Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the extent of improper payment estimates reported in agencies' during fiscal year (FY) 1999 financial statements."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Army's acquisition strategy for its Suite of Integrated Infrared Countermeasures Systems, focusing on whether the requirements of the Army's helicopters."

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) effort to reduce and prevent patient adverse events in VA health care facilities through its new patient safety initiative."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the security protection of executive branch officials in fiscal years 1997 through 1999, focusing on: (1) how many federal government officials were protected, who protected them, and how many security personnel protected them; (2) how much did it cost to protect these officials; (3) under what legal authorities were agencies providing security protection; (4) under what circumstances were officials protected; (5) how agencies were preparing threat assessments, and the implications of standardizing and centralizing threat assessments; (6) what training did protective personnel receive, and what are the implications of standardizing and centralizing security protection training; (7) what are the implications of centralizing protection services under one agency; and (8) what are the views of the protected officials regarding the need for and adequacy of their protection."

This report provides an overview of the Bradley Amendment on prohibition against retroactive modification of child support.

None

Calcite and opal coatings found on fracture footwalls and lithophysal cavity bottoms in the volcanic section at Yucca Mountain (exposed in a tunnel) contain a record of gradual chemical and isotopic changes that have occurred in the unsaturated zone. The thin (less than 6 cm) coatings are composed primarily of calcite, opal, chalcedony, and quartz. Fluid inclusions in calcite that homogenize at greater than ambient temperatures provide impetus for geochronologic studies in order to determine the thermal history. In the welded Topopah Spring Tuff (12.7 Ma), U-Pb ages of opal and chalcedony layers provide evidence of a long history of deposition throughout the past 10 m.y. However, these ages can constrain the ages of associated calcite layers only in samples with an easily interpretable microstratigraphy. Strontium isotope ratios in calcite increase with microstratigraphic position from the base up to the outermost surface of the coatings. The strontium incorporated in these coatings records the systematic change in pore-water isotopic composition due to water-rock interaction primarily in the overlying nonwelded tuffs. A one-dimensional advection-reaction model simulates strontium isotope ratios measured in pore water extracted from core in three vertical boreholes adjacent to the tunnel. By calculating the strontium isotope compositions of the …

The design for the steel cover plates to replace concrete cover blocks for U-109 was reviewed and approved in a design review meeting. The design for steel plates to replace concrete blocks were reviewed and approved by comparison and similarity with U-109 for the following additional pits: 241-U-105. 241-I-103, 241-Ax-101. 241-A-101, 241-SX-105, 241-S-A, 241-S-C, 241-SX-A.

This Acceptance Test Plan (ATP) will document the satisfactory operation of the corrosion probe cabinets destined for installation on tanks 241-AN-102 and 241-AN-107. This ATP will be performed by the manufacturer on each cabinet prior to delivery to the site. The objective of this procedure is to demonstrate and document the acceptance of the corrosion monitoring cabinets to be installed on tanks 241-AN-102 and 241-AN-107. One cabinet will be installed on each tank. Each cabinet will contain corrosion monitoring hardware to be connected to existing corrosion probes already installed in each tank. The test will consist of a continuity test of the cabinet wiring from the end of cable to be connected to corrosion probe, through the appropriate intrinsic safety barriers and out to the 15 pin D-shell connectors to be connected to the corrosion monitoring instrument. Additional testing will be performed using a constant current and voltage source provided by the corrosion monitoring hardware manufacturer to verify proper operation of corrosion monitoring instrumentation (input a known signal and see if the instrumentation records the proper value).

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is an inertial confinement fusion project being built at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) for the Department of Energy (DOE). The project is comprised of two buildings and the high technology equipment. The NIF houses 192 separate laser beams that generate approximately two megajoules of energy and 500 terawatts of power. The laser beams travel through a large optical system that contains over 7,500 large-aperture optical components (40 cm by 40 cm) and approximately 30,000 small-aperture optical components (less than 20 cm diameter). The NIF laser will be enclosed in a building that is approximately 200 meters in length (l) by 100 meters in width (w) by 15 meters in height (h) scheduled for completion by the end of 2002. A 0.5 mm target will be positioned inside a 10 meter sphere in the Target Building which measures approximately 35 meters (l) by 90 meters (w) by 30 meters (h). To achieve optimum laser operation the optics will require precision positioning and alignment. As a result, the mechanical components that support the optics require accurate positioning. State-of-the-art surveying, measuring techniques, and uncertainty and error analyses are being used to measure the control network and mechanical …

