The Hanford Site, located adjacent to and north of Richland, Washington, is operated by the US Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (RL). The 324 Building is located in the 300 Area of the Hanford Site. The 324 Building was constructed in the 1960s to support materials and chemical process research and development activities ranging from laboratory/bench-scale studies to full engineering-scale pilot plant demonstrations. In the mid-1990s, it was determined that dangerous waste and waste residues were being stored for greater than 90 days in the 324 Building Radiochemical Engineering Cells (REC) and in the High-Level Vault/Low-Level Vault (HLV/LLV) tanks. [These areas are not Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) permitted portions of the 324 Building.] Through the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (Tri-Party Agreement) Milestone M-89, agreement was reached to close the nonpermitted RCRA unit in the 324 Building. This closure plan, managed under TPA Milestone M-20-55, addresses the identified building areas targeted by the Tri-Party Agreement and provides commitments to achieve the highest degree of compliance practicable, given the special technical difficulties of managing mixed waste that contains high-activity radioactive materials, and the physical limitations of working remotely in the areas within the subject …

Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order, also known as the Tri-Party Agreement Milestone M-89-05, requires US Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office to complete a 324 Facility Special-Case Waste Assessment in Support of 324 Closure. This document, HNF-1270, has been prepared with the intent of meeting this regulatory commitment. Alternatives for the special-case wastes located in the 324 Building were defined and analyzed. Based on the criteria of safety, environmental, complexity of interfaces, risk, cost, schedule, and long-term operability and maintainability, the best alternative was chosen. Waste packaging and transportation options are also included in the recommendations. The waste disposition recommendations for the B-Cell dispersibles/tank heels and High-Level Vault packaged residuals are to direct them to the Plutonium Uranium Extraction Facility (PUREX) Number 2 storage tunnel.

This document establishes the technical basis in support of Emergency Planning activities for the 340 Facility on the Hanford Site. Through this document, the technical basis for the development of facility specific Emergency Action Levels and Emergency Planning Zone, is demonstrated.

This document provides an overview of the strategy for deactivating the 340 Waste Handling Complex within Hanford`s 300 Area. The plan covers the period from the pending September 30, 1998 cessation of voluntary radioactive liquid waste (RLW) transfers to the 340 Complex, until such time that those portions of the 340 Complex that remain active beyond September 30, 1998, specifically, the Retention Process Sewer (RPS), can also be shut down and deactivated. Specific activities are detailed and divided into two phases. Phase 1 ends in 2001 after the core RLW systems have been deactivated. Phase 2 covers the subsequent interim surveillance of deactivated and stand-by components during the period of continued RPS operation, through the final transfer of the entire 340 Complex to the Environmental Restoration Contractor. One of several possible scenarios was postulated and developed as a budget and schedule planning case.

In many situations, stand-off remote-sensing and hazard-interdiction techniques over realistic operational areas are often impractical "and difficult to characterize. An alternative approach is to implement an adap- tively deployable array of sensitive agent-specific devices. Our group has been studying the collective be- havior of an autonomous, multi-agent system applied to chedbio detection and related emerging threat applications, The current physics-based models we are using coordinate a sensor array for mukivanate sig- nal optimization and coverage as re,alized by a swarm of robots or mobile vehicles. These intelligent control systems integrate'glob"ally operating decision-making systems and locally cooperative learning neural net- works to enhance re+-timp operational responses to dynarnical environments examples of which include obstacle avoidance, res~onding to prevailing wind patterns, and overcoming other natural obscurants or in- terferences. Collectively',tkensor nefirons with simple properties, interacting according to basic community rules, can accomplish complex interconnecting functions such as generalization, error correction, pattern recognition, sensor fusion, and localization. Neural nets provide a greater degree of robusmess and fault tolerance than conventional systems in that minor variations or imperfections do not impair performance. The robotic platforms would be equipped with sensor devices that perform opticaI detection of biologicais in combination with multivariate chemical analysis tools …

