The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) commitment to assuring the health and safety of its workers includes the conduct of illness and injury surveillance activities that provide an early warning system to detect health problems among workers. The Illness and Injury Surveillance Program monitors illnesses and health conditions that result in an absence, occupational injuries and illnesses, and disabilities and deaths among current workers.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) commitment to assuring the health and safety of its workers includes the conduct of illness and injury surveillance activities that provide an early warning system to detect health problems among workers. The Illness and Injury Surveillance Program monitors illnesses and health conditions that result in an absence, occupational injuries and illnesses, and disabilities and deaths among current workers.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) had planned to rely heavily on automation in conducting the 2010 Census, including using handheld computers (HHC) to verify addresses. Citing concerns about escalating costs, in March 2008 the Secretary of Commerce announced a redesign of the key automation effort. GAO was asked to (1) analyze Bureau and contractor data showing how HHCs operated and their impact on operations, and (2) examine implications the redesign may have on plans for address canvassing in the 2010 Census. GAO reviewed Bureau and contractor data, evaluations, and other documents on HHC performance and staff productivity; interviewed Bureau and contractor officials; and visited the two dress rehearsal sites to observe and document the use of the HHCs in the field."

A new fine coal dewatering technology has been developed and tested in the present work. The work was funded by the Solid Fuels and Feedstocks Grand Challenge PRDA. The objective of this program was to 'develop innovative technical approaches to ensure a continued supply of environmentally sound solid fuels for existing and future combustion systems with minimal incremental fuel cost.' Specifically, this solicitation is aimed at developing technologies that can (i) improve the efficiency or economics of the recovery of carbon when beneficiating fine coal from both current production and existing coal slurry impoundments and (ii) assist in the greater utilization of coal fines by improving the handling characteristics of fine coal via dewatering and/or reconstitution. The results of the test work conducted during Phase I of the current project demonstrated that the new dewatering technologies can substantially reduce the moisture from fine coal, while the test work conducted during Phase II successfully demonstrated the commercial viability of this technology. It is believed that availability of such efficient and affordable dewatering technology is essential to meeting the DOE's objectives.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A significantly greater proportion of African American children are in foster care than children of other races and ethnicities relative to their share of the general population. Given this situation, GAO was asked to analyze the (1) major factors influencing their proportion in foster care, (2) strategies states and localities have implemented that appear promising, and (3) ways in which federal policies may have influenced the proportion of African American children in foster care. This testimony is based on a GAO report issued in July 2007 (GAO-07-816), which included a nationwide survey; a review of research and policies; state site visits; analyses of child welfare data; and interviews with researchers, HHS officials, and other experts. It includes updates where possible."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The airline industry is vital to the U.S. economy, generating operating revenues of nearly $172 billion in 2007, amounting to over 1 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. It serves as an important engine for economic growth and a critical link in the nation's transportation infrastructure, carrying more than 700 million passengers in 2007. Airline deregulation in 1978, led, at least in part, to increasingly volatile airline profitability, resulting in periods of significant losses and bankruptcies. In response, some airlines have proposed or are considering merging with or acquiring another airline. GAO was asked to help prepare Congress for possible airline mergers or acquisitions. This report describes (1) the financial condition of the U.S. passenger airline industry, (2) whether the industry is becoming more or less competitive, (3) why airlines seek to merge with or acquire other airlines, and (4) the role of federal authorities in reviewing proposed airline mergers and acquisitions. To answer these objectives, we analyzed Department of Transportation (DOT) financial and operating data; interviewed agency officials, airline managers, and industry experts; and reviewed Horizontal Merger Guidelines and spoke with antitrust experts. DOT …

This study focuses on the remediation methods and technologies applicable for use at 200-PO-I Groundwater Operable Unit (OU) at the Hanford Site. The 200-PO-I Groundwater au requires groundwater remediation because of the existence of contaminants of potential concern (COPC). A screening was conducted on alternative technologies and methods of remediation to determine which show the most potential for remediation of groundwater contaminants. The possible technologies were screened to determine which would be suggested for further study and which were not applicable for groundwater remediation. COPCs determined by the Hanford Site groundwater monitoring were grouped into categories based on properties linking them by remediation methods applicable to each COPC group. The screening considered the following criteria. (1) Determine if the suggested method or technology can be used for the specific contaminants found in groundwater and if the technology can be applied at the 200-PO-I Groundwater au, based on physical characteristics such as geology and depth to groundwater. (2) Evaluate screened technologies based on testing and development stages, effectiveness, implementability, cost, and time. This report documents the results of an intern research project conducted by Mathew Dado for Central Plateau Remediation in the Soil and Groundwater Remediation Project. The study was conducted …

