Reports in the Argonne National Laboratory Nuclear Data and Measurement Series present results of studies in the field of microscopic nuclear data. The primary objective of the series is the dissemination of information in the comprehensive form required for nuclear technology applications. This series is devoted to: (a) measured microscopic nuclear parameters, (b) experimental techniques and facilities employed in measurements, (c) the analysis, correlation and interpretation of nuclear data, and (d) the compilation and evaluation of nuclear data.

The High Flux Reactor (RHF) of the Laue Langevin Institute (ILL) based in Grenoble, France is a research reactor designed primarily for neutron beam experiments for fundamental science. It delivers one of the most intense neutron fluxes worldwide, with an unperturbed thermal neutron flux of 1.5 x 10{sup 15} n/cm{sup 2}/s in its reflector. The reactor has been conceived to operate at a nuclear power of 57 MW but currently operates at 52 MW. The reactor currently uses a Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) fuel. In the framework of its non-proliferation policies, the international community presently aims to minimize the amount of nuclear material available that could be used for nuclear weapons. In this geopolitical context, most worldwide research and test reactors have already started a program of conversion to the use of Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) fuel. A new type of LEU fuel based on a mixture of uranium and molybdenum (UMo) is expected to allow the conversion of compact high performance reactors like the RHF. This report presents the results of reactor design, performance and steady state safety analyses for conversion of the RHF from the use of HEU fuel to the use of UMo LEU fuel. The objective …

The largest volume waste stream associated with oil and gas production is produced water. A survey conducted by the American Petroleum Institute estimated that 20.9 billion barrels of produced water were disposed of in 1985 (Wakim 1987). Of this total, 91% was disposed of through disposal wells or was injected for enhanced oil recovery projects. Treatment and disposal of produced water represents a significant cost for operators. A relatively new technology, downhole oil/water separators (DOWS), has been developed to reduce the cost of handling produced water. DOWS separate oil and gas from produced water at the bottom of the well and reinject some of the produced water into another formation or another horizon within the same formation, while the oil and gas are pumped to the surface. Since much of the produced water is not pumped to the surface, treated, and pumped from the surface back into a deep formation, the cost of handling produced water is greatly reduced. When DOWS are used, additional oil may be recovered as well. In cases where surface processing or disposal capacity is a limiting factor for further production within a field, the use of DOWS to dispose of some of the produced water …

In summary, a scaling analysis of a water-cooled Reactor Cavity Cooling System (RCCS) system was performed based on generic information on the RCCS design of PBMR. The analysis demonstrates that the water-cooled RCCS can be simulated at the ANL NSTF facility at a prototypic scale in the lateral direction and about half scale in the vertical direction. Because, by necessity, the scaling is based on a number of approximations, and because no analytical information is available on the performance of a reference water-cooled RCCS, the scaling analysis presented here needs to be 'validated' by analysis of the steady state and transient performance of a reference water-cooled RCCS design. The analysis of the RCCS performance by CFD and system codes presents a number of challenges including: strong 3-D effects in the cavity and the RCCS tubes; simulation of turbulence in flows characterized by natural circulation, high Rayleigh numbers and low Reynolds numbers; validity of heat transfer correlations for system codes for heat transfer in the cavity and the annulus of the RCCS tubes; the potential of nucleate boiling in the tubes; water flashing in the upper section of the RCCS return line (during limiting transient); and two-phase flow phenomena in the …

The investigation reported here was conducted by the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA) in 2006. The investigation addressed carbon tetrachloride contamination on the former CCC/USDA grain storage facility at Ramona, Kansas. The results clearly demonstrate that only minimal contamination is associated with the past use of carbon tetrachloride on the former CCC/USDA property. No soil contamination was detected at concentrations above Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) risk-based screening level (RBSL) Tier 2 standard of 200 {micro}g/kg for the soil-to-groundwater protection pathway. Carbon tetrachloride concentrations in groundwater above the RBSL and maximum contaminant level (MCL) value of 5.0 {micro}g/L were detected in only two samples, collected at adjacent locations on the southeast part of the property. The relatively low concentrations detected and the limited areal extent of the contamination demonstrate that no imminent threat exists on the former CCC/USDA property to warrant remediation. The soil and groundwater contamination detected on the former CCC/USDA property is clearly separate from contamination detected at off-site locations. The carbon tetrachloride and chloroform contamination in groundwater (at concentrations above the RBSL and MCL value) associated with past activities on the former CCC/USDA property is contained within the property boundaries. …

