Bimonthly newsletter of the Texas Advisory Commission on State Emergency Communications discussing news and activities of the organization as well as other information related to 9-1-1 services and other emergency communication within Texas.

This document serves as the proceedings for the annual project review meeting held by Sandia's Photovoltaic Cell Research Division and Photovoltaic Technology Division. It contains information supplied by each organization making a presentation at the meeting, which was held August 7 through 9, 1990 at the Sheraton Hotel in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Sessions were held to discuss national photovoltaic programs, one-sun crystalline silicon cell research, concentrator silicon cell research, concentrator 3-5 cell research, and concentrating collector development.

This document is a summary providing an overview of the analysis, thought process, and conclusions of the Resource Program. This summary is accompanied by a Technical Report, under separate cover, that provides a more in-depth discussion of the information presented here. Another companion document published under separate cover, the Resource Program Public Comment Summary and BPA's Response, provides a detailed summary of public comments on the Draft 1990 Resource Program and BPA's response to those comments. For a thorough understanding of how BPA arrived at the following conclusions, all three documents should be consulted. The 1990 Resource Program describes the actions Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) will take to develop new resources to meet the power requirements of its customers. The main focus is to determine what BPA should do in Fiscal Years (FY's) 1992 and 1993. This document presents Energy Resource budgets for these years. However, much care has been taken to define near-term actions aimed at meeting BPA's long-term resource needs. consequently, proposed program actions are presented for FY's 1994 through 1997. In addition, the 1990 Resource Program addresses some resource-related policy issues.

This Technical Report is a detailed presentation of the actions Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) will take to develop new resources to meet the power requirements of its customers. The primary focus of this report is on what BPA will do in Fiscal Years (FY's) 1992 and 1993. However, much care has been taken to define near-term actions aimed at meeting BPA's long-term needs. An aggressive, steadily increasing conservation program forms the foundation of the 1990 Resource Program and resource acquisitions for FY's 1992 and 1993. BPA's commitment to a steady ramp-up of the conservation program is key to achieving the least-cost approach to resource development, and to making the conservation resource deliverable in the long run. By itself, conservation can meet much of the likely range of load growth that BPA faces. A diverse mix of generation resources in small increments is the second cornerstone of the 1990 Resource Program. These generation resources can meet the rest of the likely range of BPA resource needs. Finally, a Resource Contingency Plan prepares BPA to reliably meet load in the event that load growth exceeds the likely range. 14 figs., 27 tabs.

The objective of the Solar/METC program is to prove the technical, economic, and environmental feasibility of coal-fired gas turbine for cogeneration applications through tests of a Centaur Type H engine system operated on coal fuel throughout the engine design operating range. This quarter, work was centered on design, fabrication, and testing of the combustor, cleanup, fuel specifications, and hot end simulation rig. 2 refs., 59 figs., 29 tabs.

The Advanced Light Source, a third-generation national synchrotron-radiation facility now under construction at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, is scheduled to begin serving qualified users across a broad spectrum of research areas in the spring of 1993. Based on a low-emittance electron storage ring optimized to operate at 1.5 GeV, the ALS will have 10 long straight sections available for insertion devices (undulators and wigglers) and 24 high-quality bend-magnet ports. The short pulse width (30--50 ns) will be ideal for time-resolved measurements. Undulators will generate high-brightness soft x-ray and ultraviolet (XUV) radiation from below 20 eV to above 2 keV. Wigglers and bend magnets will extend the spectrum by generating high fluxes of hard x-rays to photon energies above 10 keV. The ALS will support an extensive research program in which XUV radiation is used to study matter in all its varied gaseous, liquid, and solid forms. The high brightness will open new areas of research in the materials sciences, such as spatially resolved spectroscopy (spectromicroscopy). Biological applications will include x-ray microscopy with element-specific sensitivity in the water window of the spectrum where water is much more transparent than protein. The ALS will be an excellent research tool for atomic physics …

The purpose of the Ceramic Technology for Advanced Heat Engines (CTAHE) Project is the development of an industrial technology base capable of providing reliable and cost-effective high temperature ceramic components for application in advanced heat engines. There is a deliberate emphasis on industrial'' in the purpose statement. The project is intended to support the US ceramic and engine industries by providing the needed ceramic materials technology. The heat engine programs have goals of component development and proof-of-concept. The CTAHE Project is aimed at developing generic basic ceramic technology and does not involve specific engine designs and components. The materials research and development efforts in the CTAHE Project are focused on the needs and general requirements of the advanced gas turbine and low heat rejection diesel engines. The CTAHE Project supports the DOE Office of Transportation Systems' heat engine programs, Advanced Turbine Technology Applications (ATTAP) and Heavy Duty Transport (HDT) by providing the basic technology required for development of reliable and cost-effective ceramic components. The heat engine programs provide the iterative component design, fabrication, and test development logic. 103 refs., 18 figs., 11 tabs.