Mission Research develops analyst tools and automated quality control software in order to assist the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Data Quality Office with their data inspection tasks. We have developed web-based data analysis and visualization tools such as the interactive plotting program NCVweb, various diagnostic plot browsers, and a datastream processing status application. These tools allow even novice ARM researchers to be productive with ARM data with only minimal effort. We also contribute to the ARM Data Quality Office by analyzing ARM data streams, developing new quality control metrics, new diagnostic plots, and integrating this information into DQ HandS - the Data Quality Health and Status web-based explorer. We have developed several ways to detect outliers in ARM data streams and have written software to run in an automated fashion to flag these outliers. We have also embarked on a system to comprehensively generate long time-series plots, frequency distributions, and other relevant statistics for scientific and engineering data in most high-level, publicly available ARM data streams. Furthermore, frequency distributions categorized by month or by season are made available to help define valid data ranges specific to those time domains. These statistics can be used to set limits that when checked, …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2002, the Department of Defense (DOD) established the Missile Defense Agency to develop and deploy globally integrated ballistic missile defenses to protect the U.S. homeland, deployed forces, friends, and allies. To deliver an operational capability as quickly as possible, the agency was not subject to traditional DOD requirements and oversight processes. While directed to work closely with the combatant commands, the agency was not required to build missile defenses to meet specific operational requirements. GAO was asked to assess the extent to which DOD has developed a process that identifies, prioritizes, and addresses overall combatant command priorities as the Missile Defense Agency develops ballistic missile defense capabilities. To conduct its work, GAO reviewed relevant documents and visited several combatant commands, the Missile Defense Agency, Joint Staff, and other DOD organizations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2007, the U.S. Mission in Mexico (Mission Mexico) processed 1.5 million of the 8 million nonimmigrant visas (NIV) that the Department of State (State) handled worldwide. This workload is expected to increase dramatically in the coming years as millions of NIV Border Crossing Cards issued in Mexico during fiscal years 1998 to 2002 expire and need to be renewed. Consulates will also face increased workloads due to implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), which will require U.S. citizens to carry passports, or other approved documentation, when traveling between the United States and Mexico, including by land. GAO was asked to review State's (1) estimates of the workload for consulates in Mexico through 2012 and (2) efforts to help ensure consulates keep pace with expected workload increases. GAO analyzed State's workload forecasts and forecast methodology, interviewed State officials, and visited five posts in Mexico."

The effect of fuel burnup on the embrittlement of various cladding alloys was examined with laboratory tests conducted under conditions relevant to loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs). The cladding materials tested were Zircaloy-4, Zircaloy-2, ZIRLO, M5, and E110. Tests were performed with specimens sectioned from as-fabricated cladding, from prehydrided (surrogate for high-burnup) cladding, and from high-burnup fuel rods which had been irradiated in commercial reactors. The tests were designed to determine for each cladding material the ductile-to-brittle transition as a function of steam oxidation temperature, weight gain due to oxidation, hydrogen content, pre-transient cladding thickness, and pre-transient corrosion-layer thickness. For short, defueled cladding specimens oxidized at 1000-1200 C, ring compression tests were performed to determine post-quench ductility at {le} 135 C. The effect of breakaway oxidation on embrittlement was also examined for short specimens oxidized at 800-1000 C. Among other findings, embrittlement was found to be sensitive to fabrication processes--especially surface finish--but insensitive to alloy constituents for these dilute zirconium alloys used as cladding materials. It was also demonstrated that burnup effects on embrittlement are largely due to hydrogen that is absorbed in the cladding during normal operation. Some tests were also performed with longer, fueled-and-pressurized cladding segments subjected to LOCA-relevant heating …

