FFTF (Fast Flux Test Facility) is a 400-MW(t) sodium-cooled, fast flux test reactor at Hanford, designed to test fuels and materials for advanced nuclear power plants; it has no capability for generating electric power. Since a long-term mission could not be found for FFTF, it was placed in standby, and a recommendation was made that it be shut down. Purpose of the FFTF Transition Project is to prepare it for Decontamination and Decommissioning; this will be accomplished by establishing a passively safe and environmentally secure configuration, that can be preserved for several decades. This report presents the results of the mission analysis, which is required by Hanford systems engineering procedures.

Performance assessments are required for low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities to demonstrate compliance with the performance objectives, consider human exposures from water, air, and inadvertent intruder pathways. Among these, the groundwater pathway analysis usually involves complex numerical simulations with results which are often difficult to verify and interpret. This paper presents a technique to identify and simplify the essential parts of the groundwater analysis. The transport process of radionuclides including infiltration of precipitation, leachate generation, and advection and dispersion in the groundwater is divided into several steps. For each step, a simple analytical model is constructed and refined to capture the dominant phenomena represented in the complex analysis included in a site-specific performance assessment. This step-wise approach provides a means for gaining insights into the transport process and obtaining reasonable estimates of relevant quantities for facility design and site evaluation.

This document defines the procedure to be used in the 18 inch drop test to be used for design verification of the RTG Transportation System Package Mounting.

Westinghouse Hanford Company is interested in innovative, commercially available or adaptable retrieval system equipment, concepts, and contracting strategies that will ad to existing Hanford Site technology and significantly reduce cost and/or risk from the baseline retrieval approach of sluicing (hydraulically mining) the waste from the SSTs onsite. The objective of this request is to gather information from industry to identify and summarize a suite of retrieval-related components, systems, and contracting approaches. This information will be used to ensure that WHC understands the various waste retrieval alternative approaches, their risks, and their application on the Hanford Site tanks for those occasions when sluicing is not sufficiently effective, appropriate, or cost-effective. An additional objective is to facilitate industry`s understanding of the tank and site interface requirements for SST waste retrieval and the complex statutory, legal, regulatory, labor, and other institutional standards being applied to the Hanford Site. This effort will identify and summarize retrieval solutions by the end of September 1996 so that a clear basis for future retrieval program decisions can be established.

Letter from Robert Sielken Jr. of Sielken Inc. to Sylvia Amaya of the Texas Natural Resources Commission on May 25,1995, containing his answers to questions for a book review of "Lawn Care Chemicals: Human Health Risks"

The Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM) is one of a family of four publications produced by the Petroleum Supply Division within the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reflecting different levels of data timeliness and completeness. The other publications are the Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR), the Winter Fuels Report, and the Petroleum Supply Annual (PSA). Data presented in the PSM describe the supply and disposition of petroleum products in the United States and major US geographic regions. The data series describe production, imports and exports, inter-Petroleum Administration for Defense (PAD) District movements, and inventories by the primary suppliers of petroleum products in the United States (50 States and the District of Columbia). The reporting universe includes those petroleum sectors in primary supply. Included are: petroleum refiners, motor gasoline blenders, operators of natural gas processing plants and fractionators, inter-PAD transporters, importers, and major inventory holders of petroleum products and crude oil. When aggregated, the data reported by these sectors approximately represent the consumption of petroleum products in the United States.Data presented in the PSM are divided into two sections: Summary Statistics and Detailed Statistics.

Radioactive material packages containing fiberboard insulation have been subjected to Hypothetical Accident Condition (HAC) thermal tests for many years. Historically, the packages` thermal performance has always been difficult to grasp. A package designer needs to understand the effects of temperature and pyrolysis on the rate of heat transfer and performance. This paper describes in detail the one-dimensional HAC thermal tests performed on fiberboard to understand the effects of pyrolysis, its char and its gas products. The tests were conducted by the Packaging and Transportation Group at the Savannah River Site (SRS). Test fixtures were assembled at SRS and thermal testing conducted in the Radiant Heat Facility at the Sandia National Laboratories. Descriptions of the test fixtures are provided, as well as the time dependent temperature profiles. In addition, lessons learned are discussed.

