This report contains an initial definition of the field tests proposed for the Yucca Mountain Project repository sealing program. The tests are intended to resolve various performance and emplacement concerns. Examples of concerns to be addressed include achieving selected hydrologic and structural requirements for seals, removing portions of the shaft liner, excavating keyways, emplacing cementitious and earthen seals, reducing the impact of fines on the hydraulic conductivity of fractures, efficient grouting of fracture zones, sealing of exploratory boreholes, and controlling the flow of water by using engineered designs. Ten discrete tests are proposed to address these and other concerns. These tests are divided into two groups: Seal component tests and performance confirmation tests. The seal component tests are thorough small-scale in situ tests, the intermediate-scale borehole seal tests, the fracture grouting tests, the surface backfill tests, and the grouted rock mass tests. The seal system tests are the seepage control tests, the backfill tests, the bulkhead test in the Calico Hills unit, the large-scale shaft seal and shaft fill tests, and the remote borehole sealing tests. The tests are proposed to be performed in six discrete areas, including welded and non-welded environments, primarily located outside the potential repository area. The …

We are developing CMOS circuits for readout of interpolating cathode strip and pad chambers for the GEM experiment at the SSC. Because these detectors require position resolution of about 1% of the strip pitch, the electronic noise level must be less than 2000 electrons. Several test chips have been fabricated to demonstrate the feasibility of achieving the combination of low noise, speed, and wide dynamic range in CMOS. Results to date show satisfactory noise and linearity performance. Future development will concentrate on radiation-hardening the central tracker ASIC design, optimizing the shaper peaking time and noise contribution, providing more user-configurable output options, and packaging and test issues.

Vehicles powered by fuel cells operate more efficiently, more quietly, and more cleanly than internal combustion engines (ICEs). Furthermore, methanol-fueled fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) can utilize major elements of the existing fueling infrastructure of present-day liquid-fueled ICE vehicles (ICEVs). DOE has maintained an active program to stimulate the development and demonstration o fuel cell technologies in conjunction with rechargeable batteries in road vehicles. The purpose of this study is to identify and assess the availability of data on FCVs, and to develop a vehicle subsystem structure that can be used to compare both FCVs and ICEV, from a number of perspectives--environmental impacts, energy utilization, materials usage, and life cycle costs. This report focuses on methanol-fueled FCVs fueled by gasoline, methanol, and diesel fuel that are likely to be demonstratable by the year 2000. The comparative analysis presented covers four vehicles--two passenger vehicles and two urban transit buses. The passenger vehicles include an ICEV using either gasoline or methanol and an FCV using methanol. The FCV uses a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell, an on-board methanol reformer, mid-term batteries, and an AC motor. The transit bus ICEV was evaluated for both diesel and methanol fuels. The transit bus FCV runs …

The US Department of Energy, through the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project Office, has designated the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada for detailed study as the candidate US geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Site characterization will determine the suitability of the Yucca Mountain site for the potential waste repository. If the site is determined suitable, subsequent studies and characterization will be conducted to obtain authorization from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to construct the potential waste repository. A principal component of the characterization and licensing processes involves numerically predicting the thermal and hydrologic response of the subsurface environment of the Yucca Mountain site to the potential repository over a 10,000-year period. The thermal and hydrologic response of the subsurface environment to the repository is anticipated to include complex processes of countercurrent vapor and liquid migration, multiple-phase heat transfer, multiple-phase transport, and geochemical reactions. Numerical simulators based on mathematical descriptions of these subsurface phenomena are required to make numerical predictions of the thermal and hydrologic response of the Yucca Mountain subsurface environment The engineering simulator called the Multiphase Subsurface Transport Simulator (MSTS) was developed at the request of the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project Office to produce …

A plasma coating system has been developed for induction melting zirconium at 1900 C using a graphite crucible. This laminated coating system consists of plasma spraying the following materials onto the graphite: (1) molybdenum or tungsten, (2) a 50% blend by weight of the metal powder and calcia-stabilized zirconium oxide, and (3) calcia-stabilized zirconia followed by painting a final coating of nonstabilized zirconia on top of the plasma-sprayed coating system. Zirconium was melted in argon using both laminating systems without any degradation of the graphite crucible and with only a minimal amount of carbon absorption. This novel approach that is being proposed as an alternative method of melting zirconium alloys offers substantial cost savings over the standard practice of electric arc melting using a consumable electrode.

