Westinghouse Electric Corporation has performed a safety assessment of the Savannah River production reactors (K,L, and P) as requested by the US Department of Energy. This assessment was performed between November 1, 1988, and April 1, 1989, under the transition contract for the Westinghouse Savannah River Company's preparations to succeed E.I. du Pont de Nemours Company as the US Department of Energy contractor for the Savannah River Project. The reviewers were drawn from several Westinghouse nuclear energy organizations, embody a combination of commercial and government reactor experience, and have backgrounds covering the range of technologies relevant to assessing nuclear safety. The report presents the rationale from which the overall judgment was drawn and the basis for the committee's opinion on the phased restart strategy proposed by E.I. du Pont de Nemours Company, Westinghouse, and the US Department of Energy-Savannah River. The committee concluded that it could recommend restart of one reactor at partial power upon completion of a list of recommended upgrades both to systems and their supporting analyses and after demonstration that the organization had assimilated the massive changes it will have undergone.

This report documents and critically assesses the evolution and status of the scientific understanding of the effects of acidic deposition on surface waters. The main conclusion is that the dominant theory of surface-water acidification fails to adequately incorporate many important factors and processes that influence surface water acidity. Some of these factors and processes are not well researched or recognized as being important by most scientists in the aquatic effects research area. 258 refs., 14 figs., 23 tabs.

Current state-of-the-art inorganic oxide membranes offer the potential of being modified to yield catalytic properties. The resulting modules may be configured to simultaneously induce catalytic reactions with product concentration and separation in a single processing step. Processes utilizing such catalytically active membrane reactors have the potential for dramatically increasing yield of reactions which are currently limited by either thermodynamic equilibria, product inhibition, or kinetic selectivity. Examples of systems of commercial interest include hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, partial and selective oxidation, hydrations, hydrocarbon cracking, olefin metathesis, hydroformylation, and olefin polymerization. A large portion of the most significant reactions fall into the category of high temperature, gas phase chemical and petrochemical processes. Microporous oxide membranes are well suited for these applications. A program is proposed to investigate selected model reactions of commercial interest (i.e., dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to styrene and dehydrogenation of butane to butadiene) using a high temperature catalytic membrane reactor. Membranes will be developed, reaction dynamics characterized, and production processes developed, culminating in laboratory-scale demonstration of technical and economic feasibility. As a result of the anticipated increased yield per reactor pass, large economic incentives are envisioned. First, a large decrease in the temperature required to obtain high yield should be possible because …

This is the sixth quarterly report of DOE Contract No. DE-AC22- 87PC79863, entitled Modeling of Integrated Environmental Control Systems for Coal-Fired Power Plants.'' This report summarizes accomplishments during the period January 1, 1989 to March 31, 1989. Efforts this past quarter focused primarily on the preparation of a computer User's Guide for the Integrated Environmental Control Model (IECM). Drafts of the first two chapters are now complete. These chapters constitute the bulk of this quarterly report. Drafts of the remaining chapters are in preparation, and will appear in a future report this year. We also have been working closely with DOE/PETC to define the computer configuration to be transferred to PETC as a contract deliverable. That process is now complete and the equipment is on order. Delivery of the IECM to PETC is expected during the next calendar quarter. Finally, we are continuing our efforts to develop and refine a number of clean coal technology process models. These efforts will be summarized and reported at a future date.

This work originates from the proposal MHD Compressor-Expander Conversion System Integrated with a GCR Inside a Deployable Reflector''. The proposal concerned an innovative concept of nuclear, closed-cycle MHD converter for power generation on space-based systems in the multi-megawatt range. The basic element of this converter is the Power Conversion Unit (PCU) consisting of a gas core reactor directly coupled to an MHD expansion channel. Integrated with the PCU, a deployable reflector provides reactivity control. The working fluid could be either uranium hexafluoride or a mixture of uranium hexafluoride and helium, added to enhance the heat transfer properties. The original Statement of Work, which concerned the whole conversion system, was subsequently redirected and focused on the basic mechanisms of neutronics, reactivity control, ionization and electrical conductivity in the PCU. Furthermore, the study was required to be inherently generic such that the study was required to be inherently generic such that the analysis an results can be applied to various nuclear reactor and/or MHD channel designs''.

