A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

As part of the plutonium stabilization operations in the 234-5Z Building, several runs of 26-inch (26 inches of Hg) process vacuum header, along with associated smaller piping is to be cut into sections and disposed of. This criticality safety evaluation report (CSER) requested by Nirider (1996) addresses the removal of several hundred feet of abandoned 3 and 4 inch nominal diameter vacuum header and associated smaller diameter piping runs located in the duct level of the 234-5Z Building in rooms 262, 263, and 264 as shown in the two attached drawings.

In 1990 the U.S. Department of Energy declared an unreviewed safety question as a result of the behavior of tank 241-SY-101. This tank exhibited episodic releases of flammable gases that on a couple of occasions exceeded the lower flammability limit of hydrogen in air. Over the past six years a considerable amount of knowledge has been gained about the chemical and physical processes that govern the behavior of tank 241-SY-101 and the other tanks associated with a potential flammable gas hazard. This paper presents an overview of the current understanding of gas generation, retention, and release and covers the results of direct sampling of the tanks to determine the gas composition and the amount of stored gas.

Acceptance Testing of the WRAP 1 Plant Control System software was conducted throughout the construction of WRAP 1 with final testing on the glovebox software being completed in December 1996. The software tests were broken out into five sections; one for each of the four Local Control Units and one for the supervisory software modules. This document contains a completed copy of the software tests along with the applicable test log and completed Exception Test Reports. The ETRs outside the scope of the contractor are not signed off. These will be resolved by the Buyer and all 1280 open issues will be tracked on Buyer`s ETR database pending resolution.

Acceptance Testing of the WRAP 1 Plant Control System software will be conducted throughout the construction of WRAP 1 with final testing on the glovebox software being completed in December 1996. The software tests will be broken out into five sections; one for each of the four Local Control Units and one for the supervisory software modules. The acceptance test report will contain completed copies of the software tests along with the applicable test log and completed Exception Test Reports.

Acceptance Testing of the WRAP 1 Plant Control System Hardware will be conducted throughout the construction of WRAP I with the final testing on the Process Area hardware being completed in November 1996. The hardware tests will be broken out by the following functional areas; Local Control Units, Operator Control Stations in the WRAP Control Room, DMS Server, PCS Server, Operator Interface Units, printers, DNS terminals, WRAP Local Area Network/Communications, and bar code equipment. This document will contain completed copies of each of the hardware tests along with the applicable test logs and completed test exception reports.

Acceptance Testing of the WRAP1 Plant Control System Hardware was conducted throughout the construction of WRAPI with the final testing on the Process Area hardware being completed in November 1996. The hardware tests were broken out by the following functional areas; Local Control Units, Operator Control Stations in the WRAP Control Room, DMS Server, PCS Server, Operator Interface Units, printers, DMS terminals, WRAP Local Area Network/Communications, and bar code equipment. This document contains a completed copy of each of the hardware tests along with the applicable test logs and completed test exception reports.

Los Alamos and SEMATECH have evaluated a silent discharge plasma (SDP) device for point-of-use (POU) control of specific semiconductor VOC emissions at the source. Destruction efficiencies were initially determined at the bench scale using controlled gas mixtures and system performance was measured for simulated emissions containing a variety of volatile organic compounds (including HMDS) and PFCs. Based on this work, a field-pilot unit was designed and tested at a SEMATECH member site using two slip-streams: (1) PGMEA and HMDS gas mixture from lithography tools and the, (2) acetone, PCE and methanol from a wet bench cleaning tool. Based on the pilot test data, CoO estimates for the SDP technology show annual operating expenses (including amortized capital and installation costs, maintenance, and utilities) are $8.3K for a single 250 scfm lithotrack tool. End-of-pipe (EOP) system costs are $33.3K per 1000 scfm as compared to about $22K per 1000 scfm for a typical EOP concentrator/thermal abatement system. LANL does not recommend replacing existing EOP systems with SDP. However SDP could be easily installed in {open_quotes}niche{close_quotes} circumstances for POU control of VOCs from lithotrack tools.

The downsizing of the Department of Energy`s (Department) facilities as a result of the end of the Cold War had a negative impact on communities that were heavily dependent on the Department`s operations for economic stability. To lessen the impact, the Department provided financial assistance to local communities through Federal grants and cooperative agreements. The objective of this audit was to determine whether funding provided for economic development at the Mount Plant was used for the Department`s intended purposes. Overall, the authors found that the Department`s funds were used for their intended purposes. However, contrary to Federal regulations, the Department advanced the City of Miamisburg, Ohio (City) $2.6 million more than the minimum funds needed to meet immediate cash requirements, and the City kept the majority of the funds in non-interest bearing accounts. The funds were provided to fulfill commitments previously made to the City by senior Department officials, and the Department did not require the City to comply with Federal regulations or grant terms regarding cash advances. As a result, the City held a cash advance of $2.6 million for more than a year and remitted only $10,000 in interest earned on the advance. Management agreed with the finding …

This report presents the results of the independent certified public accountants` audit of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission`s (FERC) financial statements as of September 30, 1996. The auditors have expressed an unqualified opinion on the 1996 statement of financial position and the related statements of operations and changes in net position.

