On September 8-9, 2005, representatives of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA), and Argonne National Laboratory met at the KDHE's offices in Topeka to review the status of the CCC/USDA's environmental activities in Kansas. A key CCC/USDA goal for this meeting was to discuss the recent (Phase III) environmental studies performed by Argonne at Everest, Kansas, and to obtain KDHE input on the selection of possible remedial approaches to be examined as part of the Corrective Action Study (CAS) for this site. Argonne distributed a brief Scoping Memo (Argonne 2005) to the CCC/USDA and the KDHE before the meeting to facilitate the intended pre-CAS discussions. As a result of the September meeting, the KDHE recommended several additional activities for the Everest site, for further assistance in identifying and evaluating remedial alternatives for the CAS. The requested actions include the following: (1) Construction of one or more additional, strategically located interpretive cross sections to improve the depiction of the hydrogeologic characteristics affecting groundwater and contaminant movement along the apparent main plume migration pathway to the north-northwest of the former CCC/USDA facility. (2) Development of technical recommendations for a …

Venoco Inc, intends to re-develop the Monterey Formation, a Class III basin reservoir, at South Ellwood Field, Offshore Santa Barbara, California. Well productivity in this field varies significantly. Cumulative Monterey production for individual wells has ranged from 260 STB to 8,700,000 STB. Productivity is primarily affected by how well the well path connects with the local fracture system and the degree of aquifer support. Cumulative oil recovery to date is a small percentage of the original oil in place. To embark upon successful re-development and to optimize reservoir management, Venoco intends to investigate, map and characterize field fracture patterns and the reservoir conduit system. State of the art borehole imaging technologies including FMI, dipole sonic and cross-well seismic, interference tests and production logs will be employed to characterize fractures and micro faults. These data along with the existing database will be used for construction of a novel geologic model of the fracture network. Development of an innovative fracture network reservoir simulator is proposed to monitor and manage the aquifer's role in pressure maintenance and water production. The new fracture simulation model will be used for both planning optimal paths for new wells and improving ultimate recovery. In the second phase …

During this quarter of the no cost extension a cermet composition referred to as EC101 containing a high permeability metal and a ceramic phase was prepared for sealing and permeability testing. Several different types of seals were developed and tested. In addition membrane surface stability was characterized.

This is a report by the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, specifically about the controversies for the 109th Congress.

After major changes to the limits for various disposal units of the E-Area Low Level Waste Facility (ELLWF) last year, no major changes have been made during FY2005. A Special Analysis was completed which removes the air pathway {sup 14}C limit from the Intermediate Level Vault (ILV). This analysis will allow the disposal of reactor moderator deionizers which previously had no pathway to disposal. Several studies have also been completed providing groundwater transport input for future special analyses. During the past year, since Slit Trenches No.1 and No.2 were nearing volumetric capacity, they were operationally closed under a preliminary closure analysis. This analysis was performed using as-disposed conditions and data and showed that concrete rubble from the demolition of 232-F was acceptable for disposal in the STs even though the latest special analysis for the STs had reduced the tritium limits so that the inventory in the rubble exceeded limits. A number of special studies are planned during the next years; perhaps the largest of these will be revision of the Performance Assessment (PA) for the ELLWF. The revision will be accomplished by incorporating special analyses performed since the last PA revision as well as revising analyses to include new …

As many pressurized water reactors (PWRs) age and life extension of the aged plants is considered, void swelling behavior of austenitic stainless steel (SS) core internals has become the subject of increasing attention. In this report, the available database on void swelling and density change of austenitic SSs was critically reviewed. Irradiation conditions, test procedures, and microstructural characteristics were carefully examined, and key factors that are important to determine the relevance of the database to PWR conditions were evaluated. Most swelling data were obtained from steels irradiated in fast breeder reactors at temperatures >385 C and at dose rates that are orders of magnitude higher than PWR dose rates. Even for a given irradiation temperature and given steel, the integral effects of dose and dose rate on void swelling should not be separated. It is incorrect to extrapolate swelling data on the basis of 'progressive compounded multiplication' of separate effects of factors such as dose, dose rate, temperature, steel composition, and fabrication procedure. Therefore, the fast reactor data should not be extrapolated to determine credible void swelling behavior for PWR end-of-life (EOL) or life-extension conditions. Although the void swelling data extracted from fast reactor studies is extensive and conclusive, only …

The Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) reaction provides a way of converting coal-derived synthesis gas (CO+ H{sub 2}) to liquid fuels. Since the reaction is highly exothermic, one of the major problems in control of the reaction is heat removal. Recent work has shown that the use of slurry bubble column reactors (SBCRs) can largely solve this problem. The use of iron-(FE) based catalysts is attractive not only due to their low cost and ready availability, but also due to their high water-gas shift activity which makes it possible to use these catalysts with low H{sub 2}/CO ratios. However, a serious problem with the use of Fe catalysts in a SBCR is their tendency to undergo attrition. This can cause fouling/plugging of downstream filters and equipment; makes the separation of catalyst from the oil/wax product very difficult, if not impossible; and results in a steady loss of catalyst from the reactor. Under a previous Department of Energy (DOE)/University Research Grant (UCR) grant, Hampton University reported, for the first time, the development of demonstrably attrition-resistant Fe F-T synthesis catalysts having good activity, selectivity, and attrition resistance. These catalysts were prepared by spray drying Fe catalysts with potassium (K), copper (Cu), and silica (SiO{sub 2}) …

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Ohio Coal Development Office (OCDO) have recently initiated a project aimed at identifying, evaluating, and qualifying the materials needed for the construction of the critical components of coal-fired boilers capable of operating at much higher efficiencies than current generation of supercritical plants. This increased efficiency is expected to be achieved principally through the use of ultrasupercritical steam conditions (USC). A limiting factor in this can be the materials of construction. The project goal is to assess/develop materials technology that will enable achieving turbine throttle steam conditions of 760 C (1400 F)/35 MPa (5000 psi). This goal seems achievable based on a preliminary assessment of material capabilities. The project is further intended to build further upon the alloy development and evaluation programs that have been carried out in Europe and Japan. Those programs have identified ferritic steels capable of meeting the strength requirements of USC plants up to approximately 620 C (1150 F) and nickel-based alloys suitable up to 700 C (1300 F). In this project, the maximum temperature capabilities of these and other available high-temperature alloys are being assessed to provide a basis for materials selection and application under a range of …

This report provides background on appearance of BSE(bovine spongiform encephalopathy or "mad cow disease") in North America.

Congress has long been concerned about whether U.S. policy advances the national interest in reducing the role of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and missiles that could deliver them. China has taken some steps to mollify U.S. concerns about its role in weapons proliferation. Skeptics question whether China's cooperation in weapons nonproliferation has warranted President Bush's pursuit of stronger bilateral ties. This report discusses the national security problem of China's role in weapons proliferation and issues related to the U.S. policy response, including legislation, since the mid-1990s.

This report gives an overview of China's Space and the contents include China's SPace Launch Activities, funding programs, military space activities, and international cooperation.

A major materials selection and qualification issue identified in the Space Materials Plan is the potential for creating materials compatibility problems by combining dissimilar reactor core, Brayton Unit and other power conversion plant materials in a recirculating, inert He/Xe gas loop containing reactive impurity gases. Reported here are results of equilibrium thermochemical analyses that address the compatibility of space nuclear power plant (SNPP) materials in high temperature impure He gas environments. These studies provide early information regarding the constraints that exist for SNPP materials selection and provide guidance for establishing test objectives and environments for SNPP materials qualification testing.

