The recent Department of Defense proposal to develop a capability to modernize and expand the current U.S. chemical warfare munition stocks with binary nerve agent munitions has focused attention on the subject of chemical warfare. This paper provides a brief introductory discussion of modern chemical warfare, describing the types of agents, delivery methods, and defense against chemical agents. It does not discuss policy, strategy, tactics, or disarmament aspects of chemical warfare. These issues w i l l be covered i n CRS Issue Brief IB 8l08l .

This paper explores selected questions involving the busing of elementary and secondary school students for desegregation. On each of the selected questions a general analysis of the issue involved is presented, followed by two subsections entitled A Critic's Position and An Advocate's Position. In these subsections, an attempt is made to show how a critic of busing for desegregation and an advocate of such busing might fashion arguments on this issue in opposition to, or in support of, busing.

Expenditures and revenue limitation proposals link Federal spending and taxation to some measure of economic performance, such as the rate of economic growth or percentage levels of GNP or national income. The report presents this issue brief reviews, the various approaches to balance the budget and to impose spending limitations offered as constitutional amendments’ in the 97 congress.

A study by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that analyzes "two instances of the use of formal analysis in the formulation of Federal Government policy for end-stage renal disease (ESRD)" (p. 3).

A report by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "examines the application of classical and molecular genetic technologies to micro-organisms, plants, and animals" (Foreward).

A report by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that looks at four approaches to the standardization of light water reactors and "considers these four representative approaches to standardization and examines the major advantages and disadvantages of each concept" (p. 3).

A technical memorandum by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "identifies the participants in the Federal coal leasing program between 1950 and 1980, traces the ownership on a lease-by-lease basis, and discusses the business activities and organizational structures of the lessees [sic]" (p. iii).

A report by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that looks at federal policies that affect coal exports and port development and finds that "sizable increases in future U.S. coal exports are achievable if the Federal Government and the private sector complement the efforts of each in encouraging these exports and if present trends are not drastically altered by developments in other exporting and importing countries" (Preface).

A case study by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that explores "the feasibility of economic evaluation of diagnostic procedures" (p. 4).

A case study by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "examines the available technologies used to screen for cancer of the colon: their development, evaluation, cost effectiveness, and use" (p. 3).

The TCLUST1 computer program was developed to study the transient thermal behavior of a subassembly of a liquid-metal fast breeder reactor (LMFBR) that is thermally coupled to its six neighboring subassemblies. Each of the seven subassemblies may be either a reflector subassembly, which contains a single solid hexagonal rod, or a pin-bundle subassembly. The TCLUST1 analytical model was developed based on conservation of energy, and the temperature distribution in the subassembly was obtained using the successive over-relaxation (SOR) technique. Measured temperatures obtained from a natural-convection flow test performed in EBR-II compare well with those predicted by TCLUST1. Appendixes describe the code input and go through a sample program.

This document is a report of activities performed by Westinghouse Advanced Energy Systems Division-Nevada Operations at the E-MAD Facility, Area 25, Nevada Test Site, in meeting subtask objectives during the second quarter of Fiscal Year 1981. These activities include: transfer of the Fuel Temperature Test (FTT) assembly from the West Process Cell to the Hot Bay where it was disassembled; boiling water calorimetry, Weld Pit calorimetry, encapsulation, and temporary storage of the fuel assembly used in the FTT; completion of the first Climax Test fuel exchange; testing to evaluate moisture accumulation in Drywells; Plasma Arc Welder development; receipt, installation, and activation of the Remote Area Monitoring (RAM)/(CAM) system and alpha/beta/gamma counting system.

Ground motion data has been recorded for many years at Nevada Test Site and is now stored on thousands of digital tapes. The recording format is very inefficient in terms of space on tape. This report outlines a method to compress the data onto a few hundred tapes while maintaining the accuracy of the recording and allowing restoration of any file to the original format for future use. For future digitizing a more efficient format is described and suggested.