The 2007 investigation of carbon tetrachloride and chloroform contamination at Powhattan, Kansas, was conducted at the request of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE 2006a). The Environmental Science Division of Argonne National Laboratory implemented the investigation on behalf of the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA). The primary purposes of the investigation were to evaluate potential contaminant source areas on the former CCC/USDA property, determine the horizontal and vertical extent of potential contamination, conduct groundwater monitoring, and provide recommendations for future action.

The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), operated a grain storage facility in Hilton, Kansas, in 1954-1965. In 1992, carbon tetrachloride was first identified, at a concentration of 910 {micro}g/L, in groundwater from well GW01 at Hilton. This discovery occurred in association with the sale of the private grain storage facility on which well GW01 is located to the current owner, the Mid-Kansas Cooperative Association. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment conducted investigations at Hilton in 1992-1994. In 1996-1997, Argonne National Laboratory conducted Phase I and Phase II investigations on behalf of the CCC/USDA to characterize the distribution of the carbon tetrachloride contamination identified in well GW01, the stratigraphic units potentially hosting contaminant migration, and local hydrogeology in the Hilton area. The 2007 targeted investigation reported here focused specifically on the former CCC/USDA property at Hilton, west of the railroad tracks. (Until a property record search in 2005, the location of the CCC/USDA's former facility at Hilton was not known with certainty.) The objectives of the investigation, as implemented, were to (1) investigate for carbon tetrachloride contamination in the shallower soil and shallow aquifer units below the former CCC/USDA property and (2) …

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 Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) supplements the Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR), dated January 18, 1974, for Building 332, Increment III of the Plutonium Materials Engineering Facility located at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLL). The FSAR, in conjunction with the PSAR, shows that the completed increment provides facilities for safely conducting the operations as described. These documents satisfy the requirements of ERDA Manual Appendix 6101, Annex C, dated April 8, 1971. The format and content of this FSAR complies with the basic requirements of the letter of request from ERDA San to LLL, dated March 10, 1972. Included as appendices in support of th FSAR are the Building 332 Operational Safety Procedure and the LLL Disaster Control Plan.

In 1998, carbon tetrachloride was found above the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 5 {micro}g/L in groundwater from one private livestock well at Sylvan Grove, Kansas, by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). The 1998 KDHE sampling was conducted under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) private well sampling program. The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), a USDA agency, operated a grain storage facility in Sylvan Grove from 1954 to1966. Carbon tetrachloride is the contaminant of primary concern at sites associated with former CCC/USDA grain storage operations. Sylvan Grove is located in western Lincoln County, approximately 60 mi west of Salina (Figure 1.1). To determine whether the former CCC/USDA facility at Sylvan Grove is a potential contaminant source and its possible relationship to the contamination in groundwater, the CCC/USDA has agreed to conduct an investigation, in accordance with the Intergovernmental Agreement between the KDHE and the Farm Service Agency (FSA) of the USDA. This Work Plan presents historical data related to previous investigations, grain storage operations, local private wells and public water supply (PWS) wells, and local geologic and hydrogeologic conditions at Sylvan Grove. The findings from a review of all available documents are discussed in Section 2. On …

