This document provides an overview of the basic planning and work of the Department of Energy Richland Operations Office (DOE-RL). It defines key terms, concepts, and processes used in Hanford`s Environmental Management (EM) activities. It is not intended to provide complete details on the topics discussed. It does, however, provide a roadmap of the overall process so that opportunities for tribal, regulator, and public involvement can be clearly identified. Many documents are referenced in this plan. Each is described in some detail in Section 5, and cross-references to that section are provided throughout the discussion in Sections 1 through 4.

The purpose of this document is to provide a single referenceable document that provides the X/Qs for the solid waste facilities in the 200 Area, that is to provide the X/Qs for the Solid Waste Dispersal Facilities Master Safety Analysis Report (WHC-SD-WM-MSAR-001, REV. 0, 1996). The X/Qs will be used for the radiological dose estimates in the accident safety analyses. Thus, this document is also to provide the information necessary to perform bounding estimates of the radiological consequences for hypothetical accidents for various solid waste facilities. This document is to examine the variations in the plume dispersion factors associated with the various solid waste facilities. Specifically examined are X/Qs associated with different receptors located in different sectors and at different distances. Examination of one facility included a large area X/Q, while examination of another facility included an elevated release. Generally, the X/Qs are determined for ground releases with and without building wake. In addition, sensitivity of how plume characteristics were affected by using different meteorological data was examined. Each receptor described in this document was evaluated for both 99.5% and 50% meteorological data. Attributes such as plume meander, plume rise, settling and wash-out are not considered in this document.

An important consideration in assessing environmental impacts for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is to establish a baseline from which to evaluate potential changes associated with a proposed action. For some assessments, establishment of the baseline is straightforward because the proposed action is located in an undeveloped area which has been negligibly affected by human activity. For other assessments, however, the baseline may be more difficult to determine because the proposed action may occur in an area where human activities have affected the environment and, in essence, have established a new (and often changing) baseline. Frequently, appreciable degradation has occurred on the proposed site itself. For such cases, the question arises as to whether the unperturbed condition or the present condition is more appropriate to use as the baseline. This paper argues that a proposed action in a previously disturbed area should not be assessed merely in relation to the new baseline. Rather, a more comprehensive evaluation should be given that compares potential environmental effects with both the unperturbed condition and the present condition and consequently presents a more balanced approach to the assessment. Furthermore, the sponsoring federal agency should take the opportunity offered by the proposed action to …

Optimization of molecular detection efficiencies is important for analytical applications of single molecule detection methods. In microdroplets some experimental limitations can be reduced, primarily because the molecule cannot diffuse away from the excitation and collection volume. Digital molecular detection using a stream of microdroplets has been proposed as a method of reducing concentration detection limits by several orders of magnitude relative to conventional measurements. However, the bending and reflection of light at the microdroplet`s liquid-air interface cause the illumination intensity and fluorescence intensity collected to be strongly dependent on the position of the molecule within the droplet. The goal is to model the detection of single molecules in microdroplets so that one can better understand and optimize detection efficiencies. In the first year of this modeling effort the authors studied the collection of fluorescence from unit-amplitude dipoles inside of spheres. In this second year they modified their analysis to accurately model the effects of excitation inhomogeneities, including effects of molecular saturation, motion of the droplet, and phase variations between the two counter-propagating waves that illuminate the droplet. They showed that counter-propagating plane wave illumination can decrease the variations in the intensity which excites the molecules. Also in this second year …

With the end of the Cold War, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties (START), and other agreements, the United States and Russia have dramatically reduced their arsenals of nuclear weapons. As a result, each side has accumulated large stockpiles of plutonium, one of the principal materials used in nuclear warheads. The United States recently declared a holding of approximately 50 metric tons of weapons-usable plutonium excess to military needs. Even greater levels are believed to exist in Russia.

PHENIX is one of the two large experiments at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) currently under construction at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The detector consists of 11 sub-detectors, that are further subdivided into 29 units (``granules``) that can be operated independently, which includes simultaneous data taking with independent data streams and independent triggers. The detector has 250,000 channels and is read out by front end modules, where the data is buffered in a pipeline while awaiting the level trigger decision. Zero suppression and calibration is done after the level accept in custom built data collection modules (DCMs) with DSPs before the data is sent to an event builder (design throughput of 2 Gb/sec) and higher level triggers. The On-line Computing Systems Group (ONCS) has two responsibilities. Firstly it is responsible for receiving the data from the event builder, routing it through a network of workstations to consumer processes and archiving it at a data rate of 20 MB/sec. Secondly it is also responsible for the overall configuration, control and operation of the detector and data acquisition chain, which comprises the software integration for several thousand custom built hardware modules. The software must furthermore support the independent operation of the above …

This Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) provides information on how the Quality Assurance Program is implemented for the 324 Building B-Cell Safety Cleanout Project (BCCP). This QAPP is responsive to the Westinghouse Hanford Company Quality Assurance Program and Implementation Plan, WHC-SP-1131, for 10 CFR 830.120, Nuclear Safety Management, Quality Assurance Requirements; and DOE Order 5700.6C, Quality Assurance. This QAPP supersedes PNNL PNL-MA-70 QAP Quality Assurance Plan No. WTC-050 Rev. 2, issue date May 3, 1996. This QAPP has been developed specifically for the BCCP. It applies to those items and tasks which affect the completion of activities identified in the work breakdown structure of the Project Management Plan (PMP). These activities include all aspects of decontaminating B-Cell and project related operations within the 324 Building as it relates to the specific activities of this project. General facility activities (i.e. 324 Building Operations) are covered in the Building 324 QAPP. In addition, this QAPP supports the related quality assurance activities addressed in CM-2-14, Hazardous Material Packaging and Shipping, and HSRCM-1, Hanford Site Radiological Control Manual, The 324 Building is currently transitioning from being a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) managed facility to a B and W Hanford Company (BWHC) managed facility. …

This Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) provides an overview of the quality assurance program for Building 324. This plan supersedes the PNNL Nuclear Facilities Quality Management System Description, PNL-NF-QMSD, Revision 2, dated March 1996. The program applies to the facility safety structures, systems, and components and to activities that could affect safety structures, systems, and components. Adherence to the quality assurance program ensures the following: US Department of Energy missions and objectives are effectively accomplished; Products and services are safe, reliable, and meet or exceed the requirements and expectations of the user; Hazards to the public, to Hanford Site and facility workers, and to the environment are minimized. The format of this Quality Assurance Program Plan is structured to parallel that of 10 CFR 83 0.120, Quality Assurance Requirements.

This Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) provides an overview of the quality assurance program for Building 327. The program applies to the facility safety structures, systems, and components and to activities that could affect safety structures, systems, and components. Adherence to the quality assurance program ensures the following: US Department of Energy missions and objectives are effectively accomplished; Products and services are safe, reliable, and meet or exceed the requirements and expectations of the user; Hazards to the public, to Hanford Site and facility workers, and to the environment are minimized. The format of this Quality Assurance Program Plan is structured to parallel that of 10 CFR 83 0.120, Quality Assurance Requirements. This Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) provides information on how the Quality Assurance Program is implemented for the 324 Building B-Cell Safety Cleanout Project (BCCP). This QAPP is responsive to the Westinghouse Hanford Company Quality Assurance Program and Implementation Plan, WHC-SP 113 1, for 10 CFR 830.120, Nuclear Safety Management, Quality Assurance Requirements; and DOE Order 5700.6C, Quality Assurance. This QAPP supersedes PNNL PNL-MA-70 QAP Quality Assurance Plan No. WTC-050 Rev. 2, issue date May 3, 1996.

This Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) provides information on how the Quality Assurance Program is implemented for the Cesium Legacy Project. It applies to those items and tasks which affect the completion of activities identified in the work breakdown structure of the Project Management Plan (PMP). These activities include all aspects of cask transportation, project related operations within the 324 Building, and waste management as it relates to the specific activities of this project. General facility activities (i.e. 324 Building Operations, Central Waste Complex Operations, etc.) are covered in other appropriate QAPPs. The 324 Building is currently transitioning from being a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) managed facility to a B and W Hanford Company (BWHC) managed facility. During this transition process existing PNNL procedures and documents will be utilized until replaced by BWHC procedures and documents.

This Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) provides information on how the Quality Assurance Program is implemented for the Spent Nuclear Fuel Characterization Support Project. This QAPP has been developed specifically for the Spent Nuclear Fuel Characterization Support Project, per Letter of Instruction (LOI) from Duke Engineering and Services Company, letter No. DESH-9655870, dated Nov. 22, 1996. It applies to those items and tasks which affect the completion of activities identified in the work breakdown structure of the Project Management Plan (PMP) and LOI. These activities include installation of sectioning equipment and furnace, surface and subsurface examinations, sectioning for metallography, and element drying and conditioning testing, as well as project related operations within the 327 facility as it relates to the specific activities of this project. General facility activities are covered in other appropriate QA-PPS. In addition, this QAPP supports the related quality assurance activities addressed in CM-2-14, Hazardous Material Packaging and Shipping,1261 and HSRCM-1, Hanford Site Radiological Control Manual. The 327 Building is currently transitioning from being a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) managed facility to a Babcock and Wilcox Hanford Company (BVMC) managed facility. During this transition process existing procedures and documents will be utilized until replaced by BVMC …

Three nonstandard Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility (WESF) cesium chloride capsules are being shipped from WESF (225B building) to the 324 building. They would normally be shipped in the Beneficial Uses Shipping System (BUSS) cask under its US Department of Energy (DOE) license (DOE 1996), but these capsules are nonstandard: one has a damaged or defective weld in the outer layer of encapsulation, and two have the outer encapsulation removed. The 3 capsules, along with 13 other capsules, will be overpacked in the 324 building to meet the requirements for storage in WESF`s pool.

This document summarizes the information on the historical uses, present status, and the sampling and analysis results of waste stored in Tank 241-AP-105. This report supports the requirements of the Tri-Party Agreement Milestone M 44-05.

The purpose of this acceptance test report was to verify the assembly is correct and complete and meets all the specification and performance requirements. On May 15--16, 1996, the LLW Supercompactor functional demonstrations and performance tests were carried out. These tests were carried out in accordance with the Acceptance Test Procedure, submittal 565, dated 5/3/96. The tests were performed by Herman Miller and Gene Rice of INET Corporation and Richard Lawrence and other PCL personnel. The VIHC representative on May 15, 1996 was Doug Dunlap and on May 16, 1996 the representative was Ken Leist.