The Advanced Neutron Source will be a new world-class facility for research using hot, thermal, cold, and ultra-cold neutrons. The heart of the facility will be a 330-MW (fission), heavy-water cooled and heavy-water moderated reactor. The reactor will be housed in a central reactor building, with supporting equipment located in an adjoining reactor support building. An array of cold neutron guides will fan out into a large guide hall, housing about 30 neutron research stations. Appropriate office, laboratory, and shop facilities will be included to provide a complete facility for users. The ANS is scheduled to begin operation at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory early in the next decade. This PDR document defines the plant-level requirements for the design, construction, and operation of ANS. It also defines and provides input to the individual System Design Description (SDD) documents. Together, this PDR document and the set of SDD documents will define and control the baseline configuration of ANS.

The Advanced Neutron Source will be a new world-class facility for research using hot, thermal, cold, and ultra-cold neutrons. The heart of the facility will be a 330-MW (fission), heavy-water cooled and heavy-water moderated reactor. The reactor will be housed in a central reactor building, with supporting equipment located in an adjoining reactor support building. An array of cold neutron guides will fan out into a large guide hall, housing about 30 neutron research stations. Appropriate office, laboratory, and shop facilities will be included to provide a complete facility for users. The ANS is scheduled to begin operation at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory early in the next decade. This PDR document defines the plant-level requirements for the design, construction, and operation of ANS. It also defines and provides input to the individual System Design Description (SDD) documents. Together, this PDR document and the set of SDD documents will define and control the baseline configuration of ANS.

The Advanced Neutron Source (ANS) is a new, world class facility for research using hot, thermal, cold, and ultra-cold neutrons. At the heart of the facility is a 350-MW{sub th}, heavy water cooled and moderated reactor. The reactor is housed in a central reactor building, with supporting equipment located in an adjoining reactor support building. An array of cold neutron guides fans out into a large guide hall, housing about 30 neutron research stations. Office, laboratory, and shop facilities are included to provide a complete users facility. The ANS is scheduled to begin operation at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the end of the decade. This Plant Design Requirements document defines the plant-level requirements for the design, construction, and operation of the ANS. This document also defines and provides input to the individual System Design Description (SDD) documents. Together, this Plant Design Requirements document and the set of SDD documents will define and control the baseline configuration of the ANS.

An aging assessment of Westinghouse DS-series low-voltage air circuit breakers was performed as part of the Nuclear Plant Aging Research (NPAR) program. The objectives of this study are to characterize age-related degradation within the breaker assembly and to identify maintenance practices to mitigate their effect. Since this study has been promulgated by the failures of the reactor trip breakers at the McGuire Nuclear Station in July 1987, results relating to the welds in the breaker pole lever welds are also discussed. The design and operation of DS-206 and DS-416 breakers were reviewed. Failure data from various national data bases were analyzed to identify the predominant failure modes, causes, and mechanisms. Additional operating experiences from one nuclear station and two industrial breaker-service companies were obtained to develop aging trends of various subcomponents. The responses of the utilities to the NRC Bulletin 88-01, which discusses the center pole lever welds, were analyzed to assess the final resolution of failures of welds in the reactor trips. Maintenance recommendations, made by the manufacturer to mitigate age-related degradation were reviewed, and recommendations for improving the monitoring of age-related degradation are discussed. As described in Volume 2 of this NUREG, the results from a test program …

Pursuant to the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA), the Department of Transportation (DOT) has promulgated a comprehensive set of regulations regarding the highway transportation of high-level radioactive materials. These regulations, under docket numbers HM-164 and HM-164A, establish interstate highways as the preferred routes for the transportation of radioactive materials within and through the states. The regulations also provide a methodology by which a state may select altemative routes. First, the state must establish a ``state routing agency``, defined as an entity authorized to use the state legal process to impose routing requirements on carriers of radioactive material (49 CFR 171.8). Once identified, the state routing agency must select routes in accordance with DOTs Guidelines for Selecting Preferred Highway Routes for Large Quantity Shipments of Radioactive Materials or an equivalent routing analysis. Adjoining states and localities should be consulted on the impact of proposed alternative routes as a prerequisite of final route selection. Lastly, the states must provide written notice to DOT of any alternative route designation before the routes are deemed effective. The purpose of this report is to discuss the ``lessons learned`` by the five states within the southern region that have designated alternative or preferred routes under the …

