The local environment surrounding Mound Laboratory was monitored for tritium and plutonium-238 released by Mound Laboratory. The results are reported for calendar year 1976. The environmental parameters analyzed included air, water, foodstuffs, and silt. The average concentrations of plutonium-238 and tritium were within the stringent standards for radioactive species adopted by the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration. Data concerning nonradioactive species in air and water are also presented and compared to federal, state, and local standards, where applicable. Although there are no specific standards (RCG) for plutonium-238 and tritium in foodstuffs, the concentrations found, if compared to the water standard, are also a small fraction of the RCG. In addition, there is no evidence of other than minimal reentrainment of radioactive species from silt. Mound Laboratory has undertaken a comprehensive program to bring water supplies into compliance with new U.S. EPA drinking water standards which will be effective June 24, 1977. Mound Laboratory has been granted a National Pollutant Discharge Ellimination System permit. Analyses during 1976 indicate compliance with permit conditions. All results indicated that Mound effluent streams have no significant effect on the Great Miami River and certainly do not cause Ohio Stream Standards to be exceeded. These …

This is the Final Report under ERDA Contract. It presents the results of Phase I of a proposed three-phase effort.

The practical effects of blistering and flaking in neutral injection systems are studied. These effects will soon be more important because of energy increases in systems now under development and because of their operation with fast helium ions as well as hydrogen and deuterium ions. Two main effects were studied: enhanced erosion rate and possible voltage breakdown from sharp flakes and gas emission.

The increasing demand for uranium as reactor fuel requires the addition of sizable new domestic reserves. One of the largest potential sources of low-grade uranium ore is the Chattanooga shale--a formation in Tennessee and neighboring states that has not been mined conventionally because it is expensive and environmentally disadvantageous to do so. An in situ process, on the other hand, might be used to extract uranium from this formation without the attendant problems of conventional mining. We have suggested developing such a process, in which fracturing, retorting, and pressure leaching might be used to extract the uranium. The potential advantages of such a process are that capital investment would be reduced, handling and disposing of the ore would be avoided, and leaching reagents would be self-generated from air and water. If successful, the cost reductions from these factors could make the uranium produced competitive with that from other sources, and substantially increase domestic reserves. A technical program to evaluate the processing problems has been outlined and a conceptual model of the extraction process has been developed. Preliminary cost estimates have been made, although it is recognized that their validity depends on how successfully the various processing steps are carried out. …

A discussion is given of possible septum magnet parameters for small production angle experiments in the ISABELLE storage rings. Superconducting septa and torroidal septa are also considered. (PMA)

This report investigates the application of the Solar Total Energy System (STES) to the commercial sector (e.g., office buildings, shopping centers, retail stores, etc.) in the United States. Candidate solar thermal and solar photovoltaic concepts are considered for providing on-site electrical power generation as well as thermal energy for both heating and cooling applications. The solar thermal concepts include the use of solar concentrators (distributed or central receiver) for collection of the thermal energy for conversion to electricity by means of a Rankine cycle or Brayton cycle power conversion system. Recoverable waste heat from the power generation process is utilized to help meet the building thermal energy demand. Evaluation methodology is identified to allow ranking and/or selection of the most cost-effective concept for commercial building applications.

The effectiveness of course-grained igneous rocks as shelters for burying radioactive waste can be assessed by determining the rock permeabilities at their in situ pressures and stresses. Analytical and numerical methods were used to solve differential equations of one-dimensional fluid flow through rocks with permeabilities from 10/sup 4/ to 1 nD. In these calculations, upstream and downstream reservoir volumes of 5, 50, and 500 cm/sup 3/ were used. The optimal size combinations of the two reservoirs were determined for measurements of permeability, stress, strain, acoustic velocity, and electrical conductivity on low-porosity, coarse-grained igneous rocks.

