In 1977 the average annual airborne gross beta activity in Livermore Valley air samples was 1.2 x 10/sup -13/ ..mu..Ci/ml, nearly twice the average observed during 1976 (7.6 x 10/sup -14/ ..mu..Ci/ml). The increase was partly due to an atmosphere nuclear test by the Peoples Republic of China. Concentrations of various radionuclides (/sup 235/U, /sup 238/U, /sup 137/Cs, /sup 238/Pu, /sup 239/Pu, and tritium in samples of surface air, surface waters, groundwater, soils, and food are reported. Results of aerial radiological surveys are included.

The process essential to resource assessment and acquisition, candidate application screening, community needs assessment, community acceptance testing, market assessment, regulation, environmental repoting and permitting, siting, technology status, and financing options are presented.

A guiding center computer code is used to map out trajectories of collisionless runaway electrons in the presence of m = 2 magnetic islands in a tokamak. Low energy runaway drift surfaces follow closely the perturbed poloidal magnetic flux surfaces, as expected. Higher energy runaway orbits are seen to retain an m = 2 structure even though the drift surfaces are shifted considerably outward from the magnetic flux surfaces. The size of the island structure in the drift surfaces decreases as the outward shift becomes larger than the island width. Trapped particle orbits are apparently unaffected by the presence of the island. Little or no ergodicity of the particle orbits has been observed in this model, although a coupling of the m = 2 island with the m = 1 outward shift can produce an m = 3 structure in the particle drift surfaces.

The implementation of a nuclear waste management technology raises several issues concerning the regulation of social risk. This paper presents a decision analytic approach to resolving some of those issues. A methodology for developing a radiological risk measure is presented, and several approaches to defining acceptable levels of that risk measure are considered. The methodology presented is oriented toward the development of radiological performance objectives for use as guidance in the drafting of regulations.

A stable carbon monoxide laser capable of oscillation on transitions in the fundamental 1 ..-->.. 0 band is described. This laser is also capable of a quasi-continuous tunability in the range of 4.7 to 8 microns.

The RELAP5/MOD''O'' LOCA analysis code has been applied to Simulation of the Semiscale Isothermal Blowdown Test (S-01-4A) from initiation to 60 seconds. Subcooled ECC injection was simulated from 23 seconds until accumulator emptying. The calculated results are in very good agreement with the experimental data. This is the first full system application of the RELAP5 code and only the pressurizer surge line resistance was modified to achieve the results reported. An analysis of the code execution time using a time-step statistical edit is included.

This bibliography is a listing of pertinent literature directly addressing the cycling of trace metals in freshwater ecosystems. Data on cycling, including the influences of environmental mediators, are included. 151 references.

Differential cross sections and vector and tensor analyzing powers were measured for vector d + /sup 4/He elastic scattering at deuteron lab energies of 12, 14, 15, and 17 MeV. The data were tabulated and compared with predictions from a recent phase-shift analysis, which did not include the present results in the fitting procedure. Significant discrepancies between the predictions and measurements occur, principally for the tensor analyzing powers at backward angles. It is concluded that the present data should be incorporated into the phase-shift analysis to obtain a more realistic solution. 3 figures, 5 tables.

The test procedure used and the results obtained from an evaluation test program conducted to obtain thermal performance data on a Northrup concentrating solar collector under simulated conditions are described. These tests were made using the Marshall Space Flight Center's solar simulator. A time constant test and incident angle modifier test were also conducted to determine the transient effect and the incident angle effect on the collector. The Northrup concentrating solar collector is a water/glycol/working fluid type, dipped galvanized steel housing, transparent acrylic Fresnel lens cover, copper absorber tube, fiber glass insulation and weighs approximately 98 pounds. The gross collector area is about 29.4 ft/sup 2/ per collector. A collector assembly includes four collector units within a tracking mount array.

A modified (one-cycle) Purex process has been developed for the separation and recovery of plutonium and uranium from mixed actinide residues. The process utilizes 30 vol % tributyl phosphate--dodecane to extract uranium from a 5M nitric acid-plutonium (III)-uranium(VI) feed. After uranium extraction, plutonium in the aqueous feed solution is purified by anion exchange technology. Uranium in the organic is scrubbed and stripped to effectively purify the uranium so that it contains <5,000 ppM plutonium. The process has been used successfully to separate residues consisting of plutonium and uranium oxide.

