Aqueous, low-temperature oxidation rates for the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congener 2,2`,3-trichlorobiphenyl have been measured in aqueous phosphate-buffered solutions using Dickson-type reaction vessels. Concentrations of the target compounds were determined by gas chromatography and compound identification was verified by gas chromatography - mass spectrometry. The reaction temperatures ranged from 131 {degrees}C to 165{degrees}C and the activation energy for the destruction of 2,2`,3-trichlorobiphenyl was estimated to be 134 kJ/mole. In a low concentration experiment (approximately 500 ng/g starting concentration), 2,2`,3-trichlorobiphenyl concentration reached non-detect in two days at 135{degrees}C. In a much higher concentration experiment (approximately 24,000 mg/g initial loading), nearly 40% of the initial 2,2`,3-trichlorobiphenyl concentration, or about 10,000 ng/g was destroyed at 161{degrees}C in 18 days. The 2,2`, 3-trichlorobiphenyl concentration of 24,000 ng/g measured at 131{degrees}C represents a greater than 100 fold increase in the aqueous solubility compared to the value of 200 ng/g at 20{degrees}C reported by Mackay et al. During the experiments the reacted portion of the 2,2`, 3-trichlorobiphenyl was completely mineralized, as indicated by a stoichiometric production of inorganic carbon and chloride ion, and no intermediates amenable to gas chromatography were observed during the HPO experiments. These preliminary experiments indicate that hydrous pyrolysis/oxidation (HPO) may be a useful …

NA processes such as biodegradation, sorption, dilution dispersion, advection, and possibly sorption and diffusion are occurring in the Northeast and Northwest plumes. However, the overall biological attenuation rate for TCE within the plumes is not sufficiently rapid to utilize as remedial option. The mobility and toxicity of {sup 99}Tc is not being reduced by attenuating processes within the Northwest Plume. The current EPA position is that NA is not a viable remedial approach unless destructive processes are present or processes are active which reduce the toxicity and mobility of a contaminant. Therefore, active remediation of the dissolved phase plumes will be necessary to reduce contaminant concentrations before an NA approach could be justified at PGDP for either plume. Possible treatment methods for the reduction of dissolved phase concentrations within the plumes are pump-and-treat bioaugmentation, biostimulation, or multiple reactive barriers. Another possibility is the use of a regulatory instrument such as an Alternate Concentration Limit (ACL) petition. Biodegradation of TCE is occurring in both plumes and several hypothesis are possible to explain the apparent conflicts with some of the geochemical data. The first hypothesis is active intrinsic bioremediation is negligible or so slow to be nonmeasurable. In this scenario, the D.O., …

This document provides guidance to contractor generator groups for developing and maintaining documentation of Pollution Prevention/Waste. Minimization (P2/WMin) Program activities. The program documentation is intended to demonstrate generator compliance with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) requirements as well as state and Federal regulations.

The Timesaver belt grinding machine has been selected by the Atlas collaboration for deburring the master and spacer plates after die stamping and laser cutting, respectively. However, the question has been raised as to whether or not the plates are sufficiently clean after going through the Timesaver machine to immediately be glued into a submodule assembly. This would greatly enhance the production of submodules because the task of cleaning individual master and spacer plates is labor intensive and time consuming as well as raises environmental issues with the detergent that is used. In order to investigate the possibility of using the Timesaver process to clean the plates as well as debur them, several plates were run through the machine and their cleanliness inspected before and after. In addition, several glue samples were subjected to the same process, glued, and then pulled apart in an attempt to gauge the cleanliness of the plates. From this series of tests it can be concluded that the wet Timesaver machine can adequately prepare the surface of the master and spacer plates as well as clean the plates for gluing. The machine was able to adequately remove all of the oil and grime from the …

This report provides status of Hanford activities in response to process deficiencies highlighted during and in response to the May 14, 1997, explosion at the Plutonium Reclamation Facility. This report provides specific response to the August 4, 1997, memorandum from the Secretary which requested a progress report, in 120 days, on activities associated with reassessing the known and evaluating new vulnerabilities (chemical and radiological) at facilities that have been shut down, are in standby, are being deactivated or have otherwise changed their conventional mode of operation in the last several years. In addition, this report is intended to provide status on emergency response corrective activities as requested in the memorandum from the Secretary on August 28, 1997. Status is also included for actions requested in the second August 28, 1997, memorandum from the Secretary, regarding timely notification of emergencies.