This Work Plan outlines the scope of a targeted investigation to update the status of carbon tetrachloride contamination in groundwater associated with grain storage operations at Hilton, Kansas. The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), operated a grain storage facility in Hilton during the 1950s and 1960s. At the time of the CCC/USDA operation in Hilton, grain storage facilities (CCC/USDA and private) were located along the both sides of the former Union Pacific railroad tracks (Figure 1.1). The main grain storage structures were on or near the railroad right-of-way. The proposed targeted investigation, to be conducted by Argonne National Laboratory on the behalf of CCC/USDA, will supplement Argonne's Phase I and Phase II investigations in 1996-1997. The earlier investigations erroneously focused on an area east of the railroad property where the CCC/USDA did not operate, specifically on a private grain storage facility. In addition, the investigation was limited in scope, because access to railroad property was denied (Argonne 1997a,b). The hydrogeologic system at Hilton is potentially complex.

The Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA) operated a grain storage facility at the western edge of Everest, Kansas, from the early 1950s to the early 1970s. Sampling by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) in 1997 resulted in the detection of carbon tetrachloride in one domestic well (the Nigh well) northwest of the former facility. On behalf of the CCC/USDA, Argonne National Laboratory subsequently conducted a series of investigations to characterize the contamination (Argonne 2003, 2006a,b,c). Automatic, continuous monitoring of groundwater levels began in 2002 and is ongoing at six locations. The results have consistently indicated groundwater flow toward the north-northwest from the former CCC/USDA property to the Nigh property, then west-southwest from the Nigh property to the intermittent creek. Sitewide periodic groundwater and surface water sampling with analysis for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) began in 2008. Argonne's combined data indicate no significant downgradient extension of contamination since 2000. At present, the sampling is annual, as approved by the KDHE (2009) in response to a plan developed for the CCC/USDA (Argonne 2009). This document presents a plan for collecting indoor air samples in homes located along and adjacent to the defined extent of …

Twenty-one papers are included. Separate abstracts were prepared for five. Fifteen papers in Spanish and one summary are listed by title. (MHR)

Oil and gas companies operate in many countries around the world. Their exploration and production (E&P) operations generate many kinds of waste that must be carefully and appropriately managed. Some of these wastes are inherently part of the E&P process; examples are drilling wastes and produced water. Other wastes are generic industrial wastes that are not unique to E&P activities, such as painting wastes and scrap metal. Still other wastes are associated with the presence of workers at the site; these include trash, food waste, and laundry wash water. In some host countries, mature environmental regulatory programs are in place that provide for various waste management options on the basis of the characteristics of the wastes and the environmental settings of the sites. In other countries, the waste management requirements and authorized options are stringent, even though the infrastructure to meet the requirements may not be available yet. In some cases, regulations and/or waste management infrastructure do not exist at all. Companies operating in these countries can be confronted with limited and expensive waste management options.

This report describes the approach to estimating the benefits and analysis results for the Heavy Vehicle Technologies activities of the FreedomCar and Vehicle Technologies (FCVT) Program of EERE. The scope of the effort includes: (1) Characterizing baseline and advanced technology vehicles for Class 3-6 and Class 7 and 8 trucks, (2) Identifying technology goals associated with the DOE EERE programs, (3) Estimating the market potential of technologies that improve fuel efficiency and/or use alternative fuels, (4) Determining the petroleum and greenhouse gas emissions reductions associated with the advanced technologies. In FY 05 the Heavy Vehicles program activity expanded its technical involvement to more broadly address various sources of energy loss as compared to focusing more narrowly on engine efficiency and alternative fuels. This broadening of focus has continued in subsequent activities. These changes are the result of a planning effort that occurred during FY 04 and 05. (Ref. 1) This narrative describes characteristics of the heavy truck market as they relate to the analysis, a description of the analysis methodology (including a discussion of the models used to estimate market potential and benefits), and a presentation of the benefits estimated as a result of the adoption of the advanced technologies. …