Fuel Cycle Research and Development: Results are presented on the fluidized-bed calcination of simulated waste from the reprocessing of spent commercial nuclear fuel, on the post-treatment of the resultant calcine, and on the use of bidentate extractants for the separation of actinide elements from the high-level waste prior to calcination. In addition, the development of storage technology for krypton-85 waste, and the behavior of RuO/sub 2/ in fluidized-bed combustion of HTGR fuel are reported. Special Materials Production: Reported are the long-term management of defense waste from the ICPP, the chemistry and pilot plant-studies on the removal of actinides and mercury from ICPP first cycle raffinate, the calcined solids retrieval and handling of ICPP waste stored in vaults, and the preparation of environmental impact statements on options given the Defense Waste Document. Process improvements are given on the Fluorinel headend process for zircaloy-clad fuel and on methods for uranium accountability. Other development results reported are on the Rover process for graphite based fuels, on the calcination of sodium-bearing waste, Fluorinel waste, tank WM-183 waste, and electrolytic process waste. Assistance to the Waste Calcination Process Plant is reported as well as support to the New Waste Calcination Process and methods for the …

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of a small, (365 MWt) nuclear reactor for supplying process steam and electricity as a replacement for energy sources using increasingly scarce natural gas or oil. The PPG Industries, Incorporated Plant Site at Lake Charles, Louisiana, was chosen as representative of industrial installations that require sizeable amounts of process steam and electricity. For comparison purposes conventional coal-fired boilers were also evaluated. It was determined that both nuclear- and coal-based process energy supply systems are technically feasible. For the specific steam/electricity demands at the reference site, the coal-fired plant proved to be economically more attractive than the nuclear units. For an application requiring a base-loaded supply of saturated steam, utilizing full reactor capacity, the nuclear option appears competitive for coal costing $40/ton in 1978 dollars.

Development of an inductively coupled power system for highway applications was begun in 1976. The power system was designed to provide energy to vehicles that also carry a supply of stored energy, thus providing a large measure of operational flexibility to the vehicles and reducing the necessary inventory of powered roadways. The highway power system can support the high-speed, long-range portions of driving cycles, while the stored energy can meet the requirements of driving on non-powered streets. The system thus has been referred to as a ''dual-mode'' system because of the use of the two sources of energy. The results of testing a prototype coupling are presented. No physical contact between the vehicle and the power source is required, i.e., the coupling magnetically links the power system of the vehicle to a power source in the roadway (inductive coupling). Tests were performed to determine the magnetic force and flux distribution, electrical characteristics, thermal efforts and acoustic noise. The test equipment and methods are discussed. The tests confirmed the technical feasibility of this type of non-contacting electrical power coupling, and demonstrated that its components are suited to ordinary materials and manufacturing processes. The test results were found to be consistent with …

A Czochralski crystal growing furnace is being set up to permit installation of a continuous molten silicon feed apparatus. Numerous modifications have been designed and constructed to convert a Varian 2898A furnace to a continuous mode of operation. New laboratory facilities to house the continuous furnace were prepared and assembly of the furnace has been completed. Furnace checkout will be carried out early in the next quarter. Economic modeling of the continuous Czochralski process has continued utilizing the IPEG option of SAMICS. The influence of both crystal size and total furnace run size have been examined. Results of these studies indicate that for 10-cm diameter crystal, 100-kg furnace runs of four or five crystals each are near-optimal. Costs tend to asymptote at the 100-kg level so little additional cost improvement occurs at larger runs. For these conditions, crystal cost in equivalent wafer area of around $20/m/sup 2/ exclusive of polysilicon and slicing is obtained.

The Combined Electrolysis Catalytic Exchange system was operated to experimentally determine mass transfer coefficients and to test the process controller. Values for H/sub OG/ and K/sub tilde y/a were obtained at three separate molar flow ratios (tilde L/tilde G). Replicate values of K/sub tilde y/a from additional runs agreed with initial results to within 16%. Two process controller tests were completed that demonstrated the reliability of the system hardware and the feasibility of the digital controller software. The feasibility of using a xenon flashlamp source in the uv photodissociation step of the two-photon water-hydrogen laser isotope separation (LIS) process has been demonstrated with H/sub 2/O/D/sub 2/ and D/sub 2/O/H/sub 2/ photocatalyzed exchange experiments. A nearly 10 : 1 isotopic selectivity between the photodissociation of ground state H/sub 2/O and D/sub 2/O was observed with an unfiltered xenon flashlamp source. The effectiveness of the hydrogen scavenger system was also demonstrated in these experiments. Tests continued on samples of cement and cement-plaster mixtures which were injected with tritiated water, cured, and then impregnated with catalyzed styrene monomer. After polymerization the samples were put into uncontaminated water and the tritium concentration was monitored. No significant differences were noted except in two cases when …

Limit theorems for maxima of time series are often useful in making statistical inferences in practical problems. In the study of air pollution the peak levels over fixed time periods are of concern. This paper examines a class of models for which the classical theory does not apply. The results indicate that methods like those used in this paper might be necessary to obtain the appropriate limit in some simple stationary models (e.g., first order autoregressive models). Some of these stationary models may be adequate to describe the behavior of some air pollution time series, although the uniform model described in this paper may not.