In January, 1994, New Mexico Institute for Mining and Technology (NM Tech) was commissioned by Los Alamos National Laboratories (LANL) to develop a three-axis interferometric lightning mapping system to be used in determining the source of certain frequency-dispersed pulse pairs which had been detected by spaceborne sensors. The existing NM Tech VHF Lightning Interferometer was a two axis system operating at 274 MHz with 6 MHz bandwidth. The third axis was to be added to refine estimates of the elevation angle to distant RF sources in that band. The system was to be initially deployed in support of an Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC) effort planned for the Kennedy Space Center/Cape Canaveral AFS area in June-July of 1994. The project was, however, postponed until September of 1994. The interferometer was set up and operated at KSC near the Lightning Detection and Ranging (LDAR) central station. The initial setup was in two-axis configuration, and the third (vertical) axis was added at about mid-project. Though the storms were reduced in frequency and severity over what one would expect in mid-summer, several good data sets were obtained and delivered to AFTAC.

Two possible upgrades, a shower maximum detector and a presampler, designed to improve the low energy electron/hadron separation capabilities of the ZEUS barrel calorimeter are described and test-beam results are reported. The presampler can also be used to correct for energy loss of particles traversing the dead material in front of the calorimeter.

Stabilization of whirl instability by floppy, viscous bearing mounts is discussed and required material properties are estimated for the new tilt-whirl mode in eddy-current stabilized magnetic bearings. A relatively low Young`s modules Y {approximately} 10{sup 5} and high viscosity {zeta} {approximately} 10{sup 7} are required (both in MKS units), suggesting the need for careful mounting design. New information on periodic bearings shows that, thus far, Earshaw`s Theorem cannot be defeated by periodicity, despite the author`s earlier claims.

The design, installation and performance data of a 20 W pulsed laser system for the 3 meter Shane telescope at the Lick Observatory is presented.

Activities during this quarter focused on fine tuning of catalyst characterization and synthesis techniques. Improvements in catalyst activity test methods were also implemented but more remains to be done. Specific accomplishments include: improved characterization of vanadyl pyrophosphate (VPO) and Si promoted VPO by FTIR and FTIR of chemisorbed bases; several minor improvements in catalyst preparation technique resulting in enhanced catalyst yield, better control of catalyst composition, and generation of less waste; preliminary pulsed reaction data on methane oxidation were also acquired. Preliminary activity measurements for methane conversion (without oxygen) in a pulsed reactor over VPO indicate that the primary reaction product is CO. Carbon dioxide is also formed but selectivity to CO{sub 2} decreases with number of pulses. These results suggest that selectivity to partially oxidized products improves with catalyst reduction and suggest that some surface modification will be required to obtain oxidized hydrocarbon products. Note that catalyst activation (conversion from the precursor to VPO) has been carried out using air. For butane oxidation catalysts VPO is activated in a 1% butane/air mixture which produces a slightly reduced catalyst.

The rapidly developed leaks within the TFC and TFD tanks (LLNL groundwater treatment facilities) were caused by localized corrosion within the resolidified weld metal. The corrosion was initiated by the severe oxidation of the backsides of the welds which left the exposed surfaces in a condition highly susceptible to aqueous corrosion. The propagation of surface corrosion through the thickness of the welds occurred by localized corrosive attack. This localized attack was promoted by the presence of shielded aqueous environments provided by crevices at the root of the partial penetration welds. In addition to rapid corrosion of oxidized surfaces, calcium carbonate precipitation provided an additional source of physical shielding from the bulk tank environment. Qualification testing of alternate weld procedures showed that corrosion damage can be prevented in 304L stainless steel GTA welds by welding from both sides while preventing oxidation of the tank interior through the use of an inert backing gas such as argon. Corrosion resistance was also satisfactory in GMA welds in which oxidized surfaces were postweld cleaned by wire brushing and chemically passivated in nitric acid. Further improvements in corrosion resistance are expected from a Mo-containing grade of stainless steel such as type 316L, although test results …

Letter opinion 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, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether or not high school graduates or dropouts may re-enroll in a public high school for the sole purpose of taking a cosmetology program and related questions.