A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Terrorists using unconventional weapons, also known as nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological (NBCR) weapons, could cause devastating losses. The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) of 2002, as well as the extension passed in 2005, will cover losses from a certified act of terrorism, irrespective of the weapon used, if those types of losses are included in the coverage. Because of a lack of information about the willingness of insurers to cover NBCR risks and uncertainties about the extent to which these risks can be and are being insured by private insurers across various lines of insurance, GAO was asked to study these issues. This report discusses (1) commonly accepted principles of insurability and whether NBCR risks are measurable and predictable, and (2) whether private insurers currently are exposed to NBCR risks and the challenges they face in pricing such risks. GAO collected information from and met with some of the largest insurers in each line of insurance, associations representing a broader cross section of the industry and state insurance regulators. GAO makes no recommendations in this report."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The government has hired private contractors to provide billions of dollars worth of goods and services to support U.S. efforts in Iraq. Faced with the uncertainty as to the full extent of rebuilding Iraq, the government authorized contractors to begin work before key terms and conditions were defined. This approach allows the government to initiate needed work quickly, but can result in additional costs and risks being imposed on the government. Helping to oversee their work is the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), which examined many Iraq contracts and identified costs they consider to be questioned or unsupported. The Conference Report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 directed GAO to report on audit findings regarding contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan. As agreed with the congressional defense committees, GAO focused on Iraq contract audit findings and determined (1) the costs identified by DCAA as questioned or unsupported; and (2) what actions DOD has taken to address DCAA audit findings, including the extent funds were withheld from contractors. To identify DOD actions in response to the audit findings, GAO selected 18 audit reports representing …

The 120-B-1 waste site, located in the 100-BC-1 Operable Unit of the Hanford Site, consisted of a concrete battery acid sump that was used from 1944 to 1969 to neutralize the spent sulfuric acid from lead cell batteries of emergency power packs and the emergency lighting system. The battery acid sump was associated with the 105-B Reactor Building and was located adjacent to the building's northwest corner. The results of verification sampling demonstrated that residual contaminant concentrations do not preclude any future uses and allow for unrestricted use of shallow zone soils. The results also showed that residual contaminant concentrations are protective of groundwater and the Columbia River.

Water injection into geothermal systems has often become arequired strategy to extended and sustain production of geothermalresources. To reduce a trend of declining pressures and increasingnon-condensable gas concentrations in steam produced from The Geysers,operators have been injecting steam condensate, local rain and streamwaters, and most recently treated wastewater piped to the field fromneighboring communities. If geothermal energy is to provide a significantincrease in energy in the United States (US Department of Energy (DOE)goal is 40,000 megawatts by 2040), injection must play a larger role inthe overall strategy, i.e., enhanced geothermal systems, (EGS). Presentedin this paper are the results of monitoring microseismicity during anincrease in injection at The Geysers field in California using data froma high-density digital microearthquake array. Although seismicity hasincreased due to increased injection it has been found to be somewhatpredicable, thus implying that intelligent injection control may be ableto control large increases in seismicity.

The 116-F-8 waste site is the former 1904-F Outfall Structure used to discharge reactor cooling water effluent fro mthe 107-F Retention Basin to the Columbia River. The results of verification sampling show that residual contaminant concentrations do not preclude any future uses and allow for unrestricted use of shallow zone soils. The results also demonstrate that residual contaminant concentrations are protective of groundwater and the Columbia River.

X-ray absorption methods have been successfully used to obtain quantitative information about local atomic composition of two different materials. X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure analysis and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy allowed us to determine seven chemical compounds and their concentrations in c-BN composite. Use of Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure in combination with Transmission Electron Microscopy enabled us to determine the composition and size of buried Ge quantum dots. It was found that the quantum dots consisted out of pure Ge core covered by 1-2 monolayers of a layer rich in Si.

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Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether Transportation Code section 521.126 prohibits a retailer, acting in compliance with Health and Safety Code section 486.014, from electronically recording and storing personal data from the driver’s license of a person who purchases certain nonprescription drugs that could be used in the manufacture of methamphetamine (RQ-0435-GA)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a county jailer who is a certified peace officer is required to obtain a commission from the Texas Commission on Private Security to work as a private security guard (RQ-0464-GA)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a constable may provide animal control without the approval of the approval of the commissioners court of his county (RQ-0465-GA)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether the East Coke County Hospital District is authorized to operate a long-term health care facility and levy taxes for its maintenance and operation (RQ-0467-GA)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a member of a school district board of trustees may simultaneously serve as county clerk of the county in which the school district is located (RQ-0470-GA)

This report documents the deactivation, decontamination, decommissioning, and demolition of five buildings in the 300 Area of the Hanford Site. The D4 of these facilities included characterization, engineering, removal of hazardous and radiologically contaminated materials, equipment removal, utility disconnection, deactivation, decontamination, demolition of the structure, and stabilization or removal of the remaining slab and foundation as appropriate.