In May 1997, a historic deactivation project at the PUREX (Plutonium URanium EXtraction) facility at the Hanford Site in south-central Washington State concluded its activities (Figure ES-1). The project work was finished at $78 million under its original budget of $222.5 million, and 16 months ahead of schedule. Closely watched throughout the US Department of Energy (DOE) complex and by the US Department of Defense for the value of its lessons learned, the PUREX Deactivation Project has become the national model for the safe transition of contaminated facilities to shut down status.

'Sheet silicates (e.g. micas and clays) are important constituents of a wide variety of geological formations such as granite, basalt, and sandstone. Sheet silicates, particularly clays such as bentonite are common materials in near-field engineered barriers in high-level nuclear waste (HLW) repositories. This is because migration of radionuclides from an underground HLW repository to the geosphere may be significantly reduced by sorption of radionuclides (e.g., Pu, U and Np) onto sheet silicates (e.g., clays and micas) that line the fractures and pores of the rocks along groundwater flowpaths. In addition to surface sorption, it has been suggested that some sheet silicates may also be able to incorporate many radionuclides, such as Cs and Sr, in the inter-layer sites of the sheet structure. However, theability of the sheet silicates to incorporate radionuclides and retard release and migration of radionuclides may be significantly affected by the near-field radiation due to the decay of fission products and actinides. for example, the unique properties of the sheet structures will be lost completely if the structure becomes amorphous due to irradiation effects. Thus, the study of irradiation effects on sheet-structures, such as structural damage and modification of chemical properties, are critical to the performance assessment …

Several sets of new calculations were performed to support the Spent Nuclear Fuel project nuclear criticality safety evaluation. These new calculations include partial loading of Mark IA inner elements after the outers have been loaded, a new, more robust design for the central pipe insert for the Mark IA fuel baskets, Single Pass Reactor fuel loading, the lowering of a Mark IV-loaded MCO through the concrete operating deck as-it is inserted into the Canister Storage Building storage array, and one additional scrap basket loading error. None of these calculations exceeded the criticality safety limit.

Under the DOE CHAMMP/CLIMATE Program, a convective scheme was developed for use in climate models. The purpose of the present study was to develop an adjoint model of its tangent-linear model. the convective scheme was integrated within a single column model which provides radiative-convective equilibrium solutions applicable to climate models. The main goal of this part of the project was to develop an adjoint of the scheme to facilitate the optimization of its convective parameters. For that purpose, adjoint sensitivities were calculated with the adjoint code. Parameter optimization was based on TOGA COARE data which were also used in this study to obtain integrations of the nonlinear and tangent-linear models as well as the integrations of the adjoint model. Some inadequacies of the inner IFA data array were found, and did not permit a single numerical integration during the entire 4 months of data. However, reliable monthly radiative-convective equilibrium solutions and associated adjoint sensitivities were obtained and used to bring about the parameter optimization.

The authors have been developing a novel threshold Cherenkov detector, consisting of a gas radiator followed by a UV photosensitive wire chamber using CsI photocathodes. The photo-detector lies directly in the particle path and is thus required to have single photo-electron sensitivity and yet to be insensitive to the passage of a charged particle. In addition, the detector should be made of low mass material to minimize the effect of multiple scatterings. The proposed threshold Cherenkov counters are called Hadron Blind Detectors (HBDs) because they are blind to low energy hadrons which have lower speed {beta} for given momentum p than that of electrons. HBDs can be used in colliders, especially heavy ion hadron colliders (RHIC, LHC), which have huge {number_sign} of hadrons produced per event, to select electrons by being blind to low-momentum hadrons. The authors have studied two different methods to build HBDs described as follows: (1) windowless configuration; (2) thin window configuration. The authors describe herewith their recent experimental results on HBD research obtained with CsI photo-cathodes and HBD prototype beam testing in 1995.

This report describes experiments designed to provide data for a quick engineering assessment of the microstructural, mineralogical, and mechanical changes in hydrothermally altered concrete and changes in associated water chemistry.

The mission of the Advanced Reactors Transition program is two-fold. First, the program is to maintain the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) and the Fuels and Materials Examination Facility (FMEF) in Standby to support a possible future role in the tritium production strategy. Secondly, the program is to continue deactivation activities which do not conflict with the Standby directive. On-going deactivation activities include the processing of non-usable, irradiated, FFTF components for storage or disposal; deactivation of Nuclear Energy legacy test facilities; and deactivation of the Plutonium Recycle Test Reactor (PRTR) facility, 309 Building.