A program was established for DOE Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (EM) to evaluate factors that are anticipated to affect waste glass reaction during repository disposal, especially in an unsaturated environment typical of what may be expected for the proposed Yucca Mountain repository site. This report covers progress in FY 1992 on the following tasks: 1. A compendium of the characteristics of high-level nuclear waste borosilicate glass has been written. 2. A critical review of important parameters that affect the reactivity of glass in an unsaturated environment is being prepared. 3. A series of tests has been started to evaluate the reactivity of fully radioactive glasses in a high-level waste repository environment and compare it to the reactivity of synthetic, nonradioactive glasses of similar composition. 4. The effect of radiation upon the durability of waste glasses at a high glass surface area-to-liquid volume (SA/V) ratio and a high gas-to-liquid volume ratio will be assessed. These tests address both vapor and high SA/V liquid conditions. 5. A series of tests is being performed to compare the extent of reaction of nuclear waste glasses at various SAN ratios. Such differences in the SAN ratio may significantly affect glass durability. 6. A series …

Commercial logging contractors, Western Atlas, Schlumberger, and Edcon obtained borehole geophysical logs at the site of a potential high level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Drill hole USW-G2 was picked for this test of suitable logging tools and logging technology, both representing state-of-the-art technology by these commercial companies. Experience gained by analysis of existing core data and a variety of logs obtained earlier by Birdwell and Dresser Atlas served as a guide to a choice of logs to be obtained. Logs were obtained in water-filled borehole in zeolitized tuff (saturated zone) and in air-filled borehole largely in unaltered welded tuff (unsaturated zone).

Recent data from the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) indicate that water is entering the sumps located in the bottom of Tank Firm Vaults in quantities that exceed expected levels. In addition, perched water body(s) exist beneath the northern portion of the ICPP. Questions have been raised concerning the origin of water entering the Tank Farm sumps and the recharge sources for the perched water bodies. Therefore, in an effort to determine the source of water, a project has been initiated to identify the source of water for Tank Farm sumps and the perched water bodies. In addition, an accurate water balance for the ICPP will be developed. The purpose of this report is to present the specific results and conclusions for the ICPP water balance portion of the study. In addition, the status of the other activities being conducted as part of study, along with the associated action plans, is provided.

This document is an annual report describing investigations of natural groundwater hazards at the proposed Yucca Mountain, Nevada High-Level Nuclear Waste Repository.This document describes research studies of the origin of near surface calcite/silica deposits at Yucca Mountain. The origin of these deposits is controversial and the authors have extended and strengthened the basis of their arguments for epigenetic, metasomatic alteration of the tuffs at Yucca Mountain. This report includes stratigraphic, mineralogical, and geochronological information along with geochemical data to support the conclusions described by Livingston and Szymanski, and others. As part of their first annual report, they take this opportunity to clarify the technical basis of their concerns and summarize the critical geological field evidence and related information. Selected papers are indexed separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.

The Society of Automotive Engineers Recommended Practice, SAE J1634, {open_quotes}Electric Vehicle Energy Consumption and Range Test Procedure{close_quotes}, May 1993, describes a standard method of determining the range and energy consumption for electric vehicles. Consequent to the U.S. Department of Energy`s (DOE) rulemaking released on February 4, 1994, the EPA is currently considering factoring electric vehicles into the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) calculations using the SAE J1634 procedure. The purpose of this project is to provide information regarding the suitability of this recommended practice for determining the energy economy value to be factored into the CAFE. Issues leading to possible inconsistent results (such as the repeatability of the procedure, thoroughness of the procedure`s methods, and variance between different laboratories using different dynamometers) need to be resolved prior to passing legislation which will mandate use of this test in determining the electric vehicle CAFE credit. To this end, separate tests were performed on a Soleq EVcort vehicle by the INEL, the EPA, Ford Motor Company, Southwest Research Institute, and the California Air Resources Board using their own facilities and personnel. Acceptable departures from the driving profile prescribed by SAEJ1634 are not well defined. This deficiency in the procedure is even more …

