A new method for characterizing ventilation in commercial buildings using the Pollutant Concentration Index (PCI) was evaluated via field studies in four buildings. The PCI parameter quantifies the effectiveness of ventilation in controlling air pollutant exposures for pollutants released continuously and spatially uniformly within the building. For the measurements, passive tracer gas sources spaced uniformly per unit floor area, simulated an indoor pollutant. The sources continuously released the tracer gas at a known rate. During the occupied periods of several days, air samples from seated breathing-level locations were collected in gas storage bags. The PCI values were based on the tracer gas concentrations in the sample storage bags and on the indoor tracer gas emission rate. The technique was successfully implemented in buildings ranging in floor area from 129 m{sup 2} to 4475 m{sup 2}. Results of these studies indicated that the spacing of tracer gas sources, between 8 and 73 m{sup 2}/source, had little effect upon measured values of the PCI. The agreement between PCI values measured simultaneously with two different tracers was usually within 15%. The precision of PCI measurements made with a single tracer gas was approximately 5%. Measured PCI values were referenced to predicted values for …

The CALOR code system, which is a complete radiation transport code system, is described with emphasis on the high-energy (> 20 MeV) nuclear collision models. Codes similar to CALOR are also briefly discussed. A current application using CALOR which deals with the development of the National Spallation Neutron Source is also given.

In this talk we will review current results concerning bottom and charm physics from Fermilab Fixed Target experiments E672/E706, E769, E771, E781 (SELEX), E789, D791, E831 (FOCUS). Both production and decay physics will be reviewed. Results from Charmonium production will be presented in another talk at this conference.

A methodology is described for an airborne, downlooking, longwave infrared imaging spectrometer based technique for the detection and tracking of plumes of toxic gases. Plumes can be observed in emission or absorption, depending on the thermal contrast between the vapor and the background terrain. While the sensor is currently undergoing laboratory calibration and characterization, a radiative exchange phenomenology model has been developed to predict sensor response and to facilitate the sensor design. An inverse problem model has also been developed to obtain plume parameters based on sensor measurements. These models, the sensors, and ongoing activities are described.

Argonne National Laboratory is a research and development laboratory located 25 miles southwest of Chicago, Illinois. It has more than 200 programs in basic and applied sciences and an Industrial Technology Development Center to help move its technologies to the industrial sector. At Argonne, basic energy research is supported by applied research in diverse areas such as biology and biomedicine, energy conservation, fossil and nuclear fuels, environmental science, and parallel computer architectures. These capabilities translate into technological expertise in energy production and use, advanced materials and manufacturing processes, and waste minimization and environmental remediation, which can be shared with the industrial sector. The Laboratory`s technologies can be applied to help companies design products, substitute materials, devise innovative industrial processes, develop advanced quality control systems and instrumentation, and address environmental concerns. The latest techniques and facilities, including those involving modeling, simulation, and high-performance computing, are available to industry and academia. At Argonne, there are opportunities for industry to carry out cooperative research, license inventions, exchange technical personnel, use unique research facilities, and attend conferences and workshops. Technology transfer is one of the Laboratory`s major missions. High priority is given to strengthening U.S. technological competitiveness through research and development partnerships with industry …

A new screening method for fuel contamination in soils was recently developed as American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Method D-583 1-95, Standard Test Method for Screening Fuels in Soils. This method uses low-toxicity chemicals and can be used to screen organic-rich soils. In addition, it is fast, easy, and inexpensive to perform. The screening method calls for extracting a sample of soil with isopropyl alcohol following treatment with calcium oxide. The resulting extract is filtered, and the ultraviolet absorbance of the extract is measured at 254 nm. Depending on the available information concerning the contaminant fuel type and availability of the contaminant fuel for calibration, the method can be used to determine the approximate concentration of fuel contamination, an estimated value of fuel contamination, or an indication of the presence or absence of fuel contamination. Fuels containing aromatic compounds, such as diesel fuel and gasoline, as well as other aromatic-containing hydrocarbon materials, such as motor oil, crude oil, and coal oil, can be determined. The screening method for fuels in soils was evaluated by conducting a collaborative study on the method and by using the method to screen soil samples at an actual field site. In the collaborative …

On April 28, 1995, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued Generic Letter (GL) 95-03, {open_quote}Circumferential Cracking of Steam Generator Tubes.{close_quote} GL 95-03 was issued to obtain information needed to verify licensee compliance with existing regulatory requirements regarding the integrity of steam generator tubes in domestic pressurized-water reactors (PWRs). This report briefly describes the design and function of domestic steam generators and summarizes the staff`s assessment of the responses to GL 95-03. The report concludes with several observations related to steam generator operating experience. This report is intended to be representative of significant operating experience pertaining to circumferential cracking of steam generator tubes from April 1995 through December 1996. Operating experience prior to April 1995 is discussed throughout the report, as necessary, for completeness.

