In the second quarter of activities on developing Tailored Ceramic waste forms for SRP waste compositions, emphasis was on the chemistry controlling the incorporation of the waste elements into the crystalline phases of the high-alumina content ceramic and the major factors affecting the consolidation process. Research on the design and synthesis of oxide and phosphate ceramic waste forms has continued with emphasis on fluorite-structure oxides and on rare earth phosphates with the monazite structure. Dissolution studies to date indicate that monazite is very stable.

Progress during this report period was marked by the initial operation of the Process Development Unit at about 50% of design capacity with indications that many aspects of the facility operated satisfactorily. However, a downstream constriction, the cause of which is being isolated, led to termination of the run after one-half hour of operation. In the light of observations made during earlier start-up efforts, several modifications of equipment and technique were made for improved operation. Vacuum outgassing experiments (850 to 1100/sup 0/C, 1 to 256 h) were carried out on miniplant-produced granules containing 360 and 3900 ppMw of zinc in the deposited silicon. Treatment of the data so that it can be extrapolated to the expected product of the Experimental Process System Development Unit awaits development of an appropriate model.

Thin film gold/polycrystalline cadmium telluride Schottky solar cells made by electrodepositing the semiconductor on an ITO-coated glass substrate serving also as an ohmic contact demonstrated an internal efficiency of 4% over 2 mm/sup 2/ areas. During the year being reported upon, Monosolar devoted mator attention to refining the electroplating process and determining the parameters governing CdTe film stoichiometry, grain size, substrate adhesion, and quality. UCLA acting as a Monosolar sub-contractor characterized both the CdTe films themselves and solar cells made from them. Techniques were developed for making measurements on films often less than 1 micron in thickness. The highest values achieved for efficiency parameters, not necessarily all in the same cell, were V/sub oc/ = 0.5 V, J/sub sc/ = 11 mA/cm/sup 2/, and fill factor = 0.55 before corrections in the absence of anti-reflection coatings. Typical resistivities for n-CdTe films were 10/sup 5/ ..cap omega..-cm. Lifetimes of about 10/sup -10/ sec were measured. Absorption coefficient of these films is in the order of 10/sup 4/ for lambda < 0.7 ..mu..m. Measured energy gap for these CdTe films is 1.55 eV, sightly higher than the 1.45 eV value for single crystal CdTe. The activation energy of the dominating trap level …

The Regional Seismic Test Network program was established to provide a capability for detection of extremely sensitive earth movements. Seismic signals from both natural and man-made earth motions will be analyzed with the ultimate objective of accurately locating underground nuclear explosions. The Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, has designed an unattended seismic station capable of recording seismic information received at the location of the seismometers installed as part of that specific station. A network of stations is required to increase the capability of determining the source of the seismic signal and the location of the source. Current plans are to establish a five-station seismic network in the United States and Canada. The Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office, has been assigned the responsibility for deploying, installing, and operating these remote stations. This Operation Plan provides the basic information and tasking to accomplish this assignment.

From abstract: "Survey of the Soviet effort in underground coal gasification and summarizes research conducted at the Podmoskovnaya Station until its close in 1963."

This presentation will describe CR-39 plastic as a personnel neutron dosimeter. Recent research at LLNL and elsewhere has resulted in the development of a dosimetry system that is superior to any personnel neutron dosimeter previously available. The author describes the features of the dosimetry system and the new etching procedures and techniques in detail. Most of the research was done at the LLNL and has been supported as a part of the DOE Neutron Dosimetry Upgrade Program. 10 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.

Present estimates of uranium resources and reserves in the US and the non-Communist world are reviewed. The resulting implications are considered for two proposed breeder technologies: the liquid metal fast breeder reactor (LMFBR) and the fusion hybrid reactor. Using both simple arguments and detailed scenarios from the published literature, conditions are explored under which the LMFBR and fusion hybrid could respectively have the most impact, considering both fuel-supply and economic factors. The conclusions emphasize strong potential advantages of the fusion hybrid, due to its inherently large breeding rate. A discussion is presented of proposed US development strategies for the fusion hybrid, which at present is far behind the LMFBR in its practical application and maturity.

In response to Task A.63 of the International Safeguards Project Office (ISPO), to upgrade measurement technology used by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a portable data-reduction microprocessor was designed and programmed which allows in-field reduction of gamma-ray spectra and interfaces with the IAEA's multichannel analyzers - the 1000 or 2000-channel memory Silena BS27/N. This report describes the components used in assembling the microprocessor unit: hardware, software used to control the unit, and the mathematical formulation used to obtain isotopic ratios from the gamma-ray data. A simple overview is presented of the unit's operation and the results of tests on gamma-ray spectra that sought to verify the unit's operating characteristics and to determine the precision and effectiveness of the software developed for data reduction.

