, e.g. advanced optical materials, that aren't tied to a single CSP technology and (2) it supports the 'incubation' of new concepts in preliminary stages of investigation.

The CSI: Dognapping Workshop is a culmination of the more than 65 Sandian staff and intern volunteers dedication to exciting and encouraging the next generation of scientific leaders. This 2 hour workshop used a 'theatrical play' and 'hands on' activities that was fun, exciting and challenging for 3rd-5th graders while meeting science curriculum standards. In addition, new pedagogical methods were developed in order to introduce nanotechnology to the public. Survey analysis indicated that the workshop had an overall improvement and positive impact on helping the students to understand concepts from materials science and chemistry as well as increased our interaction with the K-5 community. Anecdotal analyses showed that this simple exercise will have far reaching impact with the results necessary to maintain the United States as the scientific leader in the world. This experience led to the initiation of over 100 Official Junior Scientists.

Electron beam cooling is examined as an option to reduce momentum of gold ions exiting the EBIS LINAC before injection into the booster. Electron beam parameters are based on experimental data (obtained at BNL) of electron beams extracted from a plasma cathode. Preliminary calculations indicate that single pass cooling is feasible; momentum spread can be reduced by more than an order of magnitude in less than one meter.

The integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) is widely viewed as a promising technology for the large scale production of energy in a carbon constrained world. These cycles, which include gasification, contaminant removal, water-gas shift, CO2 capture and compression, and combustion of the reduced-carbon fuel gas in a turbine, often have significant efficiency advantages over conventional combustion technologies. A CO2 selective membrane capable of maintaining performance at conditions approaching those of low temperature water-gas shift (260oC) could facilitate the production of carbon-neutral energy by simultaneously driving the shift reaction to completion and concentrating CO2 for sequestration. Supported ionic liquid membranes (SILMs) have been previously evaluated for this application and determined to be physically and chemically stable to temperatures in excess of 300oC. These membranes were based on ionic liquids which interacted physically with CO2 and diminished considerably in selectivity at higher temperatures. To alleviate this problem, the original ionic liquids were replaced with ionic liquids able to form chemical complexes with CO2. These complexing ionic liquid membranes have a local maximum in selectivity which is observed at increasing temperatures for more stable complexes. Efforts are currently underway to develop ionic liquids with selectivity maxima at temperatures greater than 75oC, the best …

The Materials Science and Technology Division (MSTD) supports the central scientific and technological missions of the Laboratory, and at the same time, executes world-class, fundamental research and novel technological development over a wide range of disciplines. Our organization is driven by the institutional needs in nuclear weapons stockpile science, high-energy-density science, nuclear reactor science, and energy and environment science and technology. We maintain expertise and capabilities in many diverse areas, including actinide science, electron microscopy, laser-materials interactions, materials theory, simulation and modeling, materials synthesis and processing, materials science under extreme conditions, ultrafast materials science, metallurgy, nanoscience and technology, nuclear fuels and energy security, optical materials science, and surface science. MSTD scientists play leadership roles in the scientific community in these key and emerging areas.

The Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) Value Propositions Workshop held in Washington, D.C. in December 2007 served as the Task 1 Milestone for this study. Feedback from all five Workshop breakout sessions has been documented in a Workshop Summary Report, which can be found at www.sentech.org/phev. In this report, the project team compiled and presented a comprehensive list of potential value propositions that would later serve as a 'grab bag' of business model components in Task 2. After convening with the Guidance and Evaluation Committee and other PHEV stakeholders during the Workshop, several improvements to the technical approach were identified and incorporated into the project plan to present a more realistic and accurate case study and evaluation. The assumptions and modifications that will have the greatest impact on the case study selection process in Task 2 are described in more detail in this deliverable. The objective of Task 2 is to identify the combination of value propositions that is believed to be achievable by 2030 and collectively hold promise for a sustainable PHEV market by 2030. This deliverable outlines what the project team (with input from the Committee) has defined as its primary scenario to be tested in depth for …

This project supports the Solar America Initiative by carrying out work on target topics identified for Photovoltaic Systems: (1) Improving cell and module efficiency of thin film Cu(In,Ga)Se2 materials; (2) Implementing the Science and Technology Facility (S&TF) and the Process Development and Integration Laboratory (PDIL) to facilitate laboratory/industry interaction in developing PV manufacturing technologies; (3) Addressing industrial issues in materials and manufacturing processes with the objective to lower the cost of PV power; (4) Providing technology transfer efforts to accelerate transition of thin film PV technology to market and deployment; (5) Assisting R&D efforts to asses and improve reliability and stability of thin film PV products; and (6) Assist the SAI TPPs in technical matters related to CIGS PV technology.

A methodology is developed to calculate Cr-evaporation rates from Cr2O3 with a flat planar geometry. Variables include temperature, total pressure, gas velocity, and gas composition. The methodology was applied to solid-oxide, fuel cell conditions for metallic interconnects and to advanced-steam turbines conditions. The high velocities and pressures of the advanced steam turbine led to evaporation predictions as high as 5.18 9 10-8 kg/m2/s of CrO2(OH)2(g) at 760 °C and 34.5 MPa. This is equivalent to 0.080 mm per year of solid Cr loss. Chromium evaporation is expected to be an important oxidation mechanism with the types of nickel-base alloys proposed for use above 650 °C in advanced-steam boilers and turbines. It is shown that laboratory experiments, with much lower steam velocities and usually much lower total pressure than found in advanced steam turbines, would best reproduce chromium-evaporation behavior with atmospheres that approach either O2 + H2O or air + H2O with 57% H2O.

Using a GIS approach to spatially analyze key attributes affecting hydrogen market transformation, this study proposes hypothetical hydrogen refueling station locations in select subregions to demonstrate a method for determining station locations based on geographic criteria.

The authors present the results of the first hadron collider search for heavy, long-lived neutralinos that decay via {tilde {chi}}{sub 1}{sup 0} {yields} {gamma}{tilde G} in gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking models. Using an integrated luminosity of 570 {+-} 34 pb{sup -1} of p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV, they select {gamma}+jet+missing transverse energy candidate events based on the arrival time of a high-energy photon at the electromagnetic calorimeter as measured with a timing system that was recently installed on the CDF II detector. They find 2 events, consistent with the background estimate of 1.3 {+-} 0.7 events. While the search strategy does not rely on model-specific dynamics, they set cross section limits and place the world-best 95% C.L. lower limit on the {tilde {chi}}{sub 1}{sup 0} mass of 101 GeV/c{sup 2} at {tau}{sub {tilde {chi}}{sub 1}{sup 0}} = 5 ns.

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