We use regional waveform data from the Nevada Test Site (NTS) to investigate phenomenological relationships between recorded amplitude and explosion yield as well as test regional depth estimation procedures. Our goal is to better understand the performance of seismic observables in other regions of monitoring interest, especially at small magnitudes (m{sub b}<<4.5). Some of the topics we are studying include: stable yield estimation, depth estimation, and M{sub g}:m{sub b} performance. We use Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's NTS explosion database, which consists of several hundred events ranging from {approx}200 to {approx}1500-m depth and yields ranging from a few tenths of a kiloton to the megaton range. In addition to the broadband explosion data, we have a large dataset of well-located earthquakes on the test site with depths ranging from 2 to 17 km and magnitudes ranging between M{sub w}1.5 and 5.7. For yield estimation the relation between teleseismic body wave magnitude (mb) and nuclear explosion yield has been studied extensively over the past several decades for a number of test sites for large (>1 kt) explosions. In this paper we will look at broadband coda, P{sub g,} and L{sub g} from over 260 nuclear explosions to study yield estimation capability by …

This report provides data on trends in funding for National Guard & Reserve components and end-strength levels for Fiscal Years (FY) 1990-2000 and the budget request for FY2001. The reserve components include the Army National Guard, Air National Guard, Army Reserve, Naval Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, and Air Force Reserve.

This report describes the tests performed to validate the CRWMS ''Analysis and Logistics Visually Interactive'' Model (CALVIN) Version 3.0 (V3.0) computer code (STN: 10074-3.0-00). To validate the code, a series of test cases was developed in the CALVIN V3.0 Validation Test Plan (CRWMS M&O 1999a) that exercises the principal calculation models and options of CALVIN V3.0. Twenty-five test cases were developed: 18 logistics test cases and 7 cost test cases. These cases test the features of CALVIN in a sequential manner, so that the validation of each test case is used to demonstrate the accuracy of the input to subsequent calculations. Where necessary, the test cases utilize reduced-size data tables to make the hand calculations used to verify the results more tractable, while still adequately testing the code's capabilities. Acceptance criteria, were established for the logistics and cost test cases in the Validation Test Plan (CRWMS M&O 1999a). The Logistics test cases were developed to test the following CALVIN calculation models: Spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and reactivity calculations; Options for altering reactor life; Adjustment of commercial SNF (CSNF) acceptance rates for fiscal year calculations and mid-year acceptance start; Fuel selection, transportation cask loading, and shipping to the Monitored Geologic Repository …

Geological, mineralogical, chemical, and isotopic evidence from coatings of calcite and silica on open fractures and lithophysal cavities within welded tuffs at Yucca Mountain indicate an origin from meteoric water percolating through a thick (500 to 700 m) unsaturated zone (UZ) rather than from pulses of ascending ground water. Geologic evidence for a UZ setting includes the presence of coatings in only a small percentage of cavities, the restriction of coatings to fracture footwalls and cavity floors, and an absence of mineral high-water marks indicative of water ponding. Systematic mineral sequences (early calcite, followed by chalcedony with minor quartz and fluorite, and finally calcite with intercalated opal forming the bulk of the coatings) indicate progressive changes in UZ conditions through time, rather than repeated saturation by flooding. Percolation under the influence of gravity also results in mineral textures that vary between steeply dipping sites (thinner coatings of blocky calcite) and shallowly dipping sites (thicker coatings of coarse, commonly bladed calcite, with globules and sheets of opal). Micrometer-scale growth banding in both calcite and opal reflects slow average growth rates (scale of mm/m.y.) over millions of years rather than only a few rapidly deposited growth episodes. Isotopic compositions of C, O, …

In an earlier report, we presented results of modeling calculations for one simple geometry that represents an experiment potentially to be performed at Sandia National Laboratory, which is examining equation of state issues of interest to the National Missile Defense Program. In the earlier report, we showed snapshots of calculations with two different initial zone dimensions for Gruneisen EOS and LEOS. We also showed pressure profiles at various locations in a witness plate out of the way of direct projectile impact, but hit by shrapnel generated during impact. It was found that the pressure profiles exhibit strong dependence on location, zone size, and equation of state. In this report we examine the overall momentum impacted to the witness plate. This momentum shows negligible dependence on the equation of state and some dependence on zone size.

Between 1992 and 1996 CDF collected about 100 pb{sup {minus}1} of data at a {radical}s = 1.8 TeV at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. This data sample led to a large number of precision measurements of B hadrons properties including their masses, lifetimes and neutral B meson oscillation parameters and the discovery of the B{sub c} meson. Here the author reports on three recent results: the measurement of the B{sup +} production cross section, the search for radiative penguin B hadron decays and the measurement of the CP violating parameter sin 2{beta}. These results are significant examples of the breadth of the CDF program. In 2001 the main injector will allow the Tevatron initially to deliver 1 fb{sup {minus}1} per year at {radical}s = 2 TeV. The CDF detector will undergo major upgrades which will further increase the B physics reach.