Austenitic stainless steels (SSs) are used extensively as structural alloys in the internal components of reactor pressure vessels because of their superior fracture toughness. However, exposure to high levels of neutron irradiation for extended periods can exacerbate the corrosion fatigue and stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior of these steels by affecting the material microchemistry, material microstructure, and water chemistry. Experimental data are presented on crack growth rates of the heat affected zone (HAZ) in Types 304L and 304 SS weld specimens before and after they were irradiated to a fluence of 5.0 x 10{sup 20} n/cm{sup 2} (E > 1 MeV) ({approx} 0.75 dpa) at {approx}288 C. Crack growth tests were conducted under cycling loading and long hold time trapezoidal loading in simulated boiling water reactor environments on Type 304L SS HAZ of the H5 weld from the Grand Gulf reactor core shroud and on Type 304 SS HAZ of a laboratory-prepared weld. The effects of material composition, irradiation, and water chemistry on growth rates are discussed.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Air Force is in the process of transforming its force to meet today's new and emerging threats. Its "Future Total Force" concept is intended to maximize future capabilities by integrating its active, National Guard, and reserve components to a greater degree. While the Air Force was making force structure decisions and developing its 20-year plan, the Air National Guard embarked on its own "Vanguard" transformation initiative to ensure its role and relevance in the new Air Force. This report discusses (1) the processes and events that surrounded the Air Force's development of its 20-year force structure plan, including the involvement of key stakeholders and the development of the Guard's Vanguard initiative, and (2) the extent to which the Air Force is utilizing key results-oriented management tools to guide its effort to identify new missions for the Air National Guard and integrate active and Guard forces as part of its Future Total Force effort."

The Earned Income Tax Credit began in 1975 as a temporary program to return a portion of the Social Security taxes paid by lower-income taxpayers, and was made permanent in 1978. In the 1990s, the program because a major component of federal efforts to reduce poverty, and is now the largest anti-poverty entitlement program. This report contains information on eligibility for the program, credit amount, participation, interaction with other tax provisions, issues, compliance, and more as related to the Earned Income Tax Credit.

High-level radioactive waste salts generated during the electrometallurgical treatment of spent sodium-bonded nuclear fuel from the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II will be immobilized in a ceramic waste form (CWF). Tests are being conducted to evaluate the suitability of the CWF for disposal in the planned federal high-level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain. In this report, the results of laboratory tests and analyses conducted to address product consistency and thermal stability issues called out in waste acceptance requirements are presented. The tests measure the impacts of (1) variations in the amounts of salt and binder glass used to make the CWF and (2) heat treatments on the phase composition and chemical durability of the waste form. A series of CWF materials was made to span the ranges of salt and glass contents that could be used during processing: between 5.0 and 15 mass% salt loaded into the zeolite (the nominal salt loading is 10.7%, and the process control range is 10.6 to 11.2 mass%), and between 20 and 30 mass% binder glass mixed with the salt-loaded zeolite (the nominal glass content is 25% and the process control range is 20 to 30 mass%). In another series of tests, samples of two …

This project will determine the optimal forest management method to employ for each of the major commercial tree species so that profitability of timber production only or the combination of timber production and carbon sequestration is maximized. The goal of this project is to achieve DOE's long-term cost goal of sequestering carbon at $10 or less per ton. Because the potential of a forest ecosystem to sequester carbon depends on the species, site quality and management regimes utilized, this project will determine how to optimize carbon sequestration by determining how to optimally manage each species, given a range of site qualities and economic variables. This project also will determine the effects of a carbon credit market on the method and profitability of forest management, the cost of sequestering carbon, and the amount of carbon that can be sequestered. Information from this project will be used to produce user-friendly manuals which will contain economic and biological data for each of the species. These manuals will inform landowners and forest managers how to manage forests for timber and/or carbon credits, how to maximize financial returns, how much money can be earned, and how much carbon can be stored. Manuals will be disseminated …

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. The intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems. Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene (TCE), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and low-dose ionizing radiation. A project is also being conducted in the use of …

This report provides an overview of key environmental issues receiving attention in the 109th Congress.