During the current reporting period a total of 139 samples (46 DOE Sample Bank samples and 93 other Penn State samples) of various sizes were distributed. Sixty-three of the samples were distributed to DOE or its contractors; 76 were distributed to other agencies. A total of 88 data printouts were distributed. In addition, seven special data requests were fulfilled by either search/sort and printout or creation of a data disk. Several preliminary requests for Sample Bank and Data Base information have also been handled.

The third volume of a series of reports containing the proceedings of the Focused Research Program on "Spectral Theory and Boundary Value Problems."

A key feature of the Tevatron upgrade is the placement of proton and anti-proton bunches on the branches of a double helix which winds around the current closed orbit. Electrostatic separators will transfer the bunches on and off the double helix so that they experience head-on collisions only at the experimental areas, B0 and D0, all other encounters occurring at large transverse separation. In this way the number of bunches, and the luminosity, can be increased without a proportional growth in the beam-beam tune shift. The scenario raises a number of beam dynamics issues, especially (a) the consequences of sampling magnetic fields far from the magnets' center lines, and (b) the effects of the long-range beam-beam interaction. This report presents the results of calculations and simulations done to date to explore (b); a Fermilab team have been studying (a), both experimentally and theoretically, but we shall not review those efforts here. 9 refs., 17 figs.

The Freiholser Forst Local Training Area (LTA) Rehabilitation Demonstration Project is part of the Integrated Training Area Management program being developed by the US Army Corps of Engineers' Construction Engineering Research Laboratory for the Seventh Army Training Command of the US Army in Europe. The rehabilitation demonstration project was begun in 1987 to develop and demonstrate rapid, cost-effective methods to stabilize the LTA's barren, eroding maneuver areas and make training conditions more realistic. The sandy, infertile, and acidic soils at the LTA are considered the major factor limiting rehabilitation efforts there. The project involves the evaluation of three procedures to revegetate the soils, each incorporating identical methods for preparing the seedbed and a single seed mixture consisting of adapted, native species but using different soil amendments. All three treatments have satisfactorily reestablished vegetation and controlled erosion on the demonstration plots at the LTA, but their costs have varied widely.

This research project involves the design, synthesis and study of molecules which mimic many of the important aspects of photosynthetic electron and energy transfer. Specifically, the molecules are designed to mimic the following aspects of natural photosynthetic multistep electron transfer: electron donation from a tetrapyrrole excited singlet state, electron transfer between tetrapyrroles, electron transfer from tetrapyrroles to quinones, and electron transfer between quinones with different redox properties. In addition, they model carotenoid antenna function in photosynthesis (singlet-singlet energy transfer from carotenoid polyenes to chlorophyll) and carotenoid photoprotection from singlet oxygen damage (triplet-triplet energy transfer from chlorophyll to carotenoids).

This paper discusses the following topics on the muon plus decay; muon decay spectrum; previous determinations of /eta/; experimental apparatus; distortions of the spectrum; and data analysis and results. 31 figs. (LSP)

This report examines the management of DoD technology base programs and laboratories. It also analyzes the process through which technology is introduced into defense systems, in order to understand why it takes so long and what might be done to speed the process up. Finally, this report examines the exploitation of civilian commercial sector technology for defense needs. It concentrates on the dual questions of expediting military access to civilian technology and keeping the necessary base of technology alive and well in the United States.

This report reviews U.S. patent law as it relates to the patentability of micro-organisms, cells, plants, and animals; as well as specific areas of concern, including deposit requirements and international considerations. The report includes a range of options for congressional action related to the patenting of animals, intellectual property protection for plants, and enablement of patents involving biological material.