Hanford RadioactiveWaste materials have been categorized into four envelopes labeled A through D as specified in the Tank Waste Remediation Contract between BNFL and DOE. 1 Envelopes A, B and C contain only solubilized species and are specified as Low-Activity Waste (LAW). Each envelope is defined based on compositional maximums of chemical and radioactive constituents. Envelopes A and B contain low concentrations of organic species and the primary form of technetium is pertechnetate (TcO4-). Envelope C contains higher levels of organic species and technetium which is primarily in the nonpertechnetate form (presumably complexed TcO2). Envelope D is sludge which has been separated from the supernate and is referred to as High Activity Waste. The current plant design utilizes SuperLig ion exchange resins to remove cesium and technetium (the primary radioactive constituents) from the Hanford LAW. The process is designed to produce a decontaminated waste stream and a concentrated eluate waste stream for vitrification into low and high activity glasses, respectively.

Hanford Radioactive Waste materials have been categorized into four envelopes labeled A through D as specified in the Tank Waste Remediation Contract between BNFL and DOE. 1 Envelopes A, B and C contain only solubilized species and are specified as Low-Activity Waste (LAW). Each envelope is defined based on compositional maximums of chemical and radioactive constituents. Envelopes A and B contain low concentrations of organic species and the primary form of technetium is pertechnetate (TcO4-). Envelope C contains higher levels of organic species and technetium which is primarily in the nonpertechnetate form (presumably complexed TcO2). Envelope D is sludge which has been separated from the supernate and is referred to as High Activity Waste. The current plant design utilizes SuperLig ion exchange resins to remove cesium and technetium (the primary radioactive constituents) from the Hanford LAW. The process is designed to produce a decontaminated waste stream and a concentrated eluate waste stream for vitrification into low and high activity glasses, respectively.

The BNFL removal processes for strontium and transuranic components from the AN-102 and AN-107 supernate originally proposed are co-precipitation methods. In initial testing, the precipitates formed during the strontium and ferric nitrate additions were not filterable.

Given the advanced state of operational plans for late Run II (132 nsec bunch spacing) the C0 IR insert should be designed to operate such that it does not impact nominal Tevatron parameters. This implies an entirely localized insert -- one which is completely transparent to the rest of the machine. This condition has several important design implications, some of which are pointed out below. An IR design similar to that employed at CDF and D0 is unacceptable as a C0 candidate. The addition of such a (single) low-{beta} region to the machine raises the tune by a half-integer in each plane, moving them far from the standard operating point and right onto the 21.0 integer resonance. The nominal (fractional) operating point is most elegantly maintained by adding 2 local low-{beta} in each plane, thereby boosting the tunes by a full integer. The B0 and D0 IR's are not optically-isolated entities. Progression through the low-{beta}squeeze involves adjusting, not only the main IR quadrupoles, but also the tune quad strings distributed around the ring. The result is that the nominal lattice functions at any point in the ring, and the phase advances across any section of the ring, are not fixed, …

A gridless technique for the solution of the integral form of the radiative heat flux equation for emitting and absorbing media is presented. Treatment of non-uniform absorptivity and gray boundaries is included. As part of this work, the authors have developed fast multipole techniques for extracting radiative heat flux quantities from the temperature fields of one-dimensional and three-dimensional geometries. Example calculations include those for one-dimensional radiative heat transfer through multiple flame sheets, a three-dimensional enclosure with black walls, and an axisymmetric enclosure with black walls.

The objective of this study was to achieve a fundamental understanding of SuperLig resin swelling and shrinking characteristics, which lead to channeling and early breakthrough during loading cycles. The density of salt solution that causes resin floating was also determined to establish a limit for operation. Specific tests performed include (a) pH dependence, (b) ionic strength dependence and (c) buoyancy effect vs. simulant composition.

The pretreatment process for BNFL, Inc.'s Hanford River Protection Project is to provide decontaminated low activity waste and concentrated eluate streams for vitrification into low activity and high level waste glass, respectively. The pretreatment includes sludge washing, filtration, precipitation, and ion exchange processes to remove entrained solids, cesium, transuranics, technetium, and strontium. The ion exchange removal of cesium (Cs) and technetium (Tc) ions is accomplished by using SuperLig 644, and 639 resins from IBC Advanced Technologies, American Fork, Utah. The resins were shown to selectively remove cesium and technetium (as pertechnetate), from alkaline salt solutions. The efficiency of ion exchange column loading and elution is a complex function involving feed compositions, equilibrium and kinetic behavior of ion exchange resins, diffusion, and the ionic strength and pH of the aqueous solution. A previous experimental program completed at the Savannah River Technology Center demonstrated the conceptualized flow sheet parameters with a similar Hanford tank sample (241-AW-101). Those experiments included determination of Cs and Tc batch distribution coefficients by SuperLig 644 and 639 resins and demonstration of small-scale column breakthrough and elution. The experimental findings were used in support of preliminary design bases and pretreatment flow sheet development by BNFL, Inc.

The Department of Energy must treat and dispose of large volumes of radioactive waste stored in underground storage tanks at five DOE sites. Technology development has been focused on the separation and removal of various radionuclides from the supernatant contained in the Hanford waste tanks.