A series of 12 irradiation experiments was designed to evaluate the creep characteristics of graphites when exposed to elevated temperatures and high fast fluences. Various graphites of interest to HTGR designers are to be examined. The series encompasses the irradiation of 28 specimens, each 15.24 mm (0.6 in.) in diameter by 25.4 mm (1 in.) long, to incremental exposures of 1, 2, 4, and 8 E + 25 n/m/sup 2/ (E greater than 0.18 MeV) at 900/sup 0/C; 28 similar specimens to the same exposures at 600/sup 0/C; and 28 others at 1250/sup 0/C. A compressive stress of 13.79 MPa (2000 psi) is applied to 20 of the specimens in each test by means of a metal bellows, which is expanded by gas pressure against the specimen columns; 8 of the stacked specimens are stressed to 20.68 MPa (3000 psi) by a reduction in diameter. The report describes special features of the capsules, which include (1) movable centerline thermocouples to measure the temperature profile along the axes of the capsule, (2) special linear variable differential transformer-type load cells to monitor the applied load, and (3) a computerized temperature control system designed to provide accurate longitudinal temperatures over the 0.508-m (20-in.) …

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A simple analytic method is developed, based on physical approximations, for treating transient implosive longitudinal compression of bunches of heavy ions in an accelerator system for ignition of inertial-confinement fusion pellet targets. Parametric dependences of attainable compressions and of beam path lengths and times during compression are indicated for ramped pulsed-gap lines, rf systems in storage and accumulator rings, and composite systems, including sections of free drift. It appears that for high-confidence pellets in a plant producing 1000 MW of electric power the needed pulse lengths cannot be obtained with rings alone unless an unreasonably large number of them are used, independent of choice of rf harmonic number. In contrast, pulsed-gap lines alone can meet this need. The effects of an initial inward compressive drift and of longitudinal emittance are included.

This report outlines the history and use of Executive Orders in the United States.

The results of an experimental study on the trapping and energy loss mechanisms of intense, relativistic electron rings confined in Astron-like magnetic field geometries are presented. The work is subdivided into four sections: gas trapping; average ring electron energetics; plasma trapping, and hollow-beam cusp-injection into gas and plasma. The mechanisms by which the injected beam coalesces into a current ring in the existing Cornell RECE-Berta facility are considered. To investigate the nature of ring electron energy loss mechanisms following completion of the trapping process, a diagnostic was developed utilizing multi-foil X-ray absorption spectroscopy to analyze the Bremsstrahlung generated by the electrons as they impinge upon a thin tungsten wire target suspended in the circulating current. Finally, a set of preliminary experimental results is presented in which an annular electron beam was passed through a coaxial, non-adiabatic magnetic cusp located at one end of a magnetic mirror well.

This volume is a direct continuation of Volume 1. Included are chapters 5 and 6 which deal with the trapping and confinement of electron rings in preionized media, neutral gases, and plasma.

This document contains information on (1) the hydraulic conductivity of salt; (2) the various types of naturally occurring salt solution collapse features, and (3) the rate of formation of solution cavities in salt. (LK)

Krypton gas is recovered from HTGR off-gas streams by countercurrent absorption in liquid carbon dioxide. Goodloe stainless steel wire mesh packing was chosen for the absorption columns since the process operates at -20/sup 0/C and about 20 atm pressure. Flooding points and an overall mass transfer coefficient for Goodloe-packed columns were determined with a carbon dioxide-air-water system for 6.4 and 15.2-cm-ID columns. Flood points were obtained for liquid-to-gas mass velocity ratios of 20 to 800. A mixing model, assuming plug flow for the gas and dispersed flow for the liquid, was used to calculate an overall mass transfer coefficient, K/sub L/a. K/sub L/a, based on mass concentrations, ranged from 0.01 to 0.08 sec/sup -T/ and was found to increase with increasing liquid flow rate.

Fluids from various formations were sampled and analyzed in order to characterize groundwaters in the Delaware Basin. Waters were analyzed for solute content and/or stable isotope ratios (D/H and /sup 18/O//sup 16/O). Three lines of geochemical arguments are summarized, in order to present the natures and probable origins of analyzed fluids: solute chemistry, thermodynamic modelling of low-temperature aqueous species, and stable isotope ratios. (JGB)