Pursuant to the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA), the Department of Transportation (DOT) has promulgated a comprehensive set of regulations regarding the highway transportation of high-level radioactive materials. These regulations, under docket numbers HM-164 and HM-164A, establish interstate highways as the preferred routes for the transportation of radioactive materials within and through the states. The regulations also provide a methodology by which a state may select altemative routes. First, the state must establish a state routing agency'', defined as an entity authorized to use the state legal process to impose routing requirements on carriers of radioactive material (49 CFR 171.8). Once identified, the state routing agency must select routes in accordance with DOTs Guidelines for Selecting Preferred Highway Routes for Large Quantity Shipments of Radioactive Materials or an equivalent routing analysis. Adjoining states and localities should be consulted on the impact of proposed alternative routes as a prerequisite of final route selection. Lastly, the states must provide written notice to DOT of any alternative route designation before the routes are deemed effective. The purpose of this report is to discuss the lessons learned'' by the five states within the southern region that have designated alternative or preferred routes under the …

This paper discusses the merits of differing strategies that the Department of Energy might care to adopt for developing a broader consensus within the United States on whether the US should proceed with a major program on actinide burning and if so, in what manner.

Alloys from the aluminum-lithium-scandium-magnesium system have been cast and rolled for study. The goal is to evaluate this system for the development of superplastically formable, high strength alloys. Aluminum-scandium-magnesium alloys have shown potential as superplastic alloys. These alloys rely on small Al{sub 3}Sc (ordered L1{sub 2}) precipitates for grain structure stabilization and strengthening. Additional precipitation strengthening is required to raise their strength to levels sufficient for aircraft applications. The addition of lithium provides this additional strengthening through the formation of Al{sub 3}Li({delta}{prime}). To produce the alloys studied in this research, a unique induction melting furnace was constructed that incorporates special features to produce aluminum-lithium alloys with low hydrogen content. The furnace also features a water cooled, copper casting mold to achieve a moderately rapid solidification rate. This is because the amount of scandium used (0.5 wt %) is in excess of the solubility limit and Al{sub 3}Sc cannot be re-solutionized to any extent. It is therefore desired to super-saturate the matrix with as much scandium as possible for later precipitation. Two high lithium alloys were produced, ALS2 (nominal composition Al-2.2Li-O.5 Sc) and AlS4 (nominal composition Al-2.0Li-2.2Mg-0.5Sc) that were strengthened with {delta}{prime} (Al{sub 3}Li). These alloys exhibited strength and ductility superior …

Applicability of the PTST technique was verified by conducting a sensitivity study to the various parameters. The study showed that for ranges of skin parameters the true formation permeability was still successfully estimated using the PTST analysis technique. The analysis technique was then applied to field data from the deep borehole in Leuggern, Northern Switzerland. The analysis indicated that the formation permeability may be as much as one order of magnitude larger than the value based on no-skin analysis. Swabbing data from the Leuggern deep borehole were also analyzed assuming that they are constant pressure tests. The analysis of the swabbing data indicates that the formation transmissivity is as much as 20 times larger than the previously obtained value. This study is part of an investigation of the feasibility of geologic isolation of nuclear wastes being carried out by the US Department of Energy and the National Cooperative for the Storage of Radioactive Waste of Switzerland.

Periodic newsletter discussing information related to legislation, state finance, and other topics related to Texas government. This issue focuses on a survey taken from business interests to assess their attitudes towards Texas' public education system.

In the limit of the first Born approximation for a partially coherent secondary source, consisting of a spatially random plasma illuminated by a coherent plane wave, it is shown that the spectral coherence of the scattered radiation as measured on an arbitrary plane beyond the scatterer conveys information on the three dimensional intensity distribution of the random source. By defining a new two point statistical measure of the random field, closely related to the cross spectral density, we show that the fluctuation amplitude of the random source along the direction of the incident plane wave may by recovered from the measurement of the scattered radiation. The application of cross spectral techniques to fluctuation studies on tokamaks is considered. 7 refs.