This report describes the approach to estimating benefits and the analysis results for the Heavy Vehicle Technologies activities of the Freedom Car and Vehicle Technologies (FCVT) Program of EERE. The scope of the effort includes: (1) Characterizing baseline and advanced technology vehicles for Class 3-6 and Class 7 and 8 trucks, (2) Identification of technology goals associated with the DOE EERE programs, (3) Estimating the market potential of technologies that improve fuel efficiency and/or use alternative fuels, (4) Determining the petroleum and greenhouse gas emissions reductions associated with the advanced technologies. In FY 05 the Heavy Vehicles program activity expanded its technical involvement to more broadly address various sources of energy loss as compared to focusing more narrowly on engine efficiency and alternative fuels. This broadening of focus has continued in the activities planned for FY 06. These changes are the result of a planning effort that occurred during FY 04 and 05. (Ref. 1) This narrative describes characteristics of the heavy truck market as they relate to the analysis, a description of the analysis methodology (including a discussion of the models used to estimate market potential and benefits), and a presentation of the benefits estimated as a result of …

Argonne National Laboratory is developing an electrometallurgical treatment for spent nuclear fuels. The initial demonstration of this process is being conducted on U-Zr and U-Pu-Zr alloy fuel elements irradiated in the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II). The electrometallurgical treatment process extracts usable uranium from irradiated fuel elements and places residual fission products, actinides, process Zr, and cladding hulls (small segments of tubing) into two waste forms--a ceramic and a metal alloy. The metal waste form will contain the cladding hulls, Zr, and noble metal fission products, and it will be disposed of in a geologic repository. As a result, the expected composition of the waste form will need to be well understood. This report deals with the condition of the cladding, which will make up a large fraction of the metal waste form, after irradiation in EBR-II and before insertion into the electrorefiner. Specifically, it looks at layers that can be found on the inner surface of the cladding due to in-reactor interactions between the alloy fuel and the stainless steel cladding that occurs after the fuel has swelled and contacted the cladding. Many detailed examinations of fuel elements irradiated in EBR-II have been completed and are discussed in the context …

Once-through fuel cycle systems are commercially used for the generation of nuclear power, with little exception. The bulk of these once-through systems have been water-cooled reactors (light-water and heavy water reactors, LWRs and HWRs). Some gas-cooled reactors are used in the United Kingdom. The commercial power systems that are exceptions use limited recycle (currently one recycle) of transuranic elements, primarily plutonium, as done in Europe and nearing deployment in Japan. For most of these once-through fuel cycles, the ultimate storage of the used (spent) nuclear fuel (UNF, SNF) will be in a geologic repository. Besides the commercial nuclear plants, new once-through concepts are being proposed for various objectives under international advanced nuclear fuel cycle studies and by industrial and venture capital groups. Some of the objectives for these systems include: (1) Long life core for remote use or foreign export and to support proliferation risk reduction goals - In these systems the intent is to achieve very long core-life with no refueling and limited or no access to the fuel. Most of these systems are fast spectrum systems and have been designed with the intent to improve plant economics, minimize nuclear waste, enhance system safety, and reduce proliferation risk. Some …

A large amount of corn stover is available in the U.S. corn belt for the potential production of cellulosic bioethanol when the production technology becomes commercially ready. In fact, because corn stover is already available, it could serve as a starting point for producing cellulosic ethanol as a transportation fuel to help reduce the nation's demand for petroleum oil. Using the data available on the collection and transportation of corn stover and on the production of cellulosic ethanol, we have added the corn stover-to-ethanol pathway in the GREET model, a fuel-cycle model developed at Argonne National Laboratory. We then analyzed the life-cycle energy use and emission impacts of corn stover-derived fuel ethanol for use as E85 in flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs). The analysis included fertilizer manufacturing, corn farming, farming machinery manufacturing, stover collection and transportation, ethanol production, ethanol transportation, and ethanol use in light-duty vehicles (LDVs). Energy consumption of petroleum oil and fossil energy, emissions of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide [CO{sub 2}], nitrous oxide [N{sub 2}O], and methane [CH{sub 4}]), and emissions of criteria pollutants (carbon monoxide [CO], volatile organic compounds [VOCs], nitrogen oxide [NO{sub x}], sulfur oxide [SO{sub x}], and particulate matter with diameters smaller than 10 micrometers [PM{sub …