On September 13, 1988, the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Japan Science and Technology Program (JSTP) held a one-day workshop to discuss MIT’s Japan Science and Technology Program’s internship program and its technical language workshop. This document gives a brief description the MIT-Japan Science and Technology of Program. It then reports the principal themes and issues raised at the workshop.

This paper reviews the evidence that elevation of serum cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease in the elderly and that the detection and treatment of hypercholesterolemia in an elderly individual who does not have clinically apparent heart disease will diminish overall morbidity or mortality. It also estimates health care expenditures associated with screening and treatment of hypercholesterolemia in the elderly.

Described is a search for a heavy charged lepton with an associated neutrino of nearly the same mass, together known as a close-mass lepton doublet. The search is conducted in e/sup +/e/sup/minus// annihilation data taken with the Mark II detector at a center-of-mass energy of 29 GeV. In order to suppress contamination from conventional two-photon reactions, the search applies a novel, radiative-tagging technique. Requiring the presence of an isolated, energetic photon allows exploration for lepton doublets with a mass splitting smaller than that previously accessible to experiment. No evidence for such a new lepton has been found, enabling limits to be placed on allowed mass combinations. Mass differences as low as 250-300 MeV are excluded for charged lepton masses up to 10 GeV. 78 refs., 64 figs., 8 tabs.

This paper provides an overview of the major fuel cell research and development (R and D) programs funded by the US government and the private sector, with a particular focus on terrestrial applications. Included in this overview is information on funding levels, project descriptions and goals, and selected accomplishments. Brief assessments as to the proximity of commercialization for each of the primary types of fuel cells are also furnished. 11 refs., 1 fig., 11 tabs.

Edge measurements have been conducted on the PLT tokamak under a variety of operating conditions in order to ascertain the relevant processes at work in coupling rf power to plasmas. The edge density is found to increase significantly with the application of ICRF, and electron heating occurs in the vicinity of the Faraday shield surrounding the antenna. Spectroscopic measurements indicate that the energized antenna is a significant particle source. The relative increase of metallic impurities was found to be /approximately/2.7 times larger than the corresponding increase in deuterium. In addition, the relative increase of deuterium and impurities was /approximately/3--4 times greater at the energized antenna than at other locations around the torus. Model calculations show that for deuterium released from the Faraday shield, the D/sub ..cap alpha../ emission is localized radially to a region within 4 cm of the antenna. A correlation was found between the edge density and the D/sub ..cap alpha../ intensity that justifies its use as a measure of the particle source rate. 26 refs., 14 figs.

The nine known R. capsulatus carotenoid genes are contained within the 46 kilobase (kb) photosynthesis gene cluster. An 11 kb subcluster containing eight of these genes has been cloned and its nucleotide sequence determined. A new gene, crtK, has been located in the middle of the subcluster. The carotenoid gene cluster contains sequences homologous to Escherichia coli ..omega../sup 70/ promoters, rho-independent transcription terminators, and prokaryotic transcriptional factor binding sites. The phenotypes and genotypes of ten transposon Tn5.7 insertion mutations within the carotenoid gene cluster have been analyzed, by characterization of the carotenoids accumulated and high resolution mapping of the Tn5.7 insertions. The enzymatic blockages in previously uncharacterized early carotenoid mutants have been determined using a new in vitro synthesis system, suggesting specific roles for the CrtB and CrtE gene products. The expression of six of the eight carotenoid genes in the cluster is induced upon the shift from dark chemoheterotrophic to anaerobic photosynthetic growth. The magnitude of the induction is equivalent to that of genes encoding structural photosynthesis polypeptides, although the carotenoid genes are induced earlier after the growth shift. Different means of regulating photosynthesis genes in R. capsulatus are discussed, and a rationale for the temporal pattern of expression …

