This report starts out with an overview of nuclear technology and then discusses the Department of Energy DOE advanced nuclear programs, global nuclear energy partnership, and different industry studies.

This report starts out with an overview of nuclear technology and then discusses the Department of Energy DOE advanced nuclear programs, global nuclear energy partnership, and different industry studies.

This report discusses Afghanistan's political transition; it was completed in December 2005, but insurgent threats to Afghanistan's government since then have escalated to the point that some experts are questioning the future of U.S. stabilization efforts. U.S. stabilization measures focus on strengthening the central government and its security forces and on promoting reconstructing while combating the renewed insurgent challenge.

The Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians was awarded a grant through the Department of Energy First Steps program in June of 2006. The primary purpose of the grant was to enable the Tribe to develop energy conservation policies and a strategy for alternative energy resource development. All of the work contemplated by the grant agreement has been completed and the Tribe has begun implementing the resource development strategy through the construction of a 1.0 MW grid-connected photovoltaic system designed to offset a portion of the energy demand generated by current and projected land uses on the Tribe’s Reservation. Implementation of proposed energy conservation policies will proceed more deliberately as the Tribe acquires economic development experience sufficient to evaluate more systematically the interrelationships between conservation and its economic development goals.

Intrabeam scattering (IBS) of electrons in the pre-cathode area in the electron guns know in the literature as Boersh effect is responsible for a growth of the electron beam energy spread there. Albeit most visible within the electron gun where the electron beam density is large and the energy spread is small, the IBS acts all along the entire electron beam pass through the Linac. In this report we calculate the energy spread induced by IBS in the FERMI@elettra electron gun.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States has long provided the Cuban people with alternative sources of news and information. As part of this effort, in December 2006 the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) awarded sole-source contracts to two Miami radio and television stations--Radio Mambi and TV Azteca--to provide additional broadcasting options. Additionally, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB) annually awards millions of dollars in contracts for talent services--writers, reporters, and technical support--needed to produce and broadcast news and entertainment programming. GAO evaluated the processes used to award (1) the Radio Mambi and TV Azteca broadcasting contracts, and (2) talent services contracts. We reviewed contract files and other documentation and interviewed program managers and contracting officers to determine the process used to award the two broadcasting contracts and a nongeneralizable selection of 37 talent services contracts."

This report is a guide to one of the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies. It summarizes the status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity, and is updated as events warrant.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense's (DOD) operational dependence on space has placed new and increasing demands on current space systems to meet commanders' needs. DOD's Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) concept is designed to more rapidly satisfy commanders' needs for information and intelligence during ongoing operations. Given the potential for ORS to change how DOD acquires and fields space capabilities to support the warfighter, this report discusses to what extent DOD (1) is developing ORS to support warfighter requirements and (2) has a plan that integrates ORS into existing DOD and intelligence community processes and architecture. GAO reviewed and analyzed ORS planning documents, the ORS concept of operations, and processes for meeting warfighter needs and also interviewed defense and intelligence community officials who are involved with the ORS concept."

The Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program is a temporary unemployment insurance program that provides up to 13 additional weeks of unemployment benefits to certain workers who have exhausted their rights to regular unemployment compensation (UC) benefits. The program effectively begins July 6, 2008, and will terminate on March 28, 2009. No EUC benefit will be paid beyond the week ending July 4, 2009.

This document describes highlights of science condcuted at EMSL during FY2008, 2nd Quarter.

This report examines selected issues of the federal government's liability depending on the theory of the levee failures, and analyzes legal defenses available to the federal government. The report uses flood damage related to Hurricane Katrina as an illustration of these legal issues regarding federal liability, but the general principles in the analysis would apply to flood damage resulting from any such flood control project.

This report examines the federal and state roles in the maintenance, inspection, reconstruction, and replacement of the nation's highway bridge infrastructure, as well as the emergency response and reconstruction role of the Department of Transportation.

This report explores the various issues currently facing Congress in regards to intelligence and counterterrorism activities, including the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (P.L. 108-458), signed in December 2004; the position of Director of National Intelligence (DNI), which that act created; the importance of collaborative efforts between various intelligence agencies to successfully carry out counterterrorism measures; and other pieces of legislation relevant to such matters.

