A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "A successful terrorist attack on Department of Energy (DOE) sites containing nuclear weapons or the material used in nuclear weapons could have devastating consequences for the site and its surrounding communities. Because of these risks, DOE needs an effective safeguards and security program. A key component of an effective program is the design basis threat (DBT), a classified document that identifies the potential size and capabilities of terrorist forces. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, rendered the then-current DBT obsolete. GAO examined DOE's response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, identified why DOE took almost 2 years to develop a new DBT, analyzed the higher threat in the new DBT, and identified the remaining issues that need to be resolved in order for DOE to meet the threat contained in the new DBT."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that poor nutrition and lack of physical activity are catching up to tobacco use as the leading cause of death in the United States. In addition to having negative health outcomes, children with poor nutrition may have a harder time succeeding in school than other children. To help improve nutrition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides nutrition education through five of its programs. The department spent $472 million on these efforts in fiscal year 2002. GAO was asked: (1) What key actions can officials take to increase the likelihood of success in nutrition education? (2) Do USDA and state and local officials take these actions during program design, service delivery, and program monitoring and evaluation?"

The Metals Processing Laboratory Users Facility (MPLUS) is a Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Industrial Technologies Program, user facility designated to assist researchers in key industries, universities, and federal laboratories in improving energy efficiency, improving environmental aspects, and increasing competitiveness. The goal of MPLUS is to provide access to the specialized technical expertise and equipment needed to solve metals processing issues that limit the development and implementation of emerging metals processing technologies. The scope of work can also extend to other types of materials. MPLUS has four primary user centers: (1) Processing--casting, powder metallurgy, deformation processing (including extrusion, forging, rolling), melting, thermomechanical processing, and high-density infrared processing; (2) Joining--welding, monitoring and control, solidification, brazing, and bonding; (3) Characterization--corrosion, mechanical properties, fracture mechanics, microstructure, nondestructive examination, computer-controlled dilatometry, and emissivity; and (4) Materials/Process Modeling--mathematical design and analyses, high-performance computing, process modeling, solidification/deformation, microstructure evolution, thermodynamic and kinetic, and materials databases A fully integrated approach provides researchers with unique opportunities to address technologically related issues to solve metals processing problems and probe new technologies. Access is also available to 16 additional Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) user facilities ranging from state-of-the-art materials characterization capabilities, and high-performance computing to …

With the nation's coal-burning utilities facing the possibility of tighter controls on mercury pollutants, the U.S. Department of Energy is funding projects that could offer power plant operators better ways to reduce these emissions at much lower costs. Mercury is known to have toxic effects on the nervous systems of humans and wildlife. Although it exists only in trace amounts in coal, mercury is released when coal burns and can accumulate on land and in water. In water, bacteria transform the metal into methylmercury, the most hazardous form of the metal. Methylmercury can collect in fish and marine mammals in concentrations hundreds of thousands times higher than the levels in surrounding waters. One of the goals of DOE is to develop technologies by 2005 that will be capable of cutting mercury emissions 50 to 70 percent at well under one-half of projected DOE/EPA early cost estimates. ADA Environmental Solutions (ADA-ES) is managing a project to test mercury control technologies at full scale at four different power plants from 2000--2003. The ADA-ES project is focused on those power plants that are not equipped with wet flue gas desulfurization systems. ADA-ES has developed a portable system that will be tested at four …

This project was initially targeted to the making of coke for blast furnaces by using proprietary technology of Calderon in a phased approach, and Phase I was successfully completed. The project was then re-directed to the making of iron units. In 2000, U.S. Steel teamed up with Calderon for a joint effort which will last 42 months to produce directly reduced iron with the potential of converting it into molten iron or steel consistent with the Roadmap recommendations of 1998 prepared by the Steel Industry in cooperation with the Department of Energy by using iron ore concentrate and coal as raw materials, both materials being appreciably lower in cost than using iron pellets and coke.

The main objective of this project is to measure heat of dissolution of CO{sub 2} in carefully selected mixed alkanolamine solvent systems, and provide such directly measured data that might be used for efficient design of CO{sub 2} capture processes, or for better understanding of thermodynamics of CO{sub 2}-alkanolamine systems. Carbon dioxide is one of the major greenhouse gases, and the need for stabilization of its composition in earth's atmosphere is vital for the future of mankind. Although technologies are available for capture and storage of CO{sub 2}, these technologies are far too expensive for economical commercialization. Reduction of cost would require research for refinement of the technology. For more economical CO{sub 2} capture and regeneration, there is a need for development of more efficient solvent systems. In this project we will extend the thermodynamic database by measuring heat of solution data of CO{sub 2} in mixed solvents made of MEA (monoethanolamine), MDEA (methyldiethanolamine), piperazine, and water. Mixed solvents of different compositions will be selected and in each case data will be measured at temperatures 40 and 80 C and various partial pressures of CO{sub 2}. At the end of the project, observations, conclusions, and recommendations will be derived for …