The monitoring program at the Niagara Falls Storage Site (NFSS) measures radon concentrations in air; external gamma radiation levels; and uranium and radium concentrations in surface water, groundwater, and sediment. To verify that the site is in compliance with the DOE radiation protection standard and to assess its potential effect on public health, the radiation dose was calculated for a hypothetical maximally exposed individual. Based on the conservative scenario described in this report, this hypothetical individual receives an annual external exposure approximately equivalent to 6 percent of the DOE radiation protection standard of 100 mrem/yr. This exposure is less than a person receives during two round-trip flights from New York to Los Angeles (because of the greater amounts of cosmic radiation at higher altitudes). The cumulative dose to the population within an 80-km (50-mi) radius of the NFSS that results from radioactive materials present at the site is indistinguishable from the dose that the same population receives from naturally occurring radioactive sources. Results of the 1988 monitoring show that the NFSS is in compliance with applicable DOE radiation protection standards. 17 refs., 31 figs., 20 tabs.

The results of the environmental monitoring program conducted at Site A/Plot M in the Palos Park Forest Preserve area for CY 1988 are presented. The monitoring program is the ongoing remedial action that resulted from the original radiological characterization of the site. That study had determined that hydrogen-3 (as tritiated water) migrated from the burial ground and was present in two nearby hand-pumped picnic wells. The current program consists of sample collection and analysis of air, surface and subsurface water, and bottom sediment. The results of the analyses are used to (1) determine the migration pathway of water from the burial ground (Plot M) to hand-pumped picnic wells, (2) establish if buried radionuclides other than hydrogen-3 have migrated, and (3) generally characterize the radiological environment of the area. Hydrogen-3 in the Red Gate Woods picnic well continued to show the same pattern of elevated levels in the winter and low concentrations in the summer, but the magnitude of the current winter peak was significantly less than in earlier years. A replacement well was installed in July 1988 in the Red Gate Woods area to provide a source of water for public use that is free of tritium. Tritiated water continues …

This safety evaluation report for the application filed by the Dow Chemical Company for renewal of facility Operating License R-108 to continue to operate its research reactor at an increased operating power level has been prepared by the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The facility is located on the grounds of the Michigan Division of the Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan. The staff concludes that the Dow Chemical Company can continue to operate its reactor without endangering the health and safety of the public.

The 120 GeV Main Ring proton beam collides with the target at the end of the AP-1 line and creates antiprotons and other secondary particles. The AP-2 line transfers the negative particles from the target to the Debuncher. To provide a bigger antiproton stack size in the Accumulator, both the Debuncher as well as the AP-2 line acceptance have to be raised. This is a proposal for the improvement of the AP-2 line acceptance. The first part of the memo presents an acceptance examination of the existing AP-2 line by computer simulation, while the second presents a short proposal for aperture corrections. The computer program TURTLE was used to trace antiprotons through the AP-2 line without taking into account other negative charged particles. Betatron functions were obtained from the output of the SYNCH computer program. The SYNCH program was also used to check the dispersion match between the AP-2 line and the Debuncher. 3 refs., 6 figs., 5 tabs.

This is a progress report for the past one year of research (year 2 of 5-year project) under the project titled CSDP: Seismology of Continental Thermal Regime'', in which we proposed to develop seismological interpretation theory and methods applicable to complex structures encountered in continental geothermal areas and apply them to several candidate sites for the Continental Scientific Drilling Project. During the past year, two Ph.D. thesis works were completed under the present project. One is a USC thesis on seismic wave propagation in anisotropic media with application to defining fractures in the earth. The other is a MIT thesis on seismic Q and velocity structure for the magma-hydrothermal system of the Valles Caldera, New Mexico. The P.I. co-organized the first International Workshop on Volcanic Seismology at Capri, Italy in October 1988, and presented the keynote paper on the state-of-art of volcanic seismology''. We presented another paper at the workshop on Assorted Seismic Signals from Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii. Another international meeting, namely, the Chapman Conference on seismic anisotropy in the earth's crust at Berkeley, California in May 1988, was co-organized by the co-P.I. (P.C.L), and we presented our work on seismic waves in heterogeneous and anisotropic media. Adding the publications …