Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Department of Veterans Affairs'(VA) and the Department of Defense's (DOD) sharing of federal health care resources."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO discussed the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) implementation of the Clean Air Act Amendments and on sources regulated by multiple provisions of the act, focusing on: (1) the status of EPA's implementation of requirements established by the 1990 amendments; (2) the views from the stakeholders--state governments, local programs, industries that are regulated under the act, and environmental advocacy groups--on the issues that either helped or hindered the implementation of the 1990 amendments; (3) examples of emission sources subject to regulation under more than one Clean Air Act program; and (4) the status of EPA's efforts to facilitate compliance for such sources."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) and Department of Defense's (DOD) shared health care resources, focusing on: (1) the benefits gained from sharing; (2) the extent to which VA and DOD are sharing health care resources; and (3) barriers and challenges VA and DOD face in their efforts to share health resources."

The Attribute Measurement System with Information Barrier (AMS/IB) specification is being developed in support of the Defense Threat Redcution Agency's (DTRA's) Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program for the Mayak Fissile Material Storage Facility. This document discusses the technologies available for attribute measurement, and advantages and disadvantages of alternatives.

Following the May 14, 1997 chemical explosion at Hanford's Plutonium Reclamation Facility, the Department of Energy Richland Operations Office and its prime contractor, Fluor Hanford, Inc., completed an extensive assessment to identify and address chemical and radiological safety vulnerabilities at all facilities under the Project Hanford Management Contract. This was a challenging undertaking because of the immense size of the problem, unique technical issues, and competing priorities. This paper focuses on the assessment process, including the criteria and methodology for data collection, evaluation, and risk-based scoring. It does not provide details on the facility-specific results and corrective actions, but discusses the approach taken to address the identified vulnerabilities.

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Oil dependence remains a potentially serious economic and strategic problem for the United States. This report updates previous estimates of the costs of oil dependence to the U.S. economy and introduces several methodological enhancements. Estimates of the costs to the U.S. economy of the oil market upheavals of the last 30 years are in the vicinity of $7 trillion, present value 1998 dollars, about as large as the sum total of payments on the national debt over the same period. Simply adding up historical costs in 1998 dollars without converting to present value results in a Base Case cost estimate of $3.4 trillion. Sensitivity analysis indicates that cost estimates are sensitive to key parameters. A lower bound estimate of $1.7 trillion and an upper bound of $7.1 trillion (not present value) indicate that the costs of oil dependence have been large under almost any plausible set of assumptions. These cost estimates do not include military, strategic or political costs associated with U.S. and world dependence on oil imports.

This document provides preplanning necessary to expeditiously remove any waste that may leak from the primary tank to the secondary tank for Hanford's 28 DSTs. The strategy is described, applicable emergency procedures are referenced, and transfer routes and pumping equipment for each tank are identified.

This paper investigates the use of off-axis zone plate optical systems to deliver time-sliced LCLS FEL pulses to users under the 3 energy chirp scenarios elucidated by P. Emma. We present formulas for designing off-axis zone plate optical systems that achieve a given time-slice duration and intensity. The results show that it is feasible to fabricate zone-plate systems capable of providing intense spots of time-sliced 8.275 KeV photons under the scenario of a 2.0% chirp, but that it is beyond current and envisioned fabrication capabilities to create zone-plate systems of similar performance under the scenarios offering energy chirps of < 0.25%. Finally we present results of numerical calculations of the electric fields delivered to the user by an off-axis zone plate optical system producing time-slices of {le} 50 {center_dot} fs with photon densities of 200 photons/{angstrom}{sup 2} under the 2% energy chirp scenario.

A number of legislative proposals to restructure or eliminate the Department of Energy (DOE) and the DOE laboratories have been introduced since the end of the Cold War, especially since the beginning of the 104th Congress. This legislation has been introduced because of perceived major problems with DOE, including its overall mission. Sponsors state, for example, that about 85% of DOE's budget is for non-energy programs, even though the nation's dependency on foreign energy sources has increased since the establishment of the department. Also of concern is the department's failure to go far enough, in their view, in solving its long-term management problems, downsizing, and reducing budgets.

In the frame of a CEA/US DOE collaboration, radiation driven spherically convergent experiments were performed on the Nova laser in order m measure the Rayleigh-Taylor growth at the ablation front. Numerical simulations using the 2D Lagrangian code FCI2 have correctly reproduced experiments in moderate convergent geometry. [C. Cherfils et al., PRL 83, 5507 (1999)]. Experiments have addressed convergence ratios up to 4 by considering larger capsules, larger hohlraum and longer laser pulses [S.G. Glendinning et al., to be published in Physics of Plasmas]. Numerical analysis of these high convergence implosions is presented, and the effect of convergence on the Rayleigh-Taylor growth is investigated.