Tests were conducted at New York State Gas & Electric`s (NYSEG`s) Kintigh Station to evaluate options for achieving high sulfur dioxide (SO{sub 2}) removal efficiency in the wet limestone flue gas desulfurization (FGD) system. This test program was one of six conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy to evaluate low-capital-cost upgrades to existing FGD systems as a means for utilities to comply with the requirements of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. The upgrade option tested at Kintigh was sodium formate additive. Results from the tests were used to calibrate the Electric Power Research Institute`s (EPRI) FGD PRocess Integration and Simulation Model (FGDPRISM) to the Kintigh scrubber configuration. FGDPRISM was then used to predict system performance for evaluating conditions other than those tested. An economic evaluation was then done to determine the cost effectiveness of various high-efficiency upgrade options. These costs can be compared with the estimated market value of SO{sub 2} allowance or the expected costs of allowances generated by other means, such as fuel switching or new scrubbers, to arrive at the most cost-effective strategy for Clean Air Act compliance.

A diode-side-pumped ZnSe:Cr{sup 2+} laser was operated with a 75 - Watt peak power 1.65 {micro}m InGaAsP/InP pump array. The laser was configured with a ``single-bounce`` architecture to maximize its round-trip gain. Peak output powers of {approx}0.3 Watt were obtained with a 10% - transmitting output coupler and a lightly-doped crystal. The estimated ``mode fill`` of {approx}0.06 will increase with Cr{sup 2+} concentration, raising the output power and extraction efficiency. With a grating tuner and MgF{sub 2}:Co{sup 2+} laser pumping, the laser tuned throughout the 2134 - 2799 nm range.

During the third quarter, the Foster No. 11 was drilled to test the simulation and contact additional reserves in the San Andres and the Lower Grayburg. The well was located in the Southwest quarter of Section 36 to take advantage of the lack of producing wells in the West half of the Southwest quarter of the section. A full suite of logs: Compensated Neutron, Three Detector Density, Long Spacing Sonic, Dual Lateralog, Micro-CFL, Spectral Gamma Log and Mud Log were run. Additionally, a Repeat Formation Tester was employed in an effort to obtain reservoir pressure data. Eighteen tests were attempted, with six good tests, and two formation fluid samples recovered. The results indicate that the San Andres and the Lower Grayburg are in different pressure regimes, and the A1 Zone is depleted. Core was cut in the Lower Grayburg and San Andres to provide rock property information for these two intervals. Based on the log calculations and core recovery, the initial No. 11 Foster completion was attempted in the San Andres. The interval from 4,238 feet(-1,290) to 4,323 feet(-1375) was perforated and acidized. Rates of 3--4 BO and 6--8 BWPD were established. Because water zones were indicated both above and …

Iron aluminide weld overlays are being investigated for corrosion and erosion protection of boiler tubes in low NOx burners. The primary objective of the research is to identify overlay compositions which can be deposited in a crack-free condition and provide corrosion protection in moderately reducing environments. In the current phase of work, Fe-Al alloy weld overlays were produced by depositing commercially pure aluminum wire on to low carbon steel substrates using Gas Tungsten Arc Welding. A systematic variation of the wire feed speed and current, two major factors affecting dilution, resulted in a variation in aluminum contents of the welds ranging from 3--42 wt% aluminum. The aluminum content was observed to increase with wire feed speed and a decrease in the current. The aluminum content was also found to affect the cracking susceptibility of the overlays. At 10wt% aluminum, few to no cracks were observed in the deposits. Above this value, cracking was prevalent throughout the weld. In addition, two types of microstructures were found correlating to different concentrations of aluminum. A homogeneous matrix with second phase particles consisting of coarse columnar grains was found for low aluminum concentrations. With higher aluminum contents, a two-phase constituent was observed to surround …

The nitrogen fixing bacterium azotobacter paspali was first isolated from the roots of the sub-tropical grass, palpium notatum, and added to the clenus in 1996, by Dr. J. Dobereiner (Brazil). It is mentioned that this root association bacteria shows remarkable signs of host-plant specificity to one eco-type of this grass. This specificity is rare in non-symbiotic plant microbe interactions so far identified.