Excitation functions for the 1n and 2n exit channels of the 208Pb(51V,xn)259-xDb reaction were measured. A maximum cross section of the 1n exit channel of 2070+1100/-760 pb was measured at an excitation energy of 16.0 +- 1.8 MeV. For the 2n exit channel, a maximum cross section of 1660+450/-370 pb was measured at 22.0 +- 1.8 MeV excitation energy. The 1n excitation function for the 209Bi(50Ti,n)258Db reaction was remeasured, resulting in a cross section of 5480+1730/1370 pb at an excitation energy of 16.0 +- 1.6 MeV. Differences in cross section maxima are discussed in terms of the fusion probability below the barrier. The extraction of niobium (Nb) and tantalum (Ta) from hydrochloric acid and mixed hydrochloric acid/lithium chloride media by bis(2-ethylhexyl) hydrogen phosphate (HDEHP) and bis(2-ethylhexyl) hydrogen phosphite (BEHP) was studied. The goal of the experiments was to find a system that demonstrates selectivity among the members of group five of the Periodic Table and is also suitable for the study of dubnium (Db, Z = 105). Experiments with niobium and tantalum were performed with carrier (10-6 M), carrier free (10-10 M) and trace (10-16 M) concentrations of metal using hydrochloric acid solution with concentrations ranging from 1 - 11 …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2005, the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP) was established to eliminate terrorist safe havens in northwest Africa by strengthening countries' counterterrorism capabilities and inhibiting the spread of extremist ideology. Funds obligated for TSCTP in fiscal years 2005 through 2007 and committed for fiscal year 2008 by the Department of State (State), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Department of Defense (DOD) have amounted to about $353 million for activities in nine partner countries. In this report, GAO examines (1) the distribution of funds for TSCTP and the types of activities supported and (2) the program's implementation, including the extent to which it is guided by a comprehensive, integrated strategy. GAO has reported previously on the need for a strategy that includes priorities and milestones that can help agencies collaborate in combating terrorism. GAO analyzed TSCTP-related documents and conducted work in Mali, Morocco, and Mauritania."

The purpose of crucible scale testing with actual radioactive Tank 48H material was to duplicate the test results that had been previously performed on simulant Tank 48H material. The earlier crucible scale testing using simulants was successful in demonstrating that bench scale crucible tests produce results that are indicative of actual Fluidized Bed Steam Reforming (FBSR) pilot scale tests. Thus, comparison of the results using radioactive Tank 48H feed to those reported earlier with simulants would then provide proof that the radioactive tank waste behaves in a similar manner to the simulant. Demonstration of similar behavior for the actual radioactive Tank 48H slurry to the simulant is important as a preliminary or preparation step for the more complex bench-scale steam reformer unit that is planned for radioactive application in the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) Shielded Cells Facility (SCF) later in 2008. The goals of this crucible-scale testing were to show 99% destruction of tetraphenylborate and to demonstrate that the final solid product produced is sodium carbonate. Testing protocol was repeated using the specifications of earlier simulant crucible scale testing, that is sealed high purity alumina crucibles containing a pre-carbonated and evaporated Tank 48H material. Sealing of the crucibles was …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Cyber analysis and warning capabilities are critical to thwarting computer-based (cyber) threats and attacks. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) established the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) to, among other things, coordinate the nation's efforts to prepare for, prevent, and respond to cyber threats to systems and communications networks. GAO's objectives were to (1) identify key attributes of cyber analysis and warning capabilities, (2) compare these attributes with US-CERT's current capabilities to identify whether there are gaps, and (3) identify US-CERT's challenges to developing and implementing key attributes and a successful national cyber analysis and warning capability. To address these objectives, GAO identified and analyzed related documents, observed operations at numerous entities, and interviewed responsible officials and experts."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In October 2008, the U.S. Navy will begin construction of the first of two lead DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyers--at an expected cost of $6.3 billion. Given the history of cost growth on shipbuilding programs, as well as the Navy's request for approval of a third ship, GAO was asked to assess the progress of the program. GAO examined (1) whether key systems can be delivered on time and work as intended (2) design maturity (3) shipyard readiness and (4) whether lead and follow-on DDG 1000 ships can be built within budget. To accomplish this, our work included analysis of schedules, ship progress reviews and cost estimates; interviews with Navy and other officials; and our own past work."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Navy is about to begin construction of the first Zumwalt-class destroyer (DDG 1000) amid considerable uncertainties and a high likelihood of cost and schedule growth. Significant cost growth and schedule delays are persistent problems that continue to compromise the Navy's shipbuilding goals. This testimony focuses on (1) the challenges faced by the DDG 1000 program and (2) the strain such challenges portend for long term shipbuilding plans."