Heavy ion beam transport through the containment chamber plays a crucial role in all heavy ion fusion (HIF) scenarios. Here, several parameters are used to characterize the operating space for HIF beams; transport modes are assessed in relation to evolving target/accelerator requirements; results of recent relevant experiments and simulations of HIF transport are summarized; and relevant instabilities are reviewed. All transport options still exist, including (1) vacuum ballistic transport, (2) neutralized ballistic transport, and (3) channel-like transport. Presently, the European HIF program favors vacuum ballistic transport, while the US HIF program favors neutralized ballistic transport with channel-like transport as an alternate approach. Further transport research is needed to clearly guide selection of the most attractive, integrated HIF system.

Numerical modeling of airflow and pollutant dispersion around buildings is a challenging task due to the geometrical variations of buildings and the extremely complex flow created by such surface-mounted obstacles. The airflow around buildings inevitably involves impingement and separation regions, a multiple vortex system with building wakes, and jetting effects in street canyons. The interference from adjacent buildings further complicates the flow and dispersion patterns. Thus accurate simulations of such flow and pollutant transport require not only appropriate physics submodels but also accurate numerics and significant computing resources. We have developed an efficient, high resolution CFD model for such purposes, with a primary goal to support incident response and preparedness in emergency response planning, vulnerability analysis, and the development of mitigation techniques.

The dynamics of particle flows in the DIII-D tokamak for two divertor configurations is considered. Fuel and intrinsic carbon impurity flows are analyzed using experimental data and 2D fluid plasma simulations. The flows in puff and pump experiments done in an open and a closed divertor geometry are described. It is shown that the flow of fuel particles is sensitive to divertor geometry. The pumping efficiency of the DIII-D cryopumps is a factor of 2 higher in a closed geometry than an open. The core refueling rate of an open divertor is a factor of 2 higher than that of a closed divertor. In contrast, the flow of impurity carbon particles is insensitive to divertor geometry. Both the core carbon content and the fraction of the carbon source which penetrates to the core is unchanged between an open and closed divertor. In addition, the core impurity content is found to be insensitive to the amplitude of gas puffing in the simulations.

This document provides a detailed matrix of specific Tank Farms nuclear criticality safety program elements indexed to primary requirements documents. These requirements are collected at a higher level in HNF-SO-MP-SRID-001, ''Tank Waste Remediation System Standards/Requirements Identification Document.'' The intended use of this document is to provide a roadmap for implementing procedures and assessments.

The structural properties, energetics, and dynamics of Ca{sup 2+} and Mn{sup 2+} substituents in KTaO{sub 3} are investigated from first principles. It is found that Ca substitutes for both K and Ta ions. Oxygen vacancies bind to isolated Ca ions residing at Ta-sites, causing off-center Ca displacement and forming large dipoles. There is also evidence that oppositely charged defects may cluster together. The calculations predict that the activation energy for dipole reorientation via oxygen vacancy hopping within the first neighbor shell of Ta-substituting Ca or Mn exceeds 2 eV. On the other hand, Mn{sup 2+} substituting at the K-site displaces off center along the (100) direction, also forming a dipole. This dipole can reorient via Mn hopping motion with an activation energy of {approximately} 0.18 eV, in reasonable agreement with experiments. The authors argue that, in general, metal ion hopping at the A-site, not oxygen vacancy hopping, is responsible for the small activation energies found in experiments.

Disruptive technologies are scientific discoveries that break through the usual product technology capabilities and provide a basis for a new competitive paradigm as described by Anderson and Tushman [1990], Tushman and Rosenkopf [1992], and Bower and Christensen [1995]. Discontinuous innovations are products/processes/services that provide exponential improvements in the value received by the customer much in the same vein as Walsh [1996], Lynn, Morone and Paulson [1996], and Veryzer [1998]. For more on definitions of disruptive technologies and discontinuous innovations, see Walsh and Linton [1999] who provide a number of definitions for disruptive technologies and discontinuous innovations. Disruptive technologies and discontinuous innovations present a unique challenge and opportunity for R and D organizations seeking to build their commercialization efforts and to reinvent the corporation. These technologies do not have a proven path from scientific discovery to mass production and therefore require novel approaches. These critically important technologies are the wellspring of wealth creation and new competency generation but are not readily accepted by the corporate community. They are alternatively embraced and eschewed by the commercial community. They are finally accepted when the technology has already affected the industry or when the technological horse has already flown out of the hanger. Many …

