Document 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 a county is authorized to reimburse attorney's fees incurred in defending an election contest suit to a candidate for a political party's nomination for sheriff.

We propose a new approach for deriving the string field equations from a general sigma model on the world-sheet. This approach leads to an equation which combines some of the attractive features of both the renormalization group method and the covariant beta function treatment of the massless excitations. It has the advantage of being covariant under a very general set of both local and non-local transformations in the field space. We apply it to the tachyon, massless and first massive level, and show that the resulting field equations reproduce the correct spectrum of a left-right symmetric closed bosonic string.

This analysis is prepared by the Mined Geologic Disposal System (MGDS) Waste Package Development Department (WPDD) to estimate the dose rate on and near the surface a Multi-Purpose Canister (MPC) PWR waste package (WP) which is loaded with Westinghouse 17 x 17 mixed oxide (MOX) PWR fuel. The 21 PWR MPC WP is used to provide an upper bound for waste package designs since the 12 PWR MPC WP will have a smaller source term and an equivalent amount of shielding. the objectives of this evaluation are to calculate the requested dose rate(s) and document the calculation in a fashion to allow comparisons to other waste forms and WP designs at a future time.

The initial goal of the 3-D Vertical Seismic Profiling (VSP) work at LLNL was to characterize seismic wave velocities and frequencies below the vadose zone to design the acquisition geometry for a 3-D shallow surface seismic reflection survey. VSPs are also used routinely to provide a link between surface seismic data and well logs. However, a test 2-D seismic line recorded at LLNL in the Spring of 1994 indicated that obtaining high quality reflection images below the vadose zone, yet shallower that 50 m, would require an expensive, very finely sampled survey ({lt} 1 m receiver spacing). Extensive image processing of the LLNL 2-D test line indicated that the only reliable reflection was from the top of the water table. Surprisingly, these results were very different than recent 3-D seismic work recorded at other sites, where high quality, high frequency surface (up to 300 Hz) reflection images were obtained as shallow as 20m. We believe that the differences are primarily due to the comparatively deep vadose zone at LLNL (15 to 30m) as compared to 0-5m at other sites. The thick vadose zone attenuates the reflection signals, particularly at the high frequencies (above 100 @). In addition, the vadose zone …

The viability of matching hydrodynamic conditions in a hot bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) combustor and a cold BFB model are being evaluated. Similitude parameters are being matched in a 20.32 cm diameter BFB combustor and a 5.08 cm diameter cold BFB. In addition, tests are planned to investigate the effect loaded solids above the L-valve have on the flow rate.

Single-shell W C-106 is on an accelerated schedule for partial retrieval of its softer, high-he-at sludge. The sludge is being transferred to a double-shell tank because they have the capacity to handle more heat-bearing materials than do single-shell tanks. Also, unlike single-shell tanks, they have not shown any tendency to leak. This transfer will eliminate the need to add water to C-106, thus lowering the risk of waste leaching to the environment. The transfer also will allow obligations to the Washington State Department of Ecology regarding removal of drainable liquid from all single-shell tanks to be met. Current schedules show the soft-sludge retrieval starting in September 1997. To prepare for retrieval, issues related to the risk from potential propagating reactions caused by the organic chemistry of tank C-106 were evaluated.

The Flammable Gas Watch List is the listing of tanks that are subject to the provisions of Public Law 101-510, Section 3137, ``Safety Measures for Waste Tanks at Hanford Nuclear Reservation`` (Appendix A). Tanks on the Flammable Gas Watch List are judged to have a serious potential for release of high-level waste due to the ignition of flammable gases released from the waste in the tank. The purpose of this document is to provide criteria for identifying and categorizing the Hanford Site high4evel waste tanks to be included on the Flammable Gas Watch List. This document also provides criteria on which to base a recommendation to remove tanks from the Flammable Gas Watch List.