The fuel-cycle energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the application of fuel cells to distributed power generation were evaluated and compared with the combustion technologies of microturbines and internal combustion engines, as well as the various technologies associated with grid-electricity generation in the United States and California. The results were primarily impacted by the net electrical efficiency of the power generation technologies and the type of employed fuels. The energy use and GHG emissions associated with the electric power generation represented the majority of the total energy use of the fuel cycle and emissions for all generation pathways. Fuel cell technologies exhibited lower GHG emissions than those associated with the U.S. grid electricity and other combustion technologies. The higher-efficiency fuel cells, such as the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC), exhibited lower energy requirements than those for combustion generators. The dependence of all natural-gas-based technologies on petroleum oil was lower than that of internal combustion engines using petroleum fuels. Most fuel cell technologies approaching or exceeding the DOE target efficiency of 40% offered significant reduction in energy use and GHG emissions.

None

Gas-cooled fast reactor (GFR) designs are being developed to meet Gen IV goals of sustainability, economics, safety and reliability, and proliferation resistance and physical protection as part of an International Generation IV Nuclear Energy System Research Initiative effort. Different organizations are involved in the development of a variety of GFR design concepts. The current analysis has focused on the evaluation of low-pressure drop, pin-core designs with favorable passive cooling properties. Initial evaluation of the passive cooling safety case for the GFR during depressurized decay heat removal accidents with concurrent loss of electric power have resulted in requirements for a reduction of core power density to the 100 w/cc level and a low core pressure drop of 0.5 bars. Additional design constraints and the implementation of their constraints are evaluated in this study to enhance and passive cooling properties of the reactor. Passive cooling is made easier by a flat radial distribution of the decay heat. One goal of this study was to evaluate the radial power distribution and determine to what extent it can be flattened, since the decay heat is nearly proportional to the fission power at shutdown. In line with this investigation of the radial power profile, an …

This handbook demonstrates the application of a tool for measuring and monitoring the impact of a development project in the Department of Quezaltenango, Guatemala. That project itself presently is a demonstration. It explores the technical feasibility and the commercial possibilities of direct geothermal heat applications to the processing of agricultural produce - with the eventual purpose of expanding agricultural exports from Guatemala. The handbook focuses on an early stage of the geothermal initiative and guides preparations for future impact measurement and monitoring of geothermal projects. Primarily, guidance is for projects in agricultural applications of geothermal heat - and basically in Quezaltenango. But the exercise and the handbook are relevant in broad outline to other, industrial applications projects as well which may be based in other departments and have immediate impact across the whole country. This handbook attempts to prepare geothermal energy planners in Guatemala for that juncture when geothermal projects can be managed by objectives. It promotes and facilitates thinking about defining specific objectives for projects that result from the demonstration at Zunil (in Quezaltenango Department); and it prompts preparations for obtaining baseline measurements and for making rational projections on the achievements of future projects.

Get a GRiP (Gravitational Risk Procedure) on risk by using an approach inspired by the physics of gravitational forces between body masses! In April 2010, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Special Events staff (Protective Security Advisors [PSAs]) expressed concern about how to calculate risk given measures of consequence, vulnerability, and threat. The PSAs believed that it is not 'right' to assign zero risk, as a multiplicative formula would imply, to cases in which the threat is reported to be extremely small, and perhaps could even be assigned a value of zero, but for which consequences and vulnerability are potentially high. They needed a different way to aggregate the components into an overall measure of risk. To address these concerns, GRiP was proposed and developed. The inspiration for GRiP is Sir Isaac Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation: the attractive force between two bodies is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the squares of the distance between them. The total force on one body is the sum of the forces from 'other bodies' that influence that body. In the case of risk, the 'other bodies' are the components of risk (R): consequence, vulnerability, and threat (which …