CONSOL Energy Inc., Research & Development (CONSOL), with support from the U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), is evaluating the effects of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) on mercury (Hg) capture in coal-fired plants equipped with an electrostatic precipitator (ESP)--wet flue gas desulfurization (FGD) combination or a spray dyer absorber--fabric filter (SDA-FF) combination. In this program CONSOL is determining mercury speciation and removal at 10 coal-fired facilities. The principal purpose of this work is to develop a better understanding of the potential mercury removal ''co-benefits'' achieved by NO{sub x}, and SO{sub 2} control technologies. It is expected that these data will provide the basis for fundamental scientific insights into the nature of mercury chemistry in flue gas, the catalytic effect of SCR systems on mercury speciation and the efficacy of different FGD technologies for mercury capture. Ultimately, this insight could help to design and operate SCR and FGD systems to maximize mercury removal. The objectives are (1) to evaluate the effect of SCR on mercury capture in the ESP-FGD and SDA-FF combinations at coal-fired power plants, (2) evaluate the effect of SCR catalyst degradation on mercury capture; (3) evaluate the effect …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) recently began offering high-deductible health plans (HDHP) coupled with tax-advantaged health savings accounts (HSA) that enrollees use to pay for health care. Unused HSA balances may accumulate for future use, providing enrollees an incentive to purchase health care prudently. The plans also provide decision support tools to help enrollees make purchase decisions, including health care quality and cost information. Concerns have been expressed that HDHPs coupled with HSAs may attract younger, healthier, or wealthier enrollees, leaving older, less healthy enrollees to drive up costs in traditional plans. Because the plans are new, there is also interest in the plan features and the decision support tools they provide to enrollees. GAO was asked to evaluate the experience of the 14 HDHPs coupled with an HSA that were first offered under the FEHBP in January 2005. GAO compared the characteristics of enrollees in the 14 HDHPs to those of enrollees in another recently introduced (new) plan without a high deductible and to all FEHBP plans. GAO also compared characteristics of the three largest HDHPs to traditional FEHBP plans offered by the …

The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), formerly operated grain storage facilities at two different locations at Everest, Kansas (Figure 1.1). One facility (referred to in this report as the Everest facility) was at the western edge of the city. The second facility (referred to in this report as Everest East) was about 0.5 mi northeast of the town. The CCC/USDA operated these facilities from the early 1950s until the early 1970s, at a time when commercial fumigants containing carbon tetrachloride were in common use by the CCC/USDA and private industry for the preservation of grain in storage. In 1997 the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) sampled several domestic drinking water and non-drinking water wells in the Everest area as part of the CCC/USDA Private Well Sampling Program. All of the sampled wells were outside the Everest city limits. Carbon tetrachloride contamination was identified at a single domestic drinking water well (the Nigh well, DW06; Figure 1.1) approximately 3/8 mi northwest of the former Everest CCC/USDA grain storage facility. Subsequent KDHE investigations suggested that the contamination in DW06 could be linked to the former use of grain fumigants at the CCC/USDA …

The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), formerly operated a grain storage facility in Courtland, Kansas. Prior to 1986, commercial grain fumigants containing carbon tetrachloride were commonly used by the CCC/USDA and the grain industry to preserve stored grain. In 1999, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) identified the former CCC/USDA operation as the likely source of carbon tetrachloride found in groundwater east of the former CCC/USDA facility in Courtland. Sampling by the KDHE in April 1998 had found carbon tetrachloride in the Garman residence lawn and garden well at a concentration of 2.1 {micro}g/L and in the Hoard residence lawn and garden well at a concentration of 0.5 {micro}g/L. Subsequent soil and groundwater sampling by the KDHE at the former CCC/USDA facility found no indication of a continuing source, and subsequent sampling of the affected wells showed generally declining contaminant levels. At the request of the KDHE and the CCC/USDA, Argonne National Laboratory prepared a Work Plan for Groundwater Sampling for Potential Site Reclassification, Courtland, Kansas (Argonne 2004). The objective of the proposed work was to conduct a single groundwater monitoring event and collect information necessary to update the status …

This project investigated the feasibility of developing a remote temperature measurement instrument for energy-intensive industries. Existing remote temperature measurement techniques based on infrared radiation fail when excessive amounts of dust, smoke, or other particulates are present. We found that a remote temperature measurement instrument using microwaves demonstrated performance superior to infrared instrumentation in laboratory and field trials when dust or steam was present. Since improved temperature measurement helps improve energy efficiency and quality in a wide variety of industrial processes, making the new microwave instrument commercially available should lead to reduced energy usage, improved quality, and better competitiveness in a number of energy-intensive industries such as food processing and cement manufacturing. These improvements can lead to lower-priced products of improved quality for the consumer, and can contribute to the nation's energy independence.