Hanford Analytical Services Quality Assurance Requirements Document (HASQARD) is issued by the Analytical Services, Program of the Waste Management Division, US Department of Energy (US DOE), Richland Operations Office (DOE-RL). The HASQARD establishes quality requirements in response to DOE Order 5700.6C (DOE 1991b). The HASQARD is designed to meet the needs of DOE-RL for maintaining a consistent level of quality for sampling and field and laboratory analytical services provided by contractor and commercial field and laboratory analytical operations. The HASQARD serves as the quality basis for all sampling and field/laboratory analytical services provided to DOE-RL through the Analytical Services Program of the Waste Management Division in support of Hanford Site environmental cleanup efforts. This includes work performed by contractor and commercial laboratories and covers radiological and nonradiological analyses. The HASQARD applies to field sampling, field analysis, and research and development activities that support work conducted under the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order Tri-Party Agreement and regulatory permit applications and applicable permit requirements described in subsections of this volume. The HASQARD applies to work done to support process chemistry analysis (e.g., ongoing site waste treatment and characterization operations) and research and development projects related to Hanford Site environmental cleanup …

Existing Housing - Much of the older multifamily housing stock in the United States includes units in structures with uninsulated masonry walls. Included in this stock are two- and three-story walk-up apartments, larger apartment complexes, and public housing (both high- rise and townhouse). This older multifamily housing has seen years of heavy use that may have left the plaster wall marred or damaged. Long- term building settlement or movement may have cracked the plaster, sometimes severely. Moisture from invented kitchens and baths may have caused condensation on uninsulated exterior walls. At best this condensation has left stains on the paint or wallpaper. At worst it has supported mold and mildew growth, fouling the air and creating unhealthy living conditions. Deteriorating plaster and flaking paint also result from wet walls. The presence of flaking, lead-based paint in older (pre-1978) housing is a major public health concern. Children can suffer permanent mental handicaps and psychological disorders if they are subjected to elevated levels of lead, while adults can suffer hypertension and other maladies. Studies have found that, in some urban communities with older housing stocks, over 35% of children tested have elevated blood lead levels (Hastings, et al.: 1997). Nationally, nearly 22% …

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed a package to ship Type A, non-transuranic, fissile excepted quantities of liquid or solid radioactive material and radioactive mixed waste to the Central Waste Complex for storage on the Hanford Site.

The research activities performed in this quarter (reporting period: 07/01/97- 09/30/97) are summarized as follows: The research activities concentrated on (1) Design, development, and fabrication of a 9 positions (3x3 matrix form) fixture (2) Preparation of the test parameters (3) Multi-cycle detonation wave slag removal test (4) Partial analysis of the test results and (5) Interpretation and discussion of the test results.

This document is the final laboratory report for Tank 241-BY-101. Push mode core segments were removed from Pisers 10B and 10D between May 27, 1997, and June 1, 1997. Segments were received and extruded at 222-S Laboratory. Analyses were performed in accordance with Tank 241-.BY-101 Push Core Sampling and analysis Plan (TSAP) and Tank Safety Screening Data Quality Objective (DQO). None of the subsamples submitted for total alpha activity (AT) or differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis exceeded the notification limits as stated in TSAP and DQO, The statistical results of the 95% confidence interval on the mean calculations are provided by the Tank Waste Remediation Systems (TWRS) Technical Basis Group, and are not considered in this report. Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR) analysis was requested in order to compare NIR results with those obtained from percent water gravimetry analysis (%H20) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The TWRS Technical Basis Group rescinded the request for this analysis, and neither NIR nor %H20 analyses were performed.

Federal and Department of Energy (Department) acquisition regulations, policies and procedures, as well as the terms of the current contract between the Idaho Operations Office (Idaho) and Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies Company (Lockheed) require them to pay the lowest possible prices for desktop computers needed to support the overall mission at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (Laboratory). The purpose of this audit was to determine Idaho`s and Lockheed`s success in achieving this price goal. Idaho and Lockheed have implemented numerous efficiency standards that are expected to reduce computer service and maintenance costs as well as increase employee productivity by approximately $3.6 million per year. However, the audit showed that Lockheed did not always pay the lowest possible prices for desktop computers because its standard desktop computer configuration was excessive. Additionally, some desktop computers that Lockheed acquired exceeded its established standard and were not fully justified in accordance with established policies and procedures. Further, Lockheed purchased desktop computers from a local vendor rather than a less costly alternative source and did not pursue the possibly more economical option of leasing computers.