A model-based flotation control scheme is being implemented to achieve optimal performance in the handling and treatment of fine coal. The control scheme monitors flotation performance through on-line analysis of tailings ash content. Then, based on an on-line estimate of incremental ash, the pulp level is adjusted using a model-based control algorithm to compensate for feed variations and other process disturbances. Recent developments in sensor technology are being applied for on-line determination of slurry ash content. During the tenth quarter of this project, Task 6 (Equipment Procurement and Installation) was completed through the efforts of J.A. Herbst and Associates, Virginia Tech, Pittston Coal Company, and FGR Automation. As a result of this work, a model-based control system is now in place which can predict incremental ash based on tailings ash content and general plant data, and adjust pulp level accordingly to maintain a target incremental ash. Testing of this control system is expected to be carried out during the next quarter, and the results of this testing will be reported in the Eleventh Quarterly report. In addition, calibration of the video-based ash analyzer was continued and an extensive set of calibration data were obtained showing that the plant is running …

A model-based flotation control scheme is being implemented to achieve optimal performance in the handling and treatment of fine coal. The control scheme monitors flotation performance through on-line analysis of ash content. Then, based on the economic and metallurgical performance of the circuit, variables such as collector dosage, frother dosage, and pulp level are adjusted using model-based control algorithms to compensate for feed variations and other process disturbances. Recent developments in sensor technology are being applied for on-line determination of slurry ash content. During the ninth quarter of this project, Task 3 (Model Building and Computer Simulation) and Task 4 (Sensor Testing) were nearly completed, and Task 6 (Equipment Procurement and Installation) was initiated. Previously, data collected from the plant sampling campaign (Task 2) were used to construct a population balance model to describe the steady-state and dynamic behavior of the flotation circuit. The details of this model were presented in the Eighth Quarterly Technical Progress Report. During the past quarter, a flotation circuit simulator was designed and used to evaluate control strategies. As a result of this work, a model-based control strategy has been conceived which will allow manipulated variables to be adjusted in response to disturbances to achieve …

Marty brittle fracture evaluation procedures include plasticity corrections to elastically computed stress intensity factors. These corrections, which are based on the existence of a plastic zone in the vicinity of the crack tip, can overestimate the plasticity effect for a crack embedded in a stress concentration region in which the elastically computed stress exceeds the yield strength of the material in a localized zone. The interactions between the crack, which acts to relieve the high stresses driving the crack, plasticity effects in the stress concentration region, and the nature and source of the loading are examined by formulating explicit flaw finite element models for a crack emanating from the root of a notch located in a panel subject to an applied tensile stress. The results of these calculations provide conditions under which a crack-tip plasticity correction based on the Irwin plastic zone size overestimates the plasticity effect. A failure assessment diagram (FAD) curve is used to characterize the effect of plasticity on the crack driving force and to define a less restrictive plasticity correction for cracks at notch roots when load-controlled boundary conditions are imposed. The explicit flaw finite element results also demonstrate that stress intensity factors associated with load-controlled …

Quantum-based atomistic simulations are being used to study fundamental deformation and defect properties relevant to the multiscale modeling of plasticity in bcc metals at both ambient and extreme conditions. Ab initio electronic-structure calculations on the elastic and ideal-strength properties of Ta and Mo help constrain and validate many-body interatomic potentials used to study grain boundaries and dislocations. The predicted C(capital Sigma)5 (310)[100] grain boundary structure for Mo has recently been confirmed in HREM measurements. The core structure, (small gamma) surfaces, Peierls stress, and kink-pair formation energies associated with the motion of a/2(111) screw dislocations in Ta and Mo have also been calculated. Dislocation mobility and dislocation junction formation and breaking are currently under investigation.

This report summarizes development of borehole-miner extendible-nozzle water-jetting technology for dislodging and retrieving salt cake, sludge} and supernate to remediate underground storage tanks full of radioactive waste. The extendible-nozzle development was based on commercial borehole-miner technology.

A seven-day demonstration of the use of 3M Empore membrane filter loaded with ion exchange material (potassium cobalt hexacynoferrate (CoHex)) for cesium uptake was completed at the R-Disassembly Basin. The main goal of the demonstration was to evaluate the ability of the Process Absorber Development unit (PADU), a water pre-filtration /CoHex configuration on a skid, to remove cesium from R-Disassembly Basin at a linear processing flow rate of 22.71 liters (6 gallons) per minute.