Although coal is the most plentiful energy source in US (providing {approx} 1/3 of the quads of total energy consumed in 1987), its use has been largely restricted to utility power generation since World War II. Objective of this program is to demonstrate the technical and economic viability of a coal-fired combustion system for schools, office buildings, apartment complexes, etc. in the commercial sector. Fuel form is an important consideration because of impact on handling and emissions. Preparation and use of a coal-water slurry (CWS) fuel can aid in meeting these criteria; CS eliminates the need for dry pulverized coal (dust, explosion hazard). The commercial-scale CWS-fired space heating system is a scale-up of a CWS-fired residential warm-air heating system developed by Tecogen. During the past quarter, most activities were centered around finalizing the host site installation design and finalizing the host site installation design and preparing the equipment for shipment to ICDP facility. An optional SO{sub 2} reactor with enhanced sorbent utilization was installed and tested.

With statistical analysis of global data from one, two and four stellarators, it is possible to draw limited conclusions whether Gyro- Bohm or Bohm scaling prevails. Either scaling may be favored, depending on whether corrections are included for possible {Beta} and v{sub *} corrections and whether all data are taken, or selected cases with low collisionality, or low net toroidal current, or with ECH heating applied, and so on. Monte Carlo-like simulations are used to test reliability of inferences about power-law scaling exponents made from data having substantial statistical variance and collinearity of control parameters. These show that for reliable conclusions, statistical studies should be augmented; more directed experimental studies are needed, with well controlled discharges and radially resolved data - such as those already begun on ATF and W7-AS.

In the commercial sector, oil and natural gas are the predominant fuels used to meet space-heating needs of schools, office buildings, apartment complexes, etc. These buildings generally require firing rates of 1 to 10 million Btu/hr. Objective of this program is to demonstrate the technical and economic viability of a coal-fired combustion system for this sector. The commercial-scale coal-water slurry (CWS)-fired space heating system is a scale-up of a CWS-fired residential warm-air heating system developed by Tecogen Inc. This system included a patented nonslagging combustor known as IRIS (Inertial Reactor with Internal Separation). The combustor concept employs centrifugal forces combined with a staged combustion process to achieve high carbon conversion efficiencies and low N oxides generation. Along with the necessary fuel storage and delivery, heat recovery, and control equipment, the system includes pollution control devices to meet targeted values of SO{sub 2} and particulate emissions. In general, the system is designed to match the reliability, safety, turndown, and ignition performance of gas or oil-fired systems. During the 8th quarter of this program, a demonstration plan was developed for installation and operation of the space heating system at an actual installation. Also, equipment upgrades were implemented and laboratory testing performed to …

The DIII-D tokamak research program is carried out by, General Atomics (GA) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The DIII-D is the most flexible tokamak in the world. The primary goal of the DIII-D tokamak research program is to provide data needed by International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and to develop a conceptual physics blueprint for a commercially attractive electrical demonstration plant (DEMO) that would open a path to fusion power commercialization. Specific DIII-D objectives include the steady-state sustainment of plasma current as well as demonstrating techniques for microwave heating, divertor heat removal, fuel exhaust and tokamak plasma control. The DIII-D program is addressing these objectives in an integrated fashion with high beta and with good confinement. The DIII-D long-range plan is organized into two major thrusts; the development of an advanced divertor and the development of advanced tokamak concepts. These two thrusts have a common goal: an improved DEMO reactor with lower cost and smaller size than the present DEMO which can be extrapolated from the conventional ITER operational scenario. In order to prepare for the long-range program, in FY92 the DIII-D research program concentrated on three major areas: Divertor and Boundary Physics, Advanced Tokamak Studies, and Tokamak …

A new test method was developed which showed the installed In- Tank Precipitation Filter Unit {number_sign}3 provided at least 40, 000 x decontamination of the precipitated potassium tetraphenylborate (KTPB) during the cold chemical runs.This filter is expected to meet the needed 40,000 x hot cesium decontamination requirements, assuming that the cesium precipitate, CsTPB, behaves the same as KTPB. The new method permits cold chemicals field testing of installed filters to quantify particulate decontamination and verify filter integrity before going hot. The method involves a 1000 x concentration of fine particulate KTPB in the filtrate to allow direct analysis by counting for naturally radioactive isotope K-40 using the underground SRTC gamma spectroscopy facility. The particulate concentration was accomplished by ultra filtration at Rhone-Poulenc, NJ, using a small cross-flow bench facility, followed by collection of all suspended solids on a small filter disc for K analysis.