This volume contains Biomedical and Environmental Research, Environmental Control Technology Research, and Operational and Environmental Safety Research project listings. The projects are ordered numerically by log number.

The Freshwater Sciences Section of PNL has initiated biologically oriented studies at the P and M solvent refined coal (SRC) pilot plant on the Fort Lewis Reservation in western Washington. Essentially, the study objectives are to identify residual components in the treated SRC process and assess potential for adverse impact on water quality and aquatic biota. Since inception of research in mid-1976, six static toxicity tests with treated SRC process effluent have been conducted. Toxic components, not yet specifically identified, sometimes occur in the effluent. It is believed these components involve organic hydrocarbons of the phenol and cresol groups. Analyses have been obtained on inorganic and organic constituents in partially-treated and treated process effluent. Concentrations of inorganics identified in the effluent did not differ greatly from their concentrations in Lake Sequalitchew or SRC plant tap water, but the low concentrations may be due primarily to dilution with freshwater before discharge. Organics identified in the effluent are similar to those found in samples contaminated with petroleum, and involve many complex hydrocarbons.

An oil and gas exploration well, located near Jesup in Wayne County, Georgia (lat. 31/sup 0/32' N, long. 81/sup 0/43' W), was deepened and used for geothermal temperature-gradient measurements. The well was drilled from 4,009 to 4,341 feet, then diamond cored to 4,371 feet, 28 feet of core being obtained for analysis. After logging by the U.S.G.S. District Groundwater Office in Atlanta, the well was terminated with 3/sup 1///sub 2/'' tubing to 4,386 feet. The bottom-hole temperature was determined to be 60/sup 0/C (140/sup 0/F) at 1,331 meters (4,365 feet). Over the interval 47 to 1,331 meters (154 to 4,365 feet) the least-squares temperature gradient was 29.3 +- 0.14 /sup 0/C/km (1.61 +- 0.25 /sup 0/F/100 ft).

This report is a collection of monthly status reports from the AiResearch Manufacturing Company, who is developing eight prototype solar heating and cooling sytems under NASA Contract NAS8-32091. This effort calls for the development, manufacture, test, system installation, maintenance, problem resolution, and performance evaluation. The systems are 3-, 25-, and 75-ton size units.

This paper describes a number of physics studies relevant to tandem mirror confinement. We give the basic axial confinement laws and show that T/sub e/ depends critically upon end loss. Sufficient central-cell end loss can stabilize the drift-cyclotron loss-cone mode in the plugs, although the resultant T/sub e/ scaling is too slow for reactors. Minimum-B plugs stabilize flute MHD- and rotation-driven modes; local ballooning sets limits on ..beta.. > or equal to 0.5. Proper magnetic symmetry is important for good drift confinement. For small increases in the total injected power, supplementary ion-cyclotron r.f. heating can halve the neutral-beam energy required to maintain plug densities.

A presentation made at the CUBE (Computer Use By Engineers) Symposium, October 1976, in Albuquerque, New Mexico is summarized. A full-scale testing program involving impact tests of spent-nuclear-fuel shipping systems is described. This program is being conducted by Sandia Laboratories for the Environmental Control Technology Division of the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration. The analytical and scale modeling techniques being employed to predict the response of the full-scale system in the very severe impact tests are described. The analytical techniques include lumped parameter modeling of the vehicle and cask system and finite modeling of isolated shipping casks. Some preliminary results from the mathematical analyses and scale model tests demonstrate close agreement between these two techniques. Scale models of the systems are also described and some results presented.

The theory of laser scattering is presented in abbreviated format, with emphasis on physical interpretation, followed by sections on laser sources, practical considerations in designing experiments, and current developments in extending the techniques to multispace and multitime point measurements.

From 27 March to 20 June 1978, 7 cruises aboard U.S. Coast Guard cutters DECISIVE, VIGILANT, and VIGOROUS and the National Marine Fisheries Service research vessel ALBATROSS IV were made on outer continental shelf waters in regions from the mid-Atlantic to the Gulf of Maine and Scotian Shelf. A total of 13916 marine birds of at least 27 species were counted in 711.16 km/sup 2/ sampled from 730 fixed-area transects (300m wide by 10 minutes cruising time). An equal number of 10-minute total bird counts (no fixed area) were conducted at the same time. All of MBO cruises conducted in 1978 have been transcribed onto computer data sheets and were proofed and verified. Seven of 24 MBO cruises made in 1977 have been transcribed. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Migratory Bird and Habitat Research Laboratory will keypunch the data. From a review of over 100 scientific papers and books, food habits of fulmars, shearwaters, storm-petrels, gannets, gulls, and alcids were referenced by bird species and author.