Collaboration is an increasingly important aspect of magnetic fusion energy research. With the increased size and cost of experiments needed to approach reactor conditions, the numbers being constructed has become limited. In order to satisfy the desire for many groups to conduct research on these facilities, we have come to rely more heavily on collaborations. Fortunately, at the same time, development of high performance computers and fast and reliable wide area networks has provided technological solutions necessary to support the increasingly distributed work force without the need for relocation of entire research staffs. Development of collaboratories, collaborative or virtual laboratories, is intended to provide the capability needed to interact from afar with colleagues at multiple sites. These technologies are useful to groups interacting remotely during experimental operations as well as to those involved in the development of analysis codes and large scale simulations The term ``collaboratory`` refers to a center without walls in which researchers can perform their studies without regard to geographical location - interacting with colleagues, accessing instrumentation, sharing data and computational resources, and accessing information from digital libraries [1],[2]. While it is widely recognized that remote collaboration is not a universal replacement for personal contact, it does …

Many safety systems, such as those in nuclear power plants, are systems for which the consequences of failure can be severe or catastrophic. These systems must be developed, implemented, and maintained in ways that provide assurance that catastrophic consequences will be prevented. This paper discusses various aspects of the question of using commercially available software in these systems. Risk, grading, and system assessment are discussed, and relevant standards are summarized. Recommendations for addressing key issues are given.

This report describes results from laboratory-scale oxidative mineralization of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and the evaluation of the F/H Tank Farms as a storage/disposal option for PVA waste solution generated in the Canyons and B-line decontamination operations.

Analytical results are presented on the chemical composition and other physical properties of a glass, given the identification BNFL-A-S98, made at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory' that is representative of the low-activity waste glass composition proposed by BNFL, Inc.* for immobilization of envelope A double-shell tank wastes at the Hanford Site. This glass was prepared for use in a testing program to be conducted at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and at Argonne National Laboratory for the purpose of characterizing its long-term corrosion behavior. Detailed examination of the glass microstructure using transmission electron microscopy showed structural features indicative of amorphous phase separation. A remelt was performed on a smaller batch (100 g) to ensure rapid cooling. The glass microstructure was reexamined and showed no evidence of phase separation. Selected long-term (some to 860 d) product consistency tests were terminated, and the leachates were analyzed on tests with three other representative low-activity waste glass formulations (L8- 1, L8-3, and L8-7). The results showed no evidence of corrosion rate acceleration at three times the duration of tests where another well-studied glass, LD6-5412, had been completely altered under identical test conditions. These tests (and others not discussed in this report) provide clear evidence that low-activity …

We use a model for negative central shear (NCS) heat transport which has a parametric dependence on the plasma conditions with a transport barrier dependence on the minimum of the safety factor profile, 4, qualitatively consistant with experimental observations. Our intention is not to do a detailed investigation of transport models but rather to provide a reasonable model of heat conductivity to be able to simulate effects of electron cyclotron heating (ECH) and current drive (ECCD) on confinement in NCS configurations. We adjust free parameters (c, cl and c2) in the model to obtain a reasonable representation of the temporal evolution of electron and ion temperature profiles consistent with those measured in selected DIII-D shots. In all cases, we use the measured density profiles rather than self- consistently solve for particle sources and particle transport at this time In these results, we employ a simple model for the ECH power deposition by providing an externally supplied heat source for the electrons. The heating deposition location and profile are specified as a function of the toroidal flux coordinate to allow us to independently vary the heating dynamics For the results shown here, we assume a Gaussian profile, typically using a width …

The Hanford Data Integration 2000 (HANDI 2000) Project will result in an integrated and comprehensive set of functional applications containing core information necessary to support the Project Hanford Management Contract (PHMC). It is based on the Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) product solution with commercially proven business processes. The COTS product solution set, of PassPort (PP) and PeopleSoft (PS) software, supports finance, supply and chemical management/Material Safety Data Sheet.

Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II), an experimental sodium cooled fast breeder reactor located at Argonne National Laboratory-West (ANL-W), was shut down in 1994, and has since been defueled in preparation for final plant closure. Approximately 100,000 gallons of liquid sodium is contained in the primary and secondary cooling systems of the EBR-II plant. The liquid sodium must be drained from the reactor systems during closure of the plant to place the reactor plant in an industrially and radiologically safe condition for long term storage or dismantlement. Because the liquid sodium is a listed waste under the Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA), it is not suitable for disposal. It therefore must be transferred to the Sodium Process Facility (SPF), which is located approximately nine hundred feet from the reactor complex, where it will be processed into a non-reactive form, suitable for land disposal in Idaho. To facilitate this transfer, a heated pipeline for carrying liquid sodium metal from EBR-II to the SPF was designed and installed. The SPF was originally designed and built to process primary sodium from the Fermi-1 reactor. The sodium is stored at ANL-W in 55 gallon drums. Design of the SPF did not originally accommodate processing of EBR-II …

A novel technique has been developed at Argonne National Laboratory to determine the {sup 239}Pu content in EBR-II blanket elements using resonance transmission analysis (RTA) with a filtered reactor beam. The technique uses cadmium and gadolinium filters along with a {sup 239}Pu fission chamber to isolate the 0.3 eV resonance in {sup 239}Pu. In the energy range from 0.1 to 0.5 eV, the total microscopic cross-section of {sup 239}Pu is significantly larger than the cross-sections of {sup 238}U and {sup 235}U. This large difference in cross-section allows small amounts of {sup 239}Pu to be detected in uranium samples. Tests using a direct beam from a 250 kW TRIGA reactor have been performed with stacks of depleted uranium and {sup 239}Pu foils. Preliminary measurement results are in good agreement with the predicted results up to about two weight percent of {sup 239}Pu in the sample. In addition, measured {sup 239}Pu masses were in agreement with actual sample masses with uncertainties less than 3.8 percent.

A sintered metal ceramic crucible suitable for high temperature induction melting of reactive metals without appreciable carbon or silicon contamination of the melt. The crucible comprises a cast matrix of a thermally conductive ceramic material; a perforated metal sleeve, which serves as a susceptor for induction heating of the crucible, embedded within the ceramic cast matrix; and a thermal-shock-absorber barrier interposed between the metal sleeve and the ceramic cast matrix to allow for differential thermal expansions between the matrix and the metal sleeve and to act as a thermal-shock-absorber which moderates the effects of rapid changes of sleeve temperature on the matrix.

The dissolution in nitric acid of sludges containing uranium oxide and uranium has been modeled. That study has shown that it was necessary to continuously feed the dissolver to have an appropriate control of the reaction. If a unique procedure is deemed preferable, NH03 6M has been used.

This report describes the research that supports the Subsurface Science Program by maintaining a culture collection of microorganisms isolated from deep terrestrial subsurface environments (the Subsurface Microbial Culture Collection, or SMCC). The general distribution of cultures and data was identified as an important function of the SMCC. The accomplishments related to this function of the culture collection are described.

Electron cooling of completely stripped gold ions {sup 197}Au{sup 79+} in RHIC is considered for the store energy, {gamma} = 108. The optimal parameters of the required electron storage ring are discussed and proposed. The cooling time is calculated as 15 minutes, which would allow not only to avoid the beam loss due to the intra-beam scattering, but also reduce the transverse emittance and increase the luminosity several times.

Engineering evaluations have been performed to determine likely unit operations and methods required to support the removal, storage, treatment and disposal of solids/sludges present in the K Basins at the Hanford Site. This evaluation was initiated to select a neutralization process for dissolver product solution resulting from nitric acid treatment of about 50 m{sup 3} of Hanford Site K Basins sludge. Neutralization is required to meet Tank Waste Remediation Waste System acceptance criteria for storage of the waste in the double shell tanks after neutralization, the supernate and precipitate will be transferred to the high level waste storage tanks in 200E Area. Non transuranic (TRU) solids residue will be transferred to the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (ERDF). This report presents an overview of neutralization and precipitation methods previously used and tested. This report also recommends a neutralization process to be used as part of the K Basins Sludge Treatment Project and identifies additional operations requiring further evaluation.