Existing ITP filtrate hold tanks may provide sufficient capacity and residence time to strip dissolved benzene from the incoming filtrate using nitrogen sparging in the bottom of the old tanks. This is based on equilibrium supported by late Wash test data using aged washed slurry. Theoretical considerations indicate that benzene stripping will be more difficult from the ITP unwashed high salt filtrates due to reduced mass transfer. Therefore experimental sparging data is needed to quantify the theoretical effects.Foaming limits which dictate allowable sparging rate will also have to be established. Sparging in the hold tanks will require installation of sintered metal spargers, and possibly stirrers and foam monitoring/disengagement equipment. The most critical sparging needs are at the start of the precipitation/concentration cycle, when the filtrate flux rate is the highest,and at the end of wash cycle where Henry`s equilibrium constant falls off,requiring more gas to sparge the dissolved benzene. With adequate recycle (for proper distribution) or sparging in the old tanks, the 30 inch column could be used for the complete ITP process. A courser packing would reduce back pressure while enabling benzene stripping. The Late Wash Tests indicate adequate benzene stripping even at reduced gas flow. This will require …

The Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project`s Technical Assistance Contractor (TAC) performed a radiological audit of the Remedial Action Contractor (RAC), MK-Ferguson and CWM Federal Environmental Services, Inc., at the processing sites in Mexican Hat, Utah, and Monument Valley, Arizona. This audit was conducted May 3--7, 1993, by Bill James and Gerry Simiele of the TAC. Three site-specific findings and four observations were identified during the audit and are presented in this report. The overall conclusion from the audit is that the majority of the radiological aspects of the Mexican Hat, Utah, and Monument Valley, Arizona, remedial action programs are performed adequately. However, the findings identify that there is some inconsistency in following procedures and meeting requirements for contamination control, and a lack of communication between the RAC and the DOE on variances from the published remedial action plan (RAP).

To license the Canonsburg site, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has required that geomorphic stability be demonstrated for the stream banks and slopes around the perimeter of the site for 200 years. Based on a study of the stream channel and slopes, it has been determined that due to recent human intervention, the required geomorphic stability cannot now be achieved without installation of erosion protection works and continued monitoring of the site. The Pittsburgh District Corps of Engineers has plans to channelize Chartiers Creek and install erosion protection rock within the next 5 or 6 years, if local government agencies raise the necessary matching funds. Much of the stream bank and slope adjacent to the ``fenced in`` western area of the site is anticipated to remain geomorphically stable for more than 20 years, but less than 200 years without human intervention. Therefore in much of this area, the Corps of Engineers will have adequate time to perform its work without jeopardizing the integrity of the controlled area. In contrast, two approximately 200-foot (ft) (60-meter [m]) long portions of the stream channel located north-northwest of the encapsulation area are subject to active stream erosion that threatens the integrity of the …

Analysis of trends over time in the concentrations of chemicals in groundwater at Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project sites can provide valuable information for monitoring the performance of disposal cells and the effectiveness of groundwater restoration activities. Random variation in data may obscure real trends or may produce the illusion of a trend where none exists, so statistical methods are needed to reliably detect and estimate trends. Trend analysis includes both trend detection and estimation. Trend detection uses statistical hypothesis testing and provides a yes or no answer regarding the existence of a trend. Hypothesis tests try to reach a balance between false negative and false positive conclusions. To quantify the magnitude of a trend, estimation is required. This report presents the statistical concepts that are necessary for understanding trend analysis. The types of patterns most likely to occur in UMTRA data sets are emphasized. Two general approaches to analyzing data for trends are proposed and recommendations are given to assist UMTRA Project staff in selecting an appropriate method for their site data. Trend analysis is much more difficult when data contain values less than the reported laboratory detection limit. The complications that arise are explained. This report …

