Forty-four sediment samples were collected from 28 locations in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River to assess the presence of metals and man-made radionuclides in the near shore and shoreline settings of the Hanford Site. Three locations were sampled upriver of the Hanford Site plutonium production reactors. Twenty-two locations were sampled near the reactors. Three locations were sampled downstream of the reactors near the Hanford Townsite. Sediment was collected from depths of 0 to 6 in. and between 12 to 24 in. below the surface. Samples containing concentrations of metals exceeding the 95 % upper threshold limit values (DOE-RL 1993b) are considered contaminated. Contamination by arsenic, chromium, copper, lead, and zinc was found. Man-made radionuclides occur in all samples except four collected opposite the Hanford Townsite. Man-made radionuclide concentrations were generally less than 1 pCi/g.

The present invention relates to highly corrosion resistant components for use in an electrochemical cell. Specifically, these components are resistant to corrosion under very extreme conditions such as exposure to aqua regia in the presence of a constant current density of 100mA/m{sup 2}. The components are comprised of an iridium-platinum alloy that comprises less than 30% iridium. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the iridium-platinum alloy comprises 15-20% iridium. In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the iridium-platinum alloy is deposited on the surface of an electrochemical cell component by magnetron sputtering. The present invention also relates to a method for conducting an electrochemical reaction in the presence of highly corrosive acids under a high degree of polarization wherein the electrochemical cell comprises a component, preferably the anode, containing an iridium-platinum alloy that comprises less than 30% iridium.

The main goal of this contract is to develop a catalyst and technology that will produce iC{sub 4}= directly from coal-derived syngas and that is capable of utilizing a lower (0.5 to 1.0) H{sub 2}:CO ratio. The research will identify and optimize the key catalyst and process characteristics that give improved performance for CO conversion by a non-Fischer-Tropsch process. This report, which is the seventh quarterly report covers the testing of various ZrO{sub 2}-based catalyst systems designed to examine the effects of catalyst preparation and process variables, especially low calcination temperature and mild reaction conditions (low temperatures, low pressure and low space velocity). Testing of solvent-extracted sol-gel ZrO{sub 2} catalysts indicate a decrease in isobutene yield. Lowering the reaction temperature, pressure and space velocity resulted in a small improvement in isobutene yield. Three extended runs demonstrated reasonable catalyst stability. In view of the generally poor isobutene yields, the emphasis in this project will shift to isoalcohol production.

The objectives of this research project were to lay the foundation for further improvement in the use of geophysical methods for detection of buried wastes, and to increase the information content derived from surveys. Also, an important goal was to move from mere detection to characterization of buried wastes. The technical approach to achieve these objectives consisted of: (1) Collect a data set of high spatial density; (2) Acquire data with multiple sensors and integrate the interpretations inferred from the various sensors; (3) Test a simplified time domain electromagnetic system; and (4) Develop imaging and display formats of geophysical data readily understood by environmental scientists and engineers. The breadth of application of this work is far reaching. Not only are uncontrolled waste pits and trenches, abandoned underground storage tanks, and pipelines found throughout most US DOE facilities, but also at military installations and industrial facilities. Moreover, controlled land disposal sites may contain ``hot spots`` where drums and hazardous material may have been buried. The technologies addressed by the R&D will benefit all of these activities.

A nondestructive method, and associated apparatus, are provided for determining the grain flow of the grains in a convex curved, textured polycrystalline surface. The convex, curved surface of a polycrystalline article is aligned in a horizontal x-ray diffractometer and a monochromatic, converging x-ray beam is directed onto the curved surface of the polycrystalline article so that the converging x-ray beam is diffracted by crystallographic planes of the grains in the polycrystalline article. The diffracted x-ray beam is caused to pass through a set of horizontal, parallel slits to limit the height of the beam and thereafter. The linear intensity of the diffracted x-ray is measured, suing a linear position sensitive proportional counter, as a function of position in a direction orthogonal to the counter so as to generate two dimensional data. An image of the grains in the curved surface of the polycrystalline article is provided based on the two-dimensional data.

The superconducting solenoid magnet for the GEM detector poses unusual fabrication and handling challenges because of its extraordinary size. It will be more than 30% larger in diameter than the largest existing particle detector coils. Each of the two coil elements that compose the air-core solenoid, will be about 19 meters in diameter and 15 meters long. Major components weighing as much as 1500 Mg must be transported and manipulated at the Interaction Region 5 (IR5) fabrication site of the SSC Laboratory as the magnets are fabricated. Because of their large size, the magnets will be fabricated, assembled and tested at special purpose facilities at the IR5 site. The site-use plan must accommodate the fabrication of other detector components and the assembly of large flux shaping iron structures in a timely manner to allow subsequent testing and detector assembly. Each cold mass will be composed of twelve 45-Mg coil windings that are joined prior to assembly into the 19-m diam annular cryostat.