Yucca Mountain in Nevada represents the proposed solution to what has been a lengthy national effort to dispose of high-level radioactive waste, waste which must be isolated from the biosphere for tens of thousands of years. This chapter reviews the background of that national effort and includes some discussion of international work in order to provide a more complete framework for the problem of waste disposal. Other chapters provide the regional geologic setting, the geology of the Yucca Mountain site, the tectonics, and climate (past, present, and future). These last two chapters are integral to prediction of long-term waste isolation.

The underlying goal of this project was to provide multi-disciplinary engineering training for graduate students in the area of internal combustion engines, specifically in direct injection compression ignition engines. The program was designed to educate highly qualified engineers and scientists that will seek to overcome technological barriers preventing the development and production of cost-effective high-efficiency vehicles for the US. market. Further, these highly qualified engineers and scientists will foster an educational process to train a future workforce of automotive engineering professionals who are knowledgeable about and have experience in developing and commercializing critical advanced automotive technologies. Eight objectives were defined to accomplish this goal: (1) Develop an interdisciplinary internal combustion engine curriculum emphasizing direct injected combustion ignited diesel engines. (2) Encourage and promote interdisciplinary interaction of the faculty. (3) Offer a Ph.D. degree in internal combustion engines based upon an interdisciplinary curriculum. (4) Promote strong interaction with industry, develop a sense of responsibility with industry and pursue a self sustaining program. (5) Establish collaborative arrangements and network universities active in internal combustion engine study. (6) Further Enhance a First Class educational facility. (7) Establish ''off-campus'' M.S. and Ph.D. engine programs of study at various industrial sites. (8) Extend and Enhance …

Multigrid methods are ideal for solving the increasingly large-scale problems that arise in numerical simulations of physical phenomena because of their potential for computational costs and memory requirements that scale linearly with the degrees of freedom. Unfortunately, they have been historically limited by their applicability to elliptic-type problems and the need for special handling in their implementation. In this paper, we present an overview of several recent theoretical and algorithmic advances made by the TOPS multigrid partners and their collaborators in extending applicability of multigrid methods. Specific examples that are presented include quantum chromodynamics, radiation transport, and electromagnetics.

The objective of this document is to support the simulation results reported by Corbin et al. (2005) by documenting the requirements, conceptual model, simulation methodology, testing, and quality assurance associated with the Hanford Soil Inventory Model (SIM). There is no conventional software life-cycle documentation associated with the Hanford SIM because of the research and development nature of the project. Because of the extensive use of commercial- off-the-shelf software products, there was little actual software development as part of this application. This document is meant to provide historical context and technical support of Corbin et al. (2005), which is a significant revision and update to an earlier product Simpson et al. (2001). The SIM application computed waste discharges composed of 75 analytes at 377 waste sites (liquid disposal, unplanned releases, and tank farm leaks) over an operational period of approximately 50 years. The development and application of SIM was an effort to develop a probabilistic approach to estimate comprehensive, mass balanced-based contaminant inventories for the Hanford Site post-closure setting. A computer model capable of calculating inventories and the associated uncertainties as a function of time was identified to address the needs of the Remediation and Closure Science (RCS) Project.

The authors report on a search for the rare decay modes B{sup +} {yields} e{sup +}{nu}{sub e} and B{sup +} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{nu}{sub {mu}} with data collected from the BABAR detector at the PEP-II e{sup +}e{sup -} storage ring. This search utilizes a new technique in which they fully reconstruct the accompanying B{sup -} in {Upsilon}(4S) {yields} B{sup +}B{sup -} events, and look for a mono-energetic lepton in B{sup +} rest frame. No signal candidates observed in either of the channels, consistent with the expected background, in a data sample of approximately 229 million B{bar B} pairs. The branching-fraction upper limits are set at {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} e{sup +}{nu}{sub e}) < 7.9 x 10{sup -6} and {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{nu}{sub {mu}}) < 6.2 x 10{sup -6} at the 90% confidence level.

This dissertation presents measurements of time-dependent CP violating asymmetries in the decays B{sup 0} {yields} K{sub s}{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0} and B{sup 0} {yields} K{sub s}{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0}{gamma} based on RUN 1-4 data collected with the BABAR detector at the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance operating at the PEP-II asymmetric e{sup +}e{sup -} collider at SLAC. It was found that the CP violating asymmetry parameters are S{sub K{sub s}{pi}{sup 0}} = 0.35{sub -0.33}{sup +0.30}(stat) {+-} 0.04(syst), C{sub K{sub g}{pi}{sup 0}} = 0.06 {+-} 0.18(stat) {+-} 0.03(syst), S{sub K{sub s}{pi}{sup 0}{gamma}} = 0.9 {+-} 1.0(stat) {+-} 0.2(syst) and C{sub K{sub s}{pi}{sup 0}{gamma}} = -1.0 {+-} 0.5(stat) {+-} 0.2(syst), where B{sup 0} {yields} K{sup +0}{gamma} decays correspond to the K{sub s}{pi}{sup 0} invariant mass interval of [0.8,1.0] GeV and B{sup 0} {yields} K{sub s}{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0}{gamma} of [1.1,1.8] GeV. All results are consistent with the Standard Model predictions.