A megahertz LIF-based diagnostic system for measuring ion density fluctuations in two spatial dimensions is described. Well resolved spatial and temporal 2D images of turbulent structures will be useful in understanding ion turbulence in magnetically confined plasmas which is a key factor in the performance of fusion experimental devices. A sheet beam of a megahertz repetition rate tunable Alexandrite laser is used to excite ion emission from argon plasma. The fluorescence emitted from the plane of the laser beam is detected with a narrow band interference filter and intensified ultra-fast CCD camera providing 2D images of relative ion density fluctuations every microsecond. It is expected that the edge plasma on fusion devices will be accessible to this technique.

A closure plan for the South Oyster Focus Area (SOFA) is being implemented to assess the impacts of a series of experimental injections of microorganisms, tracers and chemical amendments on the chemical and physical properties of the aquifer. The proposed research addresses environmental monitoring of humic substances injected into the aquifer, as described in the Site Closure Plan for the South Oyster Field Research Site. The goal of the research is to demonstrate that the dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the groundwater at and downgradient from the injection site has returned to a pre-injection �baseline� conditions with respect to either the concentration or chemical composition of the DOM. For clarity, the humic solution injected during the experiment will be referred to as �humic injectate.� The term �DOM� will refer to the organic material recovered in the groundwater, which includes the autochthonous groundwater DOM as well as any of the humic injectate remaining in the groundwater. Specific objectives include: � Estimate the amount of humic material remaining in the aquifer at the completion of the push-pull experiment and the potential for environmental impacts due to release of humics retained on the sediments. � Monitor the DOM concentrations in groundwater over time …

This report examines financing and economic issues in World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam Conflict, the Reagan Military Buildup, and the 1991 and 2003 wars in Iraq. It examines tax policy, non-military outlays, the budget balance, economic growth, inflation, and interest rates during these periods.

The Metals Processing Laboratory Users Facility (MPLUS) is a Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Industrial Technologies Program user facility designated to assist researchers in key industries, universities, and federal laboratories in improving energy efficiency, improving environmental aspects, and increasing competitiveness. The goal of MPLUS is to provide access to the specialized technical expertise and equipment needed to solve metals processing issues that limit the development and implementation of emerging metals processing technologies. The scope of work can also extend to other types of materials. MPLUS has four primary User Centers including: (1) Processing--casting, powder metallurgy, deformation processing including (extrusion, forging, rolling), melting, thermomechanical processing, high density infrared processing; (2) Joining--welding, monitoring and control, solidification, brazing, bonding; (3) Characterization--corrosion, mechanical properties, fracture mechanics, microstructure, nondestructive examination, computer-controlled dilatometry, and emissivity; (4) Materials/Process Modeling--mathematical design and analyses, high performance computing, process modeling, solidification/deformation, microstructure evolution, thermodynamic and kinetic, and materials data bases. A fully integrated approach provides researchers with unique opportunities to address technologically related issues to solve metals processing problems and probe new technologies. Access is also available to 16 additional Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) user facilities ranging from state of the art materials characterization capabilities, …

Electrochemical noise (EN) probes were deployed in the carbon steel continuous kraft digester at Spring Grove at four locations and at one location in the bottom cone of the associated flash tank for a second consecutive year of a corrosion study. The probes contained dual electrodes of 309LSi stainless steel overlay--representing a field repair material applied to a portion of the vessel--and dual electrodes of 312 stainless steel overlay. Current and potential noise, the temperature at each probe location, and the value of 23 process parameters (flow rates, liquor chemistry, etc.) were again monitored continuously for a period of almost one year. Historical vessel inspection data and post-test evaluation of the probe components were used to assess/compare EN corrosion activity with physical changes in wall thickness and corrosion patterns on the digester shell. In addition, attempts were made to correlate EN activity from each electrode type with process parameters. The results indicate the corrosion conditions aggressive to mild steel persist within the digester, as post-test inspection of the vessel revealed localized corrosion of mild steel in locations previously free of attack. Further, there was evidence that the depth of localized attack of exposed steel had increased in some locations. Nevertheless, …

The principal research efforts for this Continuation Period are the preparation and submittal to DOE of the final report for Phase I of this project, the preparation and submittal of a technical paper for consideration for publication reporting the results of this project, and the evaluation by Pruet Production Co. to continue into Phase II of this project.