OS3D/GIMRT is a numerical software package for simulating multicomponent reactive transport in porous media. The package consists of two principal components: (1) the code OS3D (Operator Splitting 3-Dimensional Reactive Transport) which simulates reactive transport by either splitting the reaction and transport steps in time, i.e., the classic time or operator splitting approach, or by iterating sequentially between reactions and transport, and (2) the code GIMRT (Global Implicit Multicomponent Reactive Transport) which treats up to two dimensional reactive transport with a one step or global implicit approach. Although the two codes do not yet have totally identical capabilities, they can be run from the same input file, allowing comparisons to be made between the two approaches in many cases. The advantages and disadvantages of the two approaches are discussed more fully below, but in general OS3D is designed for simulation of transient concentration fronts, particularly under high Peclet number transport conditions, because of its use of a total variation diminishing or TVD transport algorithm. GIMRT is suited for simulating water-rock alteration over long periods of time where the aqueous concentration field is at or close to a quasi-stationary state and the numerical transport errors are less important. Where water-rock interaction occurs …

Seven years of groundwater monitoring at the 200 Area Treated Effluent Disposal Facility (TEDF) have shown that the uppermost aquifer beneath the facility is unaffected by TEDF effluent. Effluent discharges have been well below permitted and expected volumes. Groundwater mounding from TEDF operations predicted by various models has not been observed, and waterlevels in TEDF wells have continued declining with the dissipation of the nearby B Pond System groundwater mound. Analytical results for constituents with enforcement limits indicate that concentrations of all these are below Practical Quantitation Limits, and some have produced no detections. Likewise, other constituents on the permit-required list have produced results that are mostly below sitewide background. Comprehensive geochemical analyses of groundwater from TEDF wells has shown that most constituents are below background levels as calculated by two Hanford Site-wide studies. Additionally, major ion proportions and anomalously low tritium activities suggest that groundwater in the aquifer beneath the TEDF has been sequestered from influences of adjoining portions of the aquifer and any discharge activities. This inference is supported by recent hydrogeologic investigations which indicate an extremely slow rate of groundwater movement beneath the TEDF. Detailed evaluation of TEDF-area hydrogeology and groundwater geochemistry indicate that additional points of …

This paper describes a procedure to assess the bursting capacity of containment vessels used to transport radioactive materials. These vessels can be susceptible to an internal deflagration or detonation due to the ignition of hydrogen gas evolved by radiolysis. The maximum pressure capacity of a containment vessel can be established by determining the maximum primary vessel stresses at the maximum normal operating pressure and linearly extrapolating this pressure to stresses equal to the tensile yield or ultimate strength of the vessel's structural material. This leads to a maximum pressure to yield or burst the vessel. Comparison of data obtained with this procedure with experimental data or calculations that estimate the maximum deflagration or detonation pressure can provide a reasonable estimate of the capability of the containment vessel to safely contain the gases.

This report describes the results of a test conducted by Battelle to assess the effects of inhibited water washing and caustic leaching on the composition of the C-104 HLW solids. The objective of this work was to determine the composition of the C-104 solids remaining after washing with 0.01 M NaOH or leaching with 3 M NaOH. Another objective of this test was to determine the solubility of the C-104 solids as a function of temperature. The work was conducted according to test plan BNFL-TP-29953-8, Rev. 0, ``Determination of the Solubility of HLW Sludge Solids.

Various recycle streams will be combined with the low-activity waste (LAW) or the high-level waste (HLW) feed solutions during the processing of the Hanford tank wastes by BNFL, Inc. In addition, the LAW and HLW feed solutions will also be mixed with heels present in the processing equipment. This report describes the results of a test conducted by Battelle to assess the effects of mixing specific process streams. Observations were made regarding adverse reactions (mainly precipitation) and effects on the Tc oxidation state (as indicated by K{sub d} measurements with SuperLig{reg_sign} 639). The work was conducted according to test plan BNFL-TP-29953-023, Rev. 0, Small Scale Mixing of Process Heels, Solutions, and Recycle Streams. The test went according to plan, with only minor deviations from the test plan. The deviations from the test plan are discussed in the experimental section.

The blanket system is one of the most important components in a fusion reactor because it has a major impact on both the economics and safety of fusion energy. The primary functions of the blanket in a deuterium/tritium-fueled fusion reactor are to convert the fusion energy into sensible heat and to breed tritium for the fuel cycle. The liquid-metal blanket concept requires an electrically insulating coating on the first-wall structural material to minimize the magnetohydrodynamic pressure drop that occurs during the flow of liquid metal in a magnetic field. Based on the thermodynamics of interactions between the coating and the liquid lithium on one side and the structural V-base alloy on the other side, several coating candidates are being examined to perform the insulating function over a wide range of temperatures and lithium chemistries.

HgBa{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 6+{delta}} (Hg-1212) thin films were fabricated by exchanging the TI cations in TlBa{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 7-{delta}} (Tl-1212) thin films with Hg cations, causing a 30-K increase in Tc. To determine how this exchange effects such a Tc increase, the irreversibility lines, temperature dependence of critical current density, and temperature dependence of Hall angle of Hg-1212 and T1-1212 thin films were measured and then compared. The results strongly suggest that the Tc shift is caused by a doubling of charge carrier density.