This project is designed to develop methods for pre-combustion coal remediation by implementing recent advances in enzyme biochemistry. The novel approach of this study is incorporation of hydrophilic oxidative enzymes in reverse micelles in an organic solvent. Enzymes from commercial sources or microbial extracts are being investigated for their capacity to remove organic sulfur from coal by oxidation of the sulfur groups, splitting of C-S bonds and loss of sulfur as sulfuric acid. Dibenzothiophen (DBT) and ethylphenylsulfide (EPS) are serving as models of organic sulfur-containing components of coal in initial studies.

This project is designed to develop methods for pre-combustion coal remediation by implementing recent advances in enzyme biochemistry. The novel approach of this study is incorporation of hydrophilic oxidative enzymes in reverse micelles in an organic solvent. Enzymes from commercial sources or microbial extracts are being investigated for their capacity to remove organic sulfur from coal by oxidation of the sulfur groups, splitting of C-S bonds and loss of sulfur as sulfuric acid. Dibenzothiophen (DBT) and ethylphenylsulfide (EPS) are serving as models of organic sulfur-containing components of coal in initial studies.

This is a status report on technical progress relative to the tasks identified for the fifth year of Grant No. FG02-85-ER52118. The ARIES tokamak reactor study is a multi-institutional effort to develop several visions of the tokamak as an attractive fusion reactor with enhanced economic, safety, and environmental features. The ARIES study is being coordinated by UCLA and involves a number of institutions, including RPI. The RPI group has been pursuing the following areas of research in the context of the ARIES-I design effort: MHD equilibrium and stability analyses; plasma-edge modeling and blanket materials issues. Progress in these areas is summarized herein.

The Analytic System and Software for Evaluating Safeguards and Security (ASSESS) has been released for use by DOE field offices and their contractors. In October, 1989, we offered a prototype workshop to selected representatives of the DOE community. Based on the prototype results, we held the first training workshop at the Central Training Academy in January, 1990. Four additional workshops are scheduled for FY 1990. ASSESS is a state-of-the-art analytical tool for management to conduct integrated evaluation of safeguards systems at facilities handling facilities. Currently, ASSESS focuses on the threat of theft/diversion of special nuclear material by insiders, outsiders, and a special form of insider/outsider collusion. ASSESS also includes a neutralization module. Development of the tool is continuing. Plans are underway to expand the capabilities of ASSESS to evaluate against violent insiders, to validate the databases, to expand the neutralization module, and to assist in demonstrating compliance with DOE Material Control and Accountability (MC A) Order 5633.3. These new capabilities include the ability to: compute a weighted average for performance capability against a spectrum of insider adversaries; conduct defense-in-depth analyses; and analyze against protracted theft scenarios. As they become available, these capabilities will be incorporated in our training program. ASSESS …

This report assesses challenges to BWR Mark II containment integrity that could potentially arise from severe accidents. Also assessed are some potential improvements that could prevent core damage or containment failure, or could mitigate the consequences of such failure by reducing the release of fission products to the environment. These challenges and improvements are analyzed via a limited quantitative risk/benefit analysis of a generic BWR/4 reactor with Mark II containment. Point estimate frequencies of the dominant core damage sequences are obtained and simple containment event trees are constructed to evaluate the response of the containment to these severe accident sequences. The resulting containment release modes are then binned into source term release categories, which provide inputs to the consequence analysis. The output of the consequences analysis is used to construct an overall base case risk profile. Potential improvements and sensitivities are evaluated by modifying the event tree spilt fractions, thus generating a revised risk profile. Several important sensitivity cases are examined to evaluate the impact of phenomenological uncertainties on the final results. 75 refs., 25 figs., 65 tabs.

The goal of this report is to document current production practices for hatcheries which rear anadromous fish in the Columbia River Basin and to identify those facilities where production can be increased. A total of 85 hatchery and satellite facilities operated by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Oregon Department of Fish and Game, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington Department of Wildlife, and Washington Department of Fisheries were evaluated. The years 1985 to 1987 were used in this evaluation. During those years, releases averaged 143,306,596 smolts weighing 7,693,589 pounds. A total of 48 hatchery or satellite facilities were identified as having expansion capability. They were estimated to have the potential for increasing production by an 84,448,000 smolts weighting 4,853,306 pounds. 2 refs., 25 figs.