The transcription regulatory network is arguably the most important foundation of cellular function, since it exerts the most fundamental control over the abundance of virtually all of a cell’s functional macromolecules. The two major components of a prokaryotic cell’s transcription regulation network are the transcription factors (TFs) and the transcription factor binding sites (TFBS); these components are connected by the binding of TFs to their cognate TFBS under appropriate environmental conditions. Comparative genomics has proven to be a powerful bioinformatics method with which to study transcription regulation on a genome-wide level. We have further extended comparative genomics technologies that we introduced over the last several years. Specifically, we developed and applied statistical approaches to analysis of correlated sequence data (i.e., sequences from closely related species). We also combined these technologies with functional genomic, proteomic and sequence data from multiple species, and developed computational technologies that provide inferences on the regulatory network connections, identifying the cognate transcription factor for predicted regulatory sites. Arguably the most important contribution of this work emerged in the course of the project. Specifically, the development of novel procedures of estimation and prediction in discrete high-D settings has broad implications for biology, genomics and well beyond. We …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Twenty-five percent of American students ages 13-17 reported using illicit drugs in 2007. The Drug-Free Communities Support Program provides grants to community coalitions involved in reducing youth substance abuse. The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) administers the program. ONDCP selected the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to operate the grant program in fiscal year 2005. In 2005, ONDCP did not award grants to some coalitions who had previously received grant funds (renewal grantees). GAO was asked to assess (1) the extent to which ONDCP and SAMHSA administered grant-related activities for fiscal years 2005 and 2006 consistent with federal internal control standards, statutory requirements, and other guidance and (2) the steps ONDCP has taken since 2006 regarding its administration of grant-related activities. GAO analyzed and compared program documents and grant activities to established guidance, such as federal internal control standards and statutory requirements, and interviewed key program management officials."

The present research is focused on ductility enhancement of molybdenum (Mo) alloys by adding nano-sized oxide particles to the alloy system. The research approach includes: (1) determination of microscopic mechanisms responsible for the macroscopic ductility enhancement effects through atomistic modeling of the metal-ceramic interface; (2) subsequent computer simulation-aided optimization of composition and nanoparticle size of the dispersion for improved performance; (3) synthesis and characterization of nanoparticle dispersion following the guidance from atomistic computational modeling analyses (e.g., by processing a small sample of Mo alloy for evaluation); and (4) experimental testing of the mechanical properties to determine optimal ductility enhancement.Through atomistic modeling and electronic structure analysis using full-potential linearized muffin-tin orbital (FP-LMTO) techniques, research to date has been performed on a number of selected chromium (Cr) systems containing nitrogen (N) and/or magnesium oxide (MgO) impurities. The emphasis has been on determining the properties of the valence electrons and the characteristics of the chemical bonds they formed. It was found that the brittle/ductile behavior of this transitional metal system is controlled by the relative population of valence charges: bonds formed by s valence electrons yield metallic, ductile behavior, whereas bonds formed by d valence electrons lead to covalent, brittle behavior. The presence …

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This report summarizes the European Union's new initiative, casts the initiative in a historical perspective, and assesses the implications of this shift for the global trading system and for U.S. interests.

Convection and clouds affect atmospheric temperature, moisture and wind fields through the heat of condensation and evaporation and through redistributions of heat, moisture and momentum. Individual clouds have a spatial scale of less than 10 km, much smaller than the grid size of several hundred kilometers used in climate models. Therefore the effects of clouds must be approximated in terms of variables that the model can resolve. Deriving such formulations for convection and clouds has been a major challenge for the climate modeling community due to the lack of observations of cloud and microphysical properties. The objective of our DOE CCPP project is to evaluate and improve the representation of convection schemes developed by PIs in the NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) Community Climate System Model (CCSM) and study its impact on global climate simulations.

This report addresses the potential impact of changing the status of federal deductibility on state and local government tax systems, individual taxpayers, and the federal budget.