The study was designed to identify methods to determine adsorption applicable to Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project sites, and to determine how changes in aquifer conditions affect metal adsorption, resulting retardation factors, and estimated contaminant migration rates. EPA and ASTM procedures were used to estimate sediment sorption of U, As, and Mo under varying groundwater geochemical conditions. Aquifer matrix materials from three distinct locations at the DOE UMTRA Project site in Rifle, CO, were used as the adsorbents under different pH conditions; these conditions stimulated geochemical environments under the tailings, near the tailings, and downgradient from the tailings. Grain size, total surface area, bulk and clay mineralogy, and petrography of the sediments were characterized. U and Mo yielded linear isotherms, while As had nonlinear ones. U and Mo were adsorbed strongly on sediments acidified to levels similar to tailings leachate. Changes in pH had much less effect on As adsorption. Mo was adsorbed very little at pH 7-7.3, U was weakly sorbed, and As was moderately sorbed. Velocities were estimated for metal transport at different pHs. Results show that the aquifer materials must be characterized to estimate metal transport velocities in aquifers and to develop groundwater restoration strategies …

The TVA Kingston Fossil Power Plant has nine units and is located near Kingston, Tennessee. Units 1 through 4 have a rating of 148 MW and units 5 through 9 have a rating of 197 MW. Each unit has two induced draft fans manufactured by Westinghouse Electric Corp., Sturtevant Division. A table showing design data for the induced draft fans is located on page 16 of this report. The fan blade design details for units 5 through 9 are shown on pages 11 through 14. There is a mechanical fly ash collector and a small electrostatic precipitator preceding the induced draft fans in the boiler flue gas stream and a large, efficient electrostatic precipitator downstream of these fans. The steam generators and pulverizers were supplied by Combustion Engineering. The average temperature of the flue gas is about 340 degrees Fahrenheit for units 5 through 9. All induced draft fans in the boiler flue gas stream experience erosion from fly ash. When the precipitators and fly ash collectors were new the fan blades would last about three years before they were eroded severely and had to be replaced. Kingston Plant personnel say the fly ash collectors are presently in need of …

The authors describe the detailed protocol developed in their laboratory at Oak Ridge for the permeabilization and cryobiological preservation of embryos of Drosophila melanogaster, Oregon R strain. The protocol is supplemented by notes containing two sorts of information. One category includes references to the appropriate portions of their published papers giving the scientific rationale and experimental basis for important steps. The other category is concerned with the criticality of certain steps and the precision with which they need to be performed. As an aid to investigators, the authors list even ordinary pieces of equipment. Brand names and model numbers are given where it is either important or convenient for readers to know precisely what is used.

The Savannah River Site (SRS) is located in the Atlantic Coastal Plaingeologic province. This area is characterized by low relief, predominantly unconsolidated sediments of Cretaceous though Tertiary age. A multiple aquifer system underlies the A/M Area and affects the definition and distribution of a contaminant plume. The water table and uppermost confined aquifer (Steed Pond Aquifer) are contaminated with elevated concentrations of trichloroethylene(TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and their associated compounds. The deeper aquifers in this area have less widely spread chlorinated hydrocarbon contamination.Cone penetrometer testing was selected as the method of investigation because it is minimally invasive, offers advanced technological capabilities in gathering lithologic data, and offers groundwater sampling capabilities. CPT testing utilizes a hydraulic push tool system. The probe collects real-time data that is processed by computer into soil/lithology classifications. The system can also be used to collect sediment and soil vapor samples although these features were not utilized during this project. Advantages of the CPT system include a small borehole diameter which minimizes cross-contamination of lithologic units, virtual elimination of drill cuttings and fluids that require disposal, collection of various types of undisturbed sediment and water samples and plotting of hydrostratigraphic and lithologic data while in the field.

Cancer has traditionally been linked to exposure to high doses of radiation, but there is considerable controversy regarding the carcinogenicity of low doses of ionizing radiation in humans. Over the past 30 years there have been 14 studies conducted on employees at the Hanford nuclear weapons facility to investigate the relationship between exposure to low doses of radiation and mortality due to cancer (1-14). Interest in this issue was originally stimulated by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) which was trying to determine whether the linear extrapolation of health effects from high to low dose exposure was accurate. If the risk has been underestimated, then the maximum permissible occupational radiation exposure in the United States had been set too high. Because the health risk associated with low level radiation are unclear and controversial it seems appropriate to review the studies relating to Hanford at this time.