For use in radiation protection measurements, a neutron spectrometer must have a wide energy range, good sensitivity, medium resolution, and ease of taking and reducing data. No single spectrometer meets all of these requirements. Several experiments aimed at improving and characterizing the detector response to gamma rays and neutrons were conducted. A light pipe (25 mm) was needed between the scintillator cell and the photomultiplier tube to achieve the best resolution. The light output of the scintillator as a function of gamma-ray energy was measured. Three experiments were conducted to determine the light output as a function of neutron energy. Monte Carlo calculations were made to evaluate the effects of multiple neutron scattering and edge effects in the detector. The electronic systems associated with the detector were improved with a transistorized circuit providing the bias voltage for the photomultiplier tube dynodes. This circuit was needed to obtain pulse-height linearity over the wide range of signal sizes. A special live-time clock was built to compensate for the large amount of dead time generated by the pulse-shape discrimination circuit we chose to use. 64 refs., 58 figs., 9 tabs.

A sophisticated program for isotopic analysis of plutonium gamma-ray spectra using small computers has been developed. It is implemented on a DEC LSI-11/2 configured in a portable unit without a mass storage device for use by IAEA inspectors in the field. Only the positions of the 148-keV /sup 241/Pu and 208-keV /sup 237/U peaks are needed as input. Analysis is completed in 90 seconds by fitting isotopic component response functions to peak multiplets. 9 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab.

The economics of liquid-fuels production from microalgae was evaluated. A detailed review of published economic analyses of microalgae biomass production revealed wide variations in the published costs, which ranged from several dollars per pound for existing commercial health-food production in the Far East, to less than .05/lb costs projected for microalgae biomass for fuel conversion. As little design information or specific cost data has been published, a credible cost estimate required the conceptual engineering design and cost estimating of microalgae to liquid-fuels processes. Two systems were analyzed, shallow (2 to 3'') covered ponds and deeper (1 ft) open ponds. Only the latter was selected for an in-depth analysis due to the many technical shortcomings of the former approach. Based on the cost analysis of a very simple and low cost process, the most optimistic costs extrapolated were about $60/barrel. These were based on many optimistic assumptions. Additional, more detailed, engieering and cost analyses would be useful. However, the major emphasis in future work in this area should be on demonstrating the basic premises on which this design was based: high productivity and oil content of microalgae strains that can dominate in open ponds and which can be harvested by a …

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

Letter opinion issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Jim Mattox, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Jim Mattox, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a deputy sheriff who is indicted for a felony automatically revokes his appointment.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Jim Mattox, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a county clerk is required to notify nondeveloper owners of land in a subdivision of a developer's request to revise a subdivision plat.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Jim Mattox, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Authority of a county auditor to audit the inmate trust and jail commissary fund.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Jim Mattox, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether acquittal or dismissal of a charge of driving while intoxicated is a defense to a proceeding under article 67011-5, V.T.C.S., to suspend a driver's license

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Mark White, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Constitutionality of article 1066d, V.T.C.S., the Tax Increment Financing Act

Two uses of the Perkin-Elmer (PE) robotic system will be presented. In the first, a PE robot functions as an automatic sample changer for up to five low energy photon spectrometry (LEPS) detectors operated with a Nuclear Data ND 6700 system. The entire system, including the robot, is controlled by an IBM PC-AT using software written in compiled BASIC. Problems associated with the development of the system and modifications to the robot will be presented. In the second, an evaluation study was performed to assess the abilities of the PE robotic system for performing complex analytical sample preparation procedures. For this study, a robotic system based upon the PE robot and auxiliary devices was constructed and programmed to perform the preparation of final product samples (UO{sub 3}) for accountability and impurity specification analyses. These procedures require sample dissolution, dilution, and liquid-liquid extraction steps. The results of an in-depth evaluation of all system components will be presented.

The 5MW(e) electrical generating plant is a demonstrational unit intended to provide engineering data basic to improvement of geothermal-electric technology. It is anticipated that the plant will operate on a production basis after initial testing, and that periodic re-testing will be done to measure the effects of fouling in heat exchanges and aging generally. The initial tests will confirm engineering estimates of performance, and will identify optimum feasible operatinq conditions and maximum power generating capacity. They will also identify any anomalous plant behavior not foreseen. Several tests will lead to quantification of constant and variable terms used in thermodynamic relationships descriptive of plant and subsystem behavior. Because the product of the testing will be confirmatory engineering data heretofore unavailable, the plant has been carefully instrumented, with either explicit or implicit instrumentation redundancy for most parameters to be measured. The 5MW(e) data system collects the data directly from the instrumentation. Enhancements such as on-line analytical routines may be added later, but initially, data capture shall be the sole activity of the data system. The 5MW(e) plant converts the energy of geothermally heated water to electrical energy conforming to 60 Hz commercial power standards. The plant capacity is sufficiently large to be …

A report regarding the location of industry drill holes logged in Texas

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

None