The Wavelet/Scalar Quantization (WSQ) gray-scale fingerprint image compression algorithm involves a symmetric wavelet transform (SWT) image decomposition followed by uniform scalar quantization of each subband. The algorithm is adaptive insofar as the bin widths for the scalar quantizers are image-specific and are included in the compressed image format. Since the decoder requires only the actual bin width values -- but not the method by which they were computed -- the standard allows for future refinements of the WSQ algorithm by improving the method used to select the scalar quantizer bin widths. This report proposes a bit allocation procedure for use with the first-generation WSQ encoder. In previous work a specific formula is provided for the relative sizes of the scalar quantizer bin widths in terms of the variances of the SWT subbands. An explicit specification for the constant of proportionality, q, that determines the absolute bin widths was not given. The actual compression ratio produced by the WSQ algorithm will generally vary from image to image depending on the amount of coding gain obtained by the run-length and Huffman coding, stages of the algorithm, but testing performed by the FBI established that WSQ compression produces archival quality images at compression …

The Site Characterization Plan (SCP) (DOE, 1988) attempted to define surrogate criteria that could be used to establish potential repository performance. These criteria or SCP thermal goals were developed from knowledge existing at the time and, as a reference case, emphasized performance for waste emplacement in a vertical borehole. Since that time, new knowledge has become available and some additional analyses of thermal loading have been performed. Additionally, other emplacement modes such as in-drift emplacement are being considered to accommodate larger waste packages. New concepts such as ``extended hot`` are also being considered as possible methods to achieve improved waste isolation. Thus it became clear that the thermal goals established in the SCP should be reevaluated. A Working Group was formed to reassess the SCP thermal goals to determine whether each goal was still valid, if there were goals that needed to be added, and what if any effort was needed to reduce the uncertainty associated with a particular goal. The objectives of the effort were to: (1) provide thermal goals that would support the FY 1993 Thermal Loading Systems Study; (2) help focus the planned testing and analysis efforts; and (3) acquire data that potentially could be used to …

On March 8, 1990, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) issued Recommendation 90-2 to the Secretary of Energy. This recommendation, based upon the DNFSB`s initial review and evaluation of the content and implementation of standards relating to the design, construction, operations, and decommissioning of defense nuclear facilities of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), called for three actions: identification of specific standards that apply to design, construction, operation and decommissioning of DOE facilities; assessment of the adequacy of those standards for protecting public health and safety; and determination of the extent to which they have and are being implemented. The purpose of this Implementation Plan is to define the single program for all sitewide and facility 90-2 ES and H Standards Compliance efforts, which will satisfy the HQ Implementation Plan, avoid duplicate efforts, be as simple and achievable as possible, include cost-saving innovations, use a graded approach based on facility hazards and future needs of facilities, and support configuration control for facility requirements. The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) has been designated a pilot facility for the 90-2 program and has progressed with their facility program ahead of the site-level program. The DWPF, and other Government-Owned Contractor-Operated (GOCO) facilities …

On March 8, 1990, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) issued Recommendation 90-2 to the Secretary of Energy. This recommendation, based upon the DNFSB`s initial review and evaluation of the content and implementation of standards relating to the design, construction, operations, and decommissioning of defense nuclear facilities of the Department of Energy (DOE), called for three actions: (1) identification of specific standards that apply to design, construction, operation and decommissioning of DOE facilities; (2) assessment of the adequacy of those standards for protecting public health and safety; and (3) determination of the extent to which they have and are being implemented. This document defines the elements of the SRS program required to support the HQ program in response to DNFSB Recommendation 90-2. The objective is to ensure a consistent approach for all sitewide ES and H Standards Compliance Program efforts that satisfied the intent of Recommendation 90-2 and the HQ 90-2 Implementation Plan in a cost-effective manner. The methodology and instructions for implementation of the SRS program are contained in the Standards Compliance Program Implementation Plan. The Management Plan shall be used in conjunction with the Implementation Plan.

The design of the magnet for the GEM detector at the SSC is described. It is an 18m inner diameter, 30m long superconducting solenoid, with a magnetic field of 0.8T. The basic solenoidal field is shaped by large ferromagnetic cones, to improve detector performance in the ends of the solenoid. Because of the system`s large size and mass, field-fabrication on-site at SSC is required. The challenges in this process, together with the large stored energy of the system, 2.5 GJ, have lead to novel design choices in several areas, including the conductor. The design of the conductor, cold mass, vacuum vessel, cold mass supports, thermal shields, forward field shapers, and auxiliary systems are described.

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Objective is to perform a new type of measurement for optically excited electron transfer processes that can provide unique experimental insight into the molecular mechanism of electron transfer. Measurements of optically excited electron transfer are done with picosecond infrared (IR) absorption spectroscopy to monitor the vibrational motions of the molecules immediately after electron transfer. Theory and experiment suggest that molecular vibrations and distortions are important controlling elements for electron transfer, and direct information has yet to be obtained on these elements of electron transfer mechanisms. The second period of funding has been dedicated to finishing technique development and performing studies of electron transfer in ion pair systems to identify if vibrational dependent electron transfer rates are present in this system. We have succeeded in measuring, for the first time, electron transfer rates as a function of vibrational state in an ion pair complex in solution. In a different area of electron transfer research we have proposed a new mechanism of solvent gated electron transfer.