In previous reports, we showed that CARULITE 150 from Carus Chemical Company was so effective with oxidation of phenol in supercritical water (SCW) that the results we obtained were likely influenced by internal mass-transfer resistance. We also reported that oxidation of phenol over MnO{sub 2} powder in SCW improved the conversions of both phenol and total organic carbon (TOC) relative to non-catalytic oxidation while the catalytic oxidation kinetics was free from mass-transfer limitation. In this report we continued the investigation of oxidation over the MnO{sub 2} powder in SCW.

The Criticality Alarm System (CAS) provides continuous detection for high radiation (criticality) events and automatically initiates an evacuation signal to affected personnel. The Safety Envelope (SE) for PFP includes the necessary equipment and the required procedures to ensure the CAS is capable of performing its intended function. This document provides the definition and means of maintaining the SE for PFP related to the CAS. This document also identifies and provides a justification for those portions of the CAS excluded from the PFP Safety Envelope.

'The principal objective for Year 1 of this study has included sorbent collection, preparation and characterization, as well as investigation of the efficacy of abiotic/enzymatic coupling reactions on the irreversible binding of phenolic compounds on natural soils and sediments. In response to a budget reduction request specific modifications were made without compromising the integrity of the proposed work. The modified Phase 1 experimental matrix consists of four natural sorbents and three phenolic sorbates. Preliminary experiments with Chelsea soil indicated excessive release of soil organic matter (SOM) into solution, thereby complicating determination of aqueous phase phenol concentrations. It was therefore decided to substitute Lachine shale for the Chelsea soil. This shale is a well-characterized natural sorbent used previously in the laboratory. Additionally two field soils having similar soil morphology were identified based on their particle size distribution and organic matter content. These soils were located from US Department of Agriculture soil survey data and collected aseptically from a forested and a grassland site. Another deviation from the proposed schedule of tasks was the initiation of work from Phase 2 and Phase 3. In addition to experiments with natural systems, preliminary work with model and engineered systems was initiated earlier than scheduled …

The main objective of this project is to devise an effective redevelopment strategy to combat producibility problems related to the Repetto turbidite sequences of the Carpinteria Field. The lack of adequate reservoir characterization, high-water cut production, and scaling problems have in the past contributed to the field`s low productivity. To improve productivity and enhance recoverable reserves, the following specific goals are proposed: (1) Develop an integrated database of all existing data from work done by the former ownership group. (2) Expand reservoir drainage and reduce sand problems through horizontal well drilling and completion. (3) Operate and validate reservoirs` conceptual model by incorporating new data from the proposed trilateral well. (4) Transfer methodologies employed in geologic modeling and drilling multilateral wells to other operators with similar reservoirs. Since the last progress report (January - March, 1997) additional work has been completed in the area of well log interpretation and geological modeling. During this period an extensive effort was made to refine our 3-D geological model both in the area of a refined attribute model and an enhanced structural model. Also, efforts to refine our drilling plans for budget period 11 were completed during this reporting period.

This report presents preliminary results of laboratory testing of a small block sample of Topopah Spring Tuff. This is the first in a series of tests on small block samples. The purpose of these tests is to investigate the thermal-mechanical, thermal-hydrological, and thermal-chemical response of the rock to conditions similar to the near-field environment (NFE) of a potential nuclear waste repository. This report presents preliminary results of deformation and elastic- wave velocity measurements on a 0.5-m scale block of Topopah Spring tuff tested in uniaxial compression and at temperatures to 85{degrees}C.

The Environmental Support FY 1998 Multi-Year Work Plan (MYWP), consisting of the Hanford Environmental Management Program (HEMP) and the Effluent and Environmental Monitoring (EEM) Program MYWP is prepared to specifically establish the execution year`s work scope, budget targets, and schedule baselines. The work plan contains the work breakdown structure (WBS) and the WBS dictionary, milestone listings and milestone description sheets, and cost targets that the program manager will use to manage program work for the fiscal year. Where activities required to maintain or attain compliance with environmental requirements and agreements are impacted as a result of a reduction of the authorized funds, the ``Work Authorization`` identifies the impacted scope and requires the Contracting Officer`s or Assistant Manager-Contracting Officer`s Representative signature. Change requests will be submitted to RL by the contractor for approval, further documenting the impacts of any environmental and agreement noncompliances as a result of funding limitations. This is the first year that the MYWPs are submitted under the new Project Hanford Management Contractor (PHMC). The MYWPs are structured differently than in prior years. The MYWP is divided into two main sections. Section One is titled the ``Project Summary Section`` and Section Two is titled the ``Additional Sections at …