The in situ modulus of the Climax granite in the Spent Fuel Test (SFT-C) area of the Nevada Test Site was estimated using six different approaches. Our best estimate of field modulus as E/sub f/ = 26 GPa was obtained from a comparison of the various approaches. A best estimate of laboratory modulus acquired by comparing three different sources was E/sub l/ = 70 GPa. Therefore, the modulus reduction factor for the Climax granite appears to be E/sub f//E/sub l/ = 0.37. In turn, our estimate of in situ rock-mass deformability was used to back-calculate in situ values for the normal stiffness of the granite joints. Our analysis of former stress measurements by the US Geological Survey (USGS) shows that the horizontal stresses in the vicinity of SFT-C vary greatly with azimuth. An unexplained feature of the stresses at SFT-C is the fact that the vertical stress appears to be only 65 to 75% of the calculated lithostatic burden. From the three-dimensional stress ellipsoid at mid-length in the tunnels, assuming a plane strain condition, we were able to estimate an in situ Poisson`s ratio of the rock mass as {nu} = 0.246. Two other techniques were applied in an attempt …

This report summarizes the results of a near-surface heater experiment operated at a depth of 23 m in argillite within the Eleana Formation on the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The test geometrically simulated emplacement of a single canister of High-Level Waste (HLW) and was operated at a power level of 2.5 kW for 21 days, followed by 3.8 kW to 250 days, when the power was turned off. Below 85 to 100{sup 0}C, there was good agreement between modeled and measured thermal results in the rock and in the emplacement hole, except for transient transport of water in the heater hole. Above 100{sup 0}C, modeled and measured thermal results increasingly diverged, indicating that the in-situ rock-mass thermal conductivity decreased as a result of dehydration more than expected on the basis of matrix properties. Correlation of thermomechanical modeling and field results suggests that this decrease was caused by strong coupling of thermal and mechanical behavior of the argillite at elevated temperatures. No hole-wall decrepitation was observed in the experiment; this fact and the codrrelation of modeled and measured results at lower temperatures indicate that there is no a priori reason to eliminate argillaceous rocks from further consideration as a host rock …

Preliminary evaluations have indicated that tri(n-hexyl) phosphate (THP) and tri(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (TEHP) have some significant advantages over tri(n-butyl) phosphate (TBP) for fuel reprocessing although they also have some disadvantages. The longer alkyl chains in these new extractants decrease their aqueous phase solubility and increase the organic phase solubility of their metal complexes and the metal complexes of their degradation products. Both THP and TEHP extract uranium and plutonium more strongly than TBP; thorium extraction is in the order THP > TBP > TEHP. Tritium extraction is highest with TBP because of slightly higher water extraction. In extractions of thorium, a third liquid phase was formed using TBP at a solvent loading of about 40 g/L of thorium and above. Third-phase formation did not occur with THP or TEHP. The dialkyl phosphoric acid degradation products of THP and TEHP showed a markedly lower tendency to precipitate with thorium than did dibutyl phosphoric acid (HDBP). Chemical stability studies showed TEHP to have much greater stability to acid hydrolysis than TBP and THP, which were about equivalent. No differences were detected in the radiation stability of the three extractants. The phase separation properties of THP and TEHP are inferior to those of TBP …

Monthly reports documenting San Antonio municipal board activities and city permitting for March 1981.

Regardless of the application, the basic biotechnology of large-scale outdoor cultures involves many common features, particularly in the requirement for adequate nutrients such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus to ensure that light is the sole limiting yield determinant. Whereas the required quantities of nitrogen and phosphorus are fairly simple, to estimate, those for inorganic carbon are far more complex.

Quick-look test results are reported for the initial test series of the Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) Simulation in the National Research Universal {NRU) test program, conducted by Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). This test was devoted to evaluating the thermal-hydraulic characteristics of a full-length light water reactor (LWR) fuel bundle during the heatup, reflood, and quench phases of a LOCA. Experimental results from 28 tests cover reflood rates of 0.74 in./sec to 11 in./sec and delay times to initiate reflood of 3 sec to 66 sec. The results indicate that current analysis methods can predict peak temperatures within 10% and measured quench times for the bundle were significantly less than predicted. For reflood rates of 1 in./sec where long quench times were predicted (>2000 sec}, measured quench times of 200 sec were found.