Following an evaluation of potential Sr-90 treatment technologies and their applicability under 100-NR-2 hydrogeologic conditions, U.S. Department of Energy, Fluor Hanford, Inc., Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and the Washington Department of Ecology agreed that the long-term strategy for groundwater remediation at 100-N Area will include apatite sequestration as the primary treatment, followed by a secondary treatment if necessary (most likely phytoremediation). Since then, the agencies have worked together to agree on which apatite sequestration technology has the greatest chance of reducing Sr-90 flux to the river at a reasonable cost. In July 2005, aqueous injection, (i.e., the introduction of apatite-forming chemicals into the subsurface) was endorsed as the interim remedy and selected for field testing. Studies are in progress to assess the efficacy of in situ apatite formation by aqueous solution injection to address both the vadose zone and the shallow aquifer along the 300 ft of shoreline where Sr-90 concentrations are highest. This report describes the field testing of the shallow aquifer treatment.

This report is a guide to one of the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year.

This article summarizes the search for lepton flavor violating {tau} and B decays, using data collected by the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy B factory.

This report provides background information on Libya and U.S.-Libyan relations; profiles Libyan leader Muammar al Qadhafi; discusses Libya's political and economic reform efforts; and reviews current issues of potential congressional interest. It will be updated to reflect major developments.

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A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "By law, facilities funded by the Indian Health Service (IHS) may retain reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid without an offsetting reduction in funding. Ensuring that IHS-funded facilities enroll individuals in--and obtain reimbursement from--Medicare and Medicaid can provide an important means of expanding the funding for health care services for the population served by IHS. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that administers Medicare and oversees states' Medicaid programs, is required by Executive Order and HHS policy to consult with Indian tribes on policies that have tribal implications. This requirement is in recognition of the unique government-to-government relationship between the 562 federally recognized Indian tribes and the federal government. GAO was asked to (1) describe interactions between CMS and IHS, (2) examine mechanisms CMS uses to interact and consult with Indian tribes, (3) examine mechanisms that selected states' Medicaid programs use to interact and consult with Indian tribes, and (4) identify barriers to Medicare and Medicaid enrollment and efforts to help eligible American Indians and Alaska Natives apply for and enroll in these programs. …

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The purpose of this project was to develop a precise, quantitative method to analyze oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) on an array to enable a systematic approach to quality control issues affecting DNA microarrays. Two types of ODN's were tested; ODN's formed by photolithography and ODN's printed onto microarrays. Initial work in Phase I, performed in conjunction with Affymetrix, Inc. who has a patent on a photolithographic in situ technique for creating DNA arrays, was very promising but did seem to indicate that the atomization process was not complete. Soon after Phase II work was under way, Affymetrix had further developed fluorescent methods and indicated they were no longer interested in our resonance ionization technique. This was communicated to the program manager and it was decided that the project would continue and be focused on printed ODNs. The method being tested is called SIRIS, Sputter-Initiated Resonance Ionization Spectroscopy. SIRIS has been shown to be a highly sensitive, selective, and quantitative tool for atomic species. This project was aimed at determining if an ODN could be labeled in such a way that SIRIS could be used to measure the label and thus provide quantitative measurements of the ODN on an array. One of the …

The Saltstone Facility is designed and permitted to immobilize and dispose of low-level radioactive and hazardous liquid waste (salt solution) remaining from the processing of radioactive material at the Savannah River Site. Low activity wastewater streams from the Effluent Treatment Project (ETP), H-Canyon, and the high level waste (HLW) storage tanks, are stored as a mixture in Tank 50H until it can be pumped to the Saltstone Facility for treatment and disposal. Specific waste acceptance criteria (WAC) must be met for the transfer of low-level aqueous waste from Tank 50H to the Saltstone Facility. Low level waste which meets the WAC can be transferred, stored and treated in the Saltstone Production Facility (SPF) for subsequent disposal as saltstone in the Saltstone Disposal Facility (SDF). Waste Solidification Engineering (WSE) has requested through a Technical Task Request (TTR) that the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) measure the concentrations of chemical and radionuclide contaminants listed in the currently approved Saltstone Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC). A Task Technical and Quality Assurance Plan and Analytical Study Plan has been written for this request. WAC determinations are needed on a quarterly basis for chemical contaminants and every first and third quarter for radioactive contaminants. This memorandum …

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