Critical gaps exist in our capabilities to rapidly characterize threat agents which could be used in attacks on facilities and military forces. DNA-based PCR and immunoassay-based techniques provide unique identification of species, strains and protein signatures of pathogens. However, differentiation between naturally occurring and weaponized bioagents and the identification of formulation signatures are beyond current technologies. One of the most effective and often the only definitive means to identify a threat agent is by its direct visualization. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a rapid imaging technique that covers the size range of most biothreat agents (several nanometers to tens of microns), is capable of resolving pathogen morphology and structure, and could be developed into a portable device for biological weapons (BW) field characterization. AFM can detect pathogens in aerosol, liquid, surface and soil samples while concomitantly acquiring their weaponization and threat agent digital signatures. BW morphological and structural signatures, including modifications to pathogen microstructural architecture and topology that occur during formulation and weaponization, provide the means for their differentiation from crude or purified unformulated agent, processing signatures, as well as assessment of their potential for dispersion, inhalation and environmental persistence. AFM visualization of pathogen morphology and architecture often provides valuable …

This paper presents the advances in electromagnetic (EM) field computation that have been enabled by the US DOE SciDAC Accelerator Science and Technology project which supports the development and application of a suite of electromagnetic codes based on the higher-order finite element method. Implemented on distributed memory supercomputers, this state of the art simulation capability has produced results which are of great interest to accelerator designers and with realism previously not possible with standard codes. Examples from work on the International Linear Collider (ILC) project are described.

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is assembling existing borehole geologic information to aid in determining the distribution and potential movement of contaminants released to the environment and to aid selection of remedial alternatives. This information is being assembled via the Hanford Borehole Geologic Information System (HBGIS), which is being developed as part of the Characterization of Systems Project, managed by PNNL, and the Remediation Decision Support Task of the Groundwater Remediation Project, managed by Fluor Hanford, Inc. The purpose of this particular study was to assemble the existing borehole geologic data pertaining to sediments underlying the 216-Z Crib Facilities and the Plutonium Finishing Plant Closure Zone. The primary objective for Fiscal Year 2006 was to assemble the data, complete log plots, and interpret the location of major geologic contacts for each major borehole in and around the primary disposal facilities that received carbon tetrachloride. To date, 154 boreholes located within or immediately adjacent to 19 of the 216-Z crib facilities have been incorporated into HBGIS. Borehole geologic information for the remaining three Z-crib facilities is either lacking (e.g. 216-Z-13, -14, and -15), or has been identified as a lesser priority to be incorporated at a later date.

This report presents the results of a delineation of waters of the United States, including wetlands, for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Site 300 in Alameda and San Joaquin Counties, California. Jones & Stokes mapped vegetation at Site 300 in August, 2001, using Global Positioning System (GPS) data recorders to collect point locations and to record linear features and map unit polygons. We identified wetlands boundaries in the field on the basis of the plant community present. We returned to collect additional information on wetland soils on July 3, 2002. Forty-six wetlands were identified, with a total area of 3.482 hectares (8.605 acres). The wetlands include vernal pools, freshwater seeps, and seasonal ponds. Wetlands appearing to meet the criteria for federal jurisdictional total 1.776 hectares (4.388 acres). A delineation map is presented and a table is provided with information on the type, size, characteristic plant species of each wetland, and a preliminary jurisdictional assessment.

A class II atomistic force field with Lennard-Jones 6-9 nonbond interactions is used to investigate equations of state (EOS) for important high explosive detonation products N{sub 2} and H{sub 2}O in the temperature range 700-2500 K and pressure range 0.1-10 GPa. A standard 6th order parameter-mixing scheme is then employed to study a 2:1 (molar) H{sub 2}O:N{sub 2} mixture, to investigate in particular the possibility of phase-separation under detonation conditions. The simulations demonstrate several important results, including: (1) the accuracy of computed EOS for both N{sub 2} and H{sub 2}O over the entire range of temperature and pressure considered; (2) accurate mixing-demixing phase boundary as compared to experimental data; and (3) the departure of mixing free energy from that predicted by ideal mixing law. The results provide comparison and guidance to state-of-the-art chemical kinetic models.