This report evaluates the change in inspection sensitivity resulting in major changes of ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section XI between 1974 and 1977 Editions. It was found that the inspection sensitivity resulting from requirements of the 1977 Edition of Section XI were not adequate to detect minimum flaws referenced by same Code.

Five areas of potential accidents have been evaluated for the Argonaut-UTR reactors. They are: • insertion of excess reactivity • catastrophic rearrangement of the core • explosive chemical reaction • graphite fire • fuel-handling accident. A nuclear excursion resulting from the rapid insertion of the maximum available excess reactivity would produce only 12 MWs which is insufficient to cause fuel melting even with conservative assumptions. Although precise structural rearrangement of the core would create a potential hazard, it is simply not credible to assume that such an arrangement would result from the forces of an earthquake or other catastrophic event. Even damage to the fuel from falling debris or other objects is unlikely given the normal reactor structure. An explosion from a metal-water reaction could not occur because there is no credible source of sufficient energy to initiate the reaction. A graphite fire could conceivably create some damage to the reactor but not enough to melt any fuel or initiate a metal-water reaction. The only credible accident involving offsite doses was determined to be a fuel-handling accident which, given highly conservative assumptions, would produce a whole-body dose equivalent of 2 rem from noble gas immersion and a lifetime dose equivalent …

This document summarizes the work performed by Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) from October 1 through December 31, 1980, for the Division of Reactor Safety Research within the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Evaluations of nondestructive examination (NDE) techniques and instrumentation are reported; areas of investigation include demonstrating the feasibility of determining structural graphite strength, evaluating the feasibility of detecting and analyzing flaw growth in reactor pressure boundary systems, examining NOE reliability and probabilistic fracture mechanics, and assessing the remaining integrity of pressurized water reactor (PWR) steam generator tubes where service-induced degradation has been indicated. Test assemblies and analytical support are being provided for experimental programs at other facilities. These programs include loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) simulation tests at the NRU reactor, Chalk River, Canada; fuel rod deformation and postaccident coolability tests for the ESSOR Test Reactor Program, Ispra, Italy; the instrumented fuel assembly irradiation program at Halden, Norway; and experimental programs at the Power Burst Facility, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). These programs will provide data for computer modeling of reactor system and fuel performance during various abnormal operating conditions.

The study objective of "The Mathematical Simulation of Sediment and Radionuclide Transport in Surface Waters" is to synthesize and test radionuclide transport models capable of realistically assessing radionuclide transport in various types of surface water bodies by including the sediment-radionuclide interactions. These interactions include radionuclide adsorption by sediment; desorption from sediment into water; and transport, deposition, and resuspension of sorbed radionuclides controlled by the sediment movements. During FY-1979, the modification of sediment and contaminant (radionuclide) transport model, FETRA, was completed to make it applicable to coastal waters. The model is an unsteady, two-dimensional (longitudinal and lateral) model that consists of three submodels (for sediment, dissolved-contaminant, and particulate-contaminant transport), coupled to include the sediment-contaminant interactions. In estuaries, flow phenomena and consequent sediment and radionuclide migration are often three-dimensional in nature mainly because of nonuniform channel cross-sections, salinity intrusion, and lateral-flow circulation. Thus, an unsteady, three-dimensional radionuclide transport model for estuaries is also being synthesized by combining and modifying a PNL unsteady hydrothermal model and FETRA. These two radionuclide transport models for coastal waters and estuaries will be applied to actual sites to examine the validity of the codes.

This report presents the in-reactor data collected from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)/Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) Halden test assembly IFA-432 for the period from April 1978 through May 1980. The irradiation test is part of an experimental program entitled 11 Experimental Support and Development of Single-Rod Fuel Codes" sponsored by the Fuel Behavior Research Branch of the NRC. The purpose of this program is to reduce the uncertainties of predicting the thermal and mechanical behavior of an operating nuclear fuel rod, Fuel centerline temperatures, cladding elongation, internal fuel rod pressures, and local powers at the thermocouple (TC) positions are shown as a function of time. The local powers were derived from neutron detector readings while the other variables were measured directly. Detailed analysis of the data is not made, but topical reports discussing certain aspects of the data are referenced. Descriptions of the assembly, instrumentation and calibration, and data processing methods are also presented.