The primary objective of this subcontract is to establish reliable high-throughput, high-yield thin film deposition processes in order to make CIS a viable option for the next generation of photovoltaics. The primary goals for the project are to deliver a champion prototype 13% efficient large area module and to deliver sets of modules in 1-kW arrays composed of steadily increasing efficiency, reaching 1 kW of 12% efficient large-area modules by the end of the third year, demonstrating performance as well as commercial viability. The focus of the deliverables on large sets of high-performance modules reflects Siemens Solar Industries` commitment to demonstrating a reliable low-cost product. This document reports on progress from September 1995 through September 1996.

This Corrective Action Plan (CAP) has been prepared to meet the requirements specified in the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO, 1996). A Corrective Action Decision Document (CADD) (DOE, 1997) was submitted to the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection (NDEP) January 31, 1997 for the Clean Slate 1 (CS-1) Site in accordance with the Corrective Action Investigation Plan (CAIP) (DOE, 1996) and the Soils Media Operable Unit Quality Assurance Project Plan (DOE, 1995). The FFACO lists CS-1 as Corrective Action Unit (CAU) number 412.

The steam cleaning effluent ponds (SCEP) waste unit is located in Area 6 at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Nevada Operations Office operates the NTS and has entered into a trilateral agreement with the State of Nevada and the Defense Special Weapons Agency (DSWA). The trilateral agreement provides a framework for identifying, characterizing, remediating, and closing environmental sites on the NTS and associated bombing ranges. The SCEP waste unit consists of: two steam cleaning effluent ponds; layout pad and associated grease trap; Building 6-623 steam cleaning pad; test pad; Building 6-623 grease trap; Building 6-800 steam cleaning pad; Building 6-800 separator; Building 6-621 sump; and the concrete asbestos piping connecting these components to both SCEPs. Clean closure is the recommended closure strategy for the majority of the components within this CAU. Four components of the unit (Building 6-621 Sump, Test Pad Grease Trap, Building 6-623 Steam Cleaning Pad, and North SCEP pipeline) are recommended to be closed in place. This closure plan provides the strategy and backup information necessary to support the clean closure of each of the individual components within CAU 93. Analytical data generated during the characterization field work and earlier sampling events indicates the majority of CAU …

Full wave ICRF coupling models show differences in plasma response when antenna arrays are phase to drive currents and counter to the plasma current. The source of this difference lies in the natural up- sown asymmetry of the antenna`s radiated power spectrum. This asymmetry is due to Hall terms in the wave equation, and occurs even without a poloidal magnetic field. When a poloidal field is included, the up-down asymmetry acquires a toroidal component. The result is that plasma absorption (i.e. antenna loading) is shifted or skewed toward the co-current drive direction, independent of the direction of the magnetic field. When wave are launched to drive current counter the plasma current , electron heating an current profiles are more peaked on axis, and this peaking becomes more pronounce a lower toroidal magnetic fields.

A {open_quotes}collaboratory{close_quotes} has been defined as a center without walls, in which researchers can perform their work without regard to geographical location. To an increasing degree, engineering design and development is also taking the form of far-flung collaborations among divisions of a plant, subcontractors, university consultants and customers. It has long been recognized that quality engineering education presents the student with an environment that duplicates as much as possible that which the graduate will encounter in industry. To that end, it is important that engineering schools begin to introduce the collaboratory approach in its preparation, and even use it in delivery of subject matter to students.