Corrosive attack of Inconel 690 coupons was not observed following 3 day exposure tests to calcium carbonate, sodium carbonate, and sodium meta silicate at 900 {degrees}C. However, melt line attack was evident on coupons exposed to sodium meta silicate and sodium carbonate tested for 3 days at 1100 {degrees}C. In addition, intergranular attack (IGA), approximately 0.67 mils/day, was observed on the Inconel 690 coupon exposed to calcium carbonate at 1100 {degrees}C. Calcium carbonate did not completely remove the glass coating at 950 {degrees}C. In fact, it was comparable to the results obtained by exposing a glass coated coupon at 950 {degrees}C in air. Therefore, calcium carbonate is not recommended for cleaning the DWPF melter pour spout. Both sodium carbonate and sodium meta silicate appear to remove most of the glass. However, these cleaning agents will remain on the metal surface following exposure at 950 {degrees}C resulting in very rough surface and a potential for corrosive attack when heated to 1100 {degrees}C.

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), located in a salt bed in southern New Mexico, is designed by US Department of Energy to demonstrate the safe and permanent disposal of design-basis transuranic waste. WIPP performance assessment requires consideration of radionuclide release in brines in the event of inadvertent human intrusion. The mobility of radionuclides depends on chemical factors such as brine pmH (-log molality of H{sup +}) and CO{sub 2} fugacity. According to current waste inventory estimates, a large quantity ({approximately} 10{sup 9} moles C) of organic materials will be emplaced in the WIPP. Those organic material will potentially be degraded by halophilic or halotolerant microorganisms in the presence of liquid water in the repository, especially if a large volume of brine is introduced into the repository by human intrusions. Organic material biodegradation will produce a large amount of CO{sub 2}, which will acidify the WIPP brine and thus significantly increase the mobility of actinides. This communication addresses (1) the rate of organic material biodegradation and the quantity of CO{sub 2} to be possibly generated, (2) the effect of microbial CO{sub 2} production on overall WIPP performance, and (3) the mechanism of using MgO to mitigate this effect.

Preoperational test report for Primary Ventilation Condensate System, Project W-030. Project W-030 provides a ventilation upgrade for the four Aging Waste Facility tanks. The system provides a collection point for condensate generated by the W-030 primary vent offgas cooling system serving tanks AYIOI, AY102, AZIOI, AZI02. The system is located inside a shielded ventilation equipment cell and consists of a condensate seal pot, sampling features, a drain line to existing Catch Tank 241-AZ-151, and a cell sump jet pump. The tests verify correct system operation and correct indications displayed by the central Monitor and Control System.

Impacted material placement plans (IMPP) are documents identifying the essential elements in placing remediation wastes into disposal facilities. Remediation wastes or impacted material(s) are those components used in the construction of the disposal facility exclusive of the liners and caps. The components might include soils, concrete, rubble, debris, and other regulatory approved materials. The IMPP provides the details necessary for interested parties to understand the management and construction practices at the disposal facility. The IMPP should identify the regulatory requirements from applicable DOE Orders, the ROD(s) (where a part of a CERCLA remedy), closure plans, or any other relevant agreements or regulations. Also, how the impacted material will be tracked should be described. Finally, detailed descriptions of what will be placed and how it will be placed should be included. The placement of impacted material into approved on-site disposal facilities (OSDF) is an integral part of gaining regulatory approval. To obtain this approval, a detailed plan (Impacted Material Placement Plan [IMPP]) was developed for the Fernald OSDF. The IMPP provides detailed information for the DOE, site generators, the stakeholders, regulatory community, and the construction subcontractor placing various types of impacted material within the disposal facility.

The flammable gas safety issue was recognized in 1990 with the declaration of an unreviewed safety question (USQ) by the U. S. Department of Energy as a result of the behavior of the Hanford Site high-level waste tank 241-SY-101. This tank exhibited episodic releases of flammable gas that on a couple of occasions exceeded the lower flammability limit of hydrogen in air. Over the past six years there has been a considerable amount of knowledge gained about the chemical and physical processes that govern the behavior of tank 241-SY-1 01 and other tanks associated with the flammable gas safety issue. This report was prepared to provide an overview of that knowledge and to provide a description of the key information still needed to resolve the issue. Items covered by this report include summaries of the understanding of gas generation, retention and release mechanisms, the composition and flammability behavior of the gas mixture, the amounts of stored gas, and estimated gas release fractions for spontaneous releases. `Me report also discusses methods being developed for evaluating the 177 tanks at the Hanford Site and the problems associated with these methods. Means for measuring the gases emitted from the waste are described along …

This presentation provides information on the relevant coating systems, the starting materials, and properties of the coatings.