The examination of drill cuttings and core samples from the Magmamax Nos. 2 and 3 and Woolsey No. 1 wells indicate that the sequence of sedimentary rocks in the Salton Sea geothermal field from the surface to below 4000 ft can be divided into three categories: cap rock, unaltered reservoir rocks, and hydrothermally altered reservoir rocks. The cap rock extends from the surface to a depth of approximately 1100 ft in all three wells. There is evidence to suggest that the cap rock has undergone self-sealing through time as a result of the circulation of hot brine through the rocks. Essentially unaltered reservoir rocks extend from a depth of 1100 ft to approximately 3000 ft. The mineralogical and textural changes that occur at depth can be attributed to the process of hydrothermal alteration. Alteration has occurred in a chemically open system and the important variables in the alteration scheme have been temperature, permeability, brine composition, and rock composition. The transition from unaltered to altered reservoir rocks is marked by the replacement of calcite by epidote. The first appearance of epidote correlates reasonably well with the top of the alteration zone as determined in other studies by electric log analysis. Biotite …

This report summarizes a collection of, synthesis of, and speculation on the geophysical and geochemical models of the earth's stable shields and rift zones. Two basic crustal types, continental and oceanic, and two basic mantle types, stable and unstable, are described. It is pointed out that both the crust and upper mantle play a strongly interactive role with surface geological phenomena ranging from the occurrence of mountains, ocean trenches, oceanic and continental rifts to geographic distributions of earthquakes, faults, and volcanoes. On the composition of the mantle, there is little doubt regarding the view that olivine constitutes a major fraction of the mineralogy of the earth's upper mantle. Studies are suggested to simulate the elasticity and composition of the earth's lower crust and upper mantle.

The basic purpose of the Geothermal Environmental Overview Project is to summarize and assess the state of environmental issues of the top priority KGRAs from among the 37 KGRAs currently identified by the Division of Geothermal Energy as having possibility for commercial development. The objectives of the Overview Project are inventory of available data, assessment of available data, identification of data gaps, and identification of key issues. (JGB)

The development of geothermal resources in California is becoming of increasing interest because of the large amounts of these resources in the state. In response to this interest in development, the legislature and regulatory bodies have taken actions to increase geothermal power production. The important federal and California laws on the subject are presented and discussed. Pertinent federal and state provisions are compared, and inconsistencies are discussed. An important concept that needs clarification is the manner of designating an area as a ''known geothermal resource area.'' The question of designating geothermal resource as a mineral is not completely resolved, although there is authority tending toward the finding that it is a mineral.

This report describes the issue of rising healthcare expenditures and proposals to control hospital costs and control the cost of medical and medicare programs.

A new class of numerical algorithms for computer simulation of low frequency electromagnetic and electrostatic phenomena in magnetized plasma is presented. Maxwell's equations are solved in the limits of quasineutrality and negligible transverse displacement current (Darwin's model). Electrons are modeled as a fluid with polarization effects ignored. Ions are described as particles. A novel feature of these algorithms is the use of the electron fluid equation of motion to determine the electric field, which renders these numerical schemes remarkably simple and direct. The simulation plasma is either periodic or bounded by particle reflecting conducting walls. Both fully nonlinear codes with spatial grids and linearized gridless codes have been implemented.

Participants from thirteen member nations of the International Energy Agency and the Commission of European Communities have been conducting cooperative energy systems analyses, the goal of which is to evaluate the possible impacts of new and conservation technologies. Such studies are intended to provide analytical bases to aid future decisions on cooperative research and development projects. In the initial studies, a quantitative description of the 1974 energy system has been prepared for each participating nation. The nations accounted for approximately half of the world energy consumption in 1974. They imported more than 30 percent of their primary energy requirements from other nations of the world. Oil and natural gas supplied almost /sup 3///sub 4/ of the energy. Reference projections were made for the years 1985 and 2000 to provide base cases for studies of the impacts of new and conservation technologies. Although these projections are not intended to be forecasts, taken together they indicate an increasing gap between the demand for energy and foreseeable domestic supplies, thus underscoring the urgency for the vigorous introduction of new energy technologies as well as the need for strong efforts in energy conservation. Some preliminary evaluations of selected technologies were made as a function …

The Lawrence Livermore Laboratory seismic net was upgraded by installing two horizontal seismometers at each of the four LLL stations. These seismometers record radial and transverse ground motion from underground nuclear explosions at the Nevada Test Site and complement the vertical components which were installed several years ago. Each station now monitors three orthogonal components of ground velocity over a broad frequency band.