Contaminant transport is traditionally modeled in a two-phase system: a mobile aqueous phase and an immobile solid phase. Over the last 15 years, there has been an increasing awareness of a third, mobile solid phase. This mobile solid phase, or mobile colloids, are organic or inorganic submicron-sized particles that move with groundwater flow. When colloids are present, the net effect on radionuclide transport is that radionuclides can move faster through the system. It is not known whether mobile colloids exist in the subsurface environment of the Hanford Site. Furthermore, it is not known if mobile colloids would likely exist in a plume emanating from a Low Level Waste (LLW) disposal site. No attempt was made in this study to ascertain whether colloids would form. Instead, experiments and calculations were conducted to evaluate the likelihood that colloids, if formed, would remain in suspension and move through saturated and unsaturated sediments. The objectives of this study were to evaluate three aspects of colloid-facilitated transport of radionuclides as they specifically relate to the LLW Performance Assessment. These objectives were: (1) determine if the chemical conditions likely to exist in the near and far field of the proposed disposal site are prone to induce …

A review is given of the talks and papers presented in the Commodity Hardware and Software Session at the CHEP97 conference. An examination of the trends leading to the consideration of PC`s for HEP is given, and a status of the work that is being done at various HEP labs and Universities is given.

The effect of three communication schemes for solving Arbitrarily High Order Transport (AHOT) methods of the Nodal type on parallel performance is examined via direct measurements and performance models. The target architecture in this study is Oak Ridge National Laboratory`s 128 node Paragon XP/S 5 computer and the parallelization is based on the Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM) library. However, the conclusions reached can be easily generalized to a large class of message passing platforms and communication software. The three schemes considered here are: (1) PVM`s global operations (broadcast and reduce) which utilizes the Paragon`s native corresponding operations based on a spanning tree routing; (2) the Bucket algorithm wherein the angular domain decomposition of the mesh sweep is complemented with a spatial domain decomposition of the accumulation process of the scalar flux from the angular flux and the convergence test; (3) a distributed memory version of the Bucket algorithm that pushes the spatial domain decomposition one step farther by actually distributing the fixed source and flux iterates over the memories of the participating processes. Their conclusion is that the Bucket algorithm is the most efficient of the three if all participating processes have sufficient memories to hold the entire problem arrays. …

This report summarizes research completed under a Laboratory Directed Research and Development program funded for part of FY94, FY95 and FY96. The main goals were (1) to develop novel, compound-semiconductor based optical sources to enable field-based detection of environmentally important chemical species using miniaturized, low-power, rugged, moderate cost spectroscopic equipment, and (2) to demonstrate the utility of near-infrared spectroscopy to quantitatively measure contaminants. Potential applications would include monitoring process and effluent streams for volatile organic compound detection and sensing head-space gasses in storage vessels for waste management. Sensing is based on absorption in the 1.3-1.9 {mu}m band from overtones of the C-H, N-H and O-H stretch resonances. We describe work in developing novel broadband light-emitting diodes emitting over the entire 1.4-1.9 {mu}m wavelength range, first using InGaAs quantum wells, and second using a novel technique for growing digital-alloy materials in the InAlGaAs material system. Next we demonstrate the utility of near-infrared spectroscopy for quantitatively determining contamination of soil by motor oil. Finally we discuss the separability of different classes of organic compounds using near-infrared spectroscopic techniques.

The US Department of Energy office of Fissile Materials Disposition (DOE/MD) has been evaluating three technologies for the disposition of approximately 50 metric tons of surplus plutonium from defense-related programs: reactors, immobilization, and deep boreholes. As part of the process supporting an early CY 1997 Record of Decision (ROD), a comprehensive assessment of technical viability, cost, and schedule has been conducted by DOE/MD and its national laboratory contractors. Oak Ridge National Laboratory has managed and coordinated the life-cycle cost (LCC) assessment effort for this program. This paper discusses the economic analysis methodology and the results prior to ROD. A secondary intent of the paper is to discuss major technical and economic issues that impact cost and schedule. To evaluate the economics of these technologies on an equitable basis, a set of cost-estimating guidelines and a common cost-estimating format were utilized by all three technology teams. This paper also includes the major economic analysis assumptions and the comparative constant-dollar and discounted-dollar LCCs.

Hazards assessments and accompanying accident and human health and risk calculations are routinely done to establish Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) boundaries for facilities managing hazardous and/or radioactive materials. This paper reviews the underlying US DOE guidance, assesses the degree of conformance to the guidance in recent hazards assessments performed to support selection of EPZ boundaries, and compares the consistency of the accident analysis approaches and underlying key assumptions. Recommendations are made on the basis of these reviews, as well as from knowledge of the approaches used in safety assessments performed in support of safety analysis reports (SARs) and environmental impact statements (EISs).

This document, prepared by the National Low-Level Waste Management Program at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, is a comparison and cross-reference of commercial low-level radioactive waste acceptance criteria. Many of these are draft or preliminary criteria as well as implemented criteria at operating low-level radioactive waste management facilities. Waste acceptance criteria from the following entities are included: US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, South Carolina, Washington, Utah, Nevada, California, illinois, Texas, North Carolina, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, New York, and the Midwest Compact Region. Criteria in the matrix include the following: physical form, chemical form, liquid limits, void space in packages, concentration averaging, types of packaging, chelating agents, solidification media, stability requirements, sorptive media, gas, oil, biological waste, pyrophorics, source material, special nuclear material, package dimensions, incinerator ash, dewatered resin, transuranics, and mixed waste. Each criterion in the matrix is cross-referenced to its source document so that exact requirements can be determined.

In numerical calculations of idealized bubble dynamics test problems, Los Alamos computational tools perform well. A realistic equation of state must be used and geometrical features must be carefully modeled to simulate experiments accurately. In this work, we compare numerical simulations taking these features into account with experiments performed at the Medizinisches Laserzentrum Lubeck. We compare the measured and calculated positions of the shock front and of the bubble wall as a function of time in the laser optical breakdown of water produced by 30-ps 1-mJ Nd:YAG laser pulses.

Lagrangian stochastic modeling based on the Langevin equation has been shown to be useful for simulating vertical dispersion of trace material in the convective boundary layer or CBL. This modeling approach can account for the effects of the long velocity correlation time scales, skewed vertical velocity distributions, and vertically inhomogeneous turbulent properties found in the CBL. It has been recognized that Langevin equation models assuming skewed but homogenous velocity statistics can capture the important aspects of diffusion from sources in the CBL, especially elevated sources. We compare three reflection boundary conditions using two different Langevin-equation-based numerical models for vertical dispersion in skewed, homogeneous turbulence. One model, described by Ermak and Nasstrom (1995) is based on a Langevin equation with a skewed random force and a linear deterministic force. The second model, used by Hurley and Physick (1993) is based on a Langevin equation with a Gaussian random force and a non-linear deterministic force. The reflection boundary conditions are all based on the approach described by Thompson and Montgomery (1994).

Ross developed an analytical relationship to calculate the diversion length of a tilted fine-over-coarse capillary barrier. Oldenburg and Pruess compared simulation results using upstream and harmonic weighting to the diversion length predicted by Ross formula with mixed results; the qualitative agreement is reasonable but the quantitative comparison is poor, especially for upstream weighting. The proximity of the water table to the fine-coarse interface at breakthrough is a possible reason for the poor agreement. In the present study, the Oldenburg and Pruess problem is extended to address the water table issue. When the water table is sufficiently far away from the interface at breakthrough, good qualitative and quantitative agreement is obtained using upstream weighting.

Both liquid Hg and Pb-Bi eutectic have been proposed as possible target materials for spallation neutron sources. During the 1950s and 1960s, a substantial program existed at BNL as part of the Liquid Metal Fuel Reactor program on compatibility of Bi, Pb, and their alloys with structural materials. Subsequently, compatibility studies of Hg with structural materials were performed in support of development of Rankine-cycle Hg turbines for nuclear applications. This paper reviews our understanding of the corrosion/mass-transfer reactions of structural materials with these liquid-metal coolants. Topics discussed include the basic solubility relations of Fe, Cr, Ni, and refractory metals in these liquid metals, results of inhibition studies, role of oxygen on corrosion, and specialized topics such as cavitation corrosion and liquid-metal embrittlement. Emphasis is on utilizing the understanding gained in this earlier work on the development of heavy-liquid-metal targets in spallation neutron sources.

This compilation contains 47 ACRS reports submitted to the Commission, or to the Executive Director for Operations, during calendar year 1996. It also includes a report to the Congress on the NRC Safety Research Program. All reports have been made available to the public through the NRC Public Document Room, the U.S. Library of Congress, and the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/ACRSACNW. The reports are divided into two groups: Part 1 contains ACRS reports by project name and by chronological order within project name. Part 2 categorizes the reports by the most appropriate generic subject area and by chronological order within subject area.