This report summarizes evaluations by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of some of the Department of Energy (DOE) activities on waste packages designed for containment of radioactive high-level nuclear waste (HLW) for the six-month period, August 1989--January 1990. This includes reviews of related materials research and plans, information on the Yucca Mountain, Nevada disposal site activities, and other information regarding supporting research and special assistance. Short discussions are given relating to the publications reviewed and complete reviews and evaluations are included. Reports of other work are included in the Appendices.

The Experimental Facilities Division requires a labeling system to identify and catalog the instrumentation, control, and computer cables that will run throughout the building. Tom Sheridan from the MIS Group has already made some general suggestions about the information that could be included in an Oracle-based Cable Tracking System (E-mail text distributed by Gary Gunderson on the 27th of August). Glenn Decker`s LS Note No. 191 is also relevant to the subject since it addresses name assignment rules for the storage ring devices. The intent of this note is to recommend a mechanism for tracking wires/cables, with enough specifics, to which all groups in the Division would adhere when pulling cables. Because most cables will run between various beamline devices, hutch safety components, and equipment racks, any method of tracking cables is related to the Equipment Tracking System. That system has been developed by the APS Project personnel and is described in the APS Project Equipment Tracking System Guidelines (DRAFT). It can be adopted to XFD`s needs. Two essential features of the Cable Tracking System are: 1) Each cable shell have a unique Identifier, and 2) Cable label must contain information that is helpful during troubleshooting in the field. The …

At the Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory (SSCL) a tool called DAQSIM has been developed to study the behavior of Data Acquisition (DAQ) systems. This paper reports and discusses the graphics used in DAQSIM. DAQSIM graphics includes graphical user interface (GUI), animation, debugging, and control facilities. DAQSIM graphics not only provides a convenient DAQ simulation environment, it also serves as an efficient manager in simulation development and verification.

Over the years, users of the GEMBOCHS thermodynamic database (GEMBOCHS is an acronym for Geologic and Engineering Materials: Bibliography Of CHemical Species) and the EQ316 software package have periodically forwarded suggestions for improvement to the GEMBOCHS and EQ316 research groups. These correspondences typically report database or software errors that have been discovered during application, solicit the inclusion of additional or improved thermodynamic data, or suggest incorporation of new or alternate algorithms for performing various geochemical calculations. Traditionally, these suggestions have been made in person, over the phone, or via surface mail, and their resolution has often required additional correspondence. Hence, it has been difficult to maintain a complete, readily-accessible database of such transactions. This difficulty has been eliminated by development of the CNGBOCHS software package (CNGBOCHS is an acronym for ChaNGe Bibliography Of CHemical Species). This system permits GEMBOCHS and EQ316 users to submit suggestions for improvement using the standard electronic mail system (hereinafter referred to as email); facilitates timely review, status notification, and resolution of these suggestions; and greatly simplifies the task of maintaining a comprehensive change-request database that can be relationally searched and selectively printed in rapid fashion. The purpose of this document is to describe the procedure …

Concern for the measurement of seismic refraction velocities in tunnel areas where cables, construction features, and other sensitive structures render the use of dynamite sources unwise, resulted in the design of a vacuum-driven impact system utilizing a 43-kg (94-lb) weight in a 2-m (6.5-ft) tube. The system is portable, quickly assembled and disassembled, and requires only standard electrical power, an air pressure supply, and a laboratory vacuum pump to operate. The maximum weight of any component is 84 kg (185 lb), the remaining components being significantly lighter. Tests in volcanic rock tunnels in Rainier Mesa at the Nevada Test Site indicate maximum energy generated by the system is in the SV wave. When the system was employed at angles other than vertical, a polarized SH mode was also observed. The hammer was used to obtain velocities in an in-hole survey in a 138-m horizontal hole drilled behind the flat face of the Red Hot chamber after the Red Hot nuclear detonation. A large decrease was observed in compressional velocity compared with pre-event values. Because 20 years have elapsed since the explosion, one cannot separate the effect of ground shock on lowering the velocity from possible effects of destressing around adjacent …

This report discusses conceptual models and mathematical equations, analyzes distributions and correlations among hydrological parameters of soils and tuff, introduces new path integration approaches, and outlines scaling procedures to model potential-driven fluid flow in heterogeneous media. To properly model the transition from fracture-dominated flow under saturated conditions to matrix-dominated flow under partially saturated conditions, characteristic curves and permeability functions for fractures and matrix need to be improved and validated. Couplings from two-phase flow, heat transfer, solute transport, and rock deformation to liquid flow are also important. For stochastic modeling of alternating units of welded and nonwelded tuff or formations bounded by fault zones, correlations and constraints on average values of saturated permeability and air entry scaling factor between different units need to be imposed to avoid unlikely combinations of parameters and predictions. Large-scale simulations require efficient and verifiable numerical algorithms. New path integration approaches based on postulates of minimum work and mass conservation to solve flow geometry and potential distribution simultaneously are introduced. This verifiable integral approach, together with fractal scaling procedures to generate statistical realizations with parameter distribution, correlation, and scaling taken into account, can be used to quantify uncertainties and generate the cumulative distribution function for groundwater travel …

A two dimensional, steady-state model for describing a variety of reactive and nonreactive flows, including pulverized coal combustion and gasification, is presented. The model, referred to as 93-PCGC-2 is applicable to cylindrical, axi-symmetric systems. Turbulence is accounted for in both the fluid mechanics equations and the combustion scheme. Radiation from gases, walls, and particles is taken into account using a discrete ordinates method. The particle phase is modeled in a lagrangian framework, such that mean paths of particle groups are followed. A new coal-general devolatilization submodel (FG-DVC) with coal swelling and char reactivity submodels has been added.

Experiment 789 is a fixed-target experiment at Fermilab designed to study low-multiplicity decays of charm and beauty. During the 1991 run. E789 collected {approx} 10{sup 9} events using an 800 GeV proton beam incident upon gold and beryllium targets. Analyses of these data include searches for b {yields} J/{psi}+{Chi} decays and {Alpha}- dependence measurements of neutral D meson production. Preliminary results from the 1991 run are presented in this paper.

The BES research efforts cover chemical reaction theory, experimental dynamics and spectroscopy, thermodynamics of combustion intermediates, chemical kinetics, reaction mechanisms, combustion diagnostics, and fluid dynamics and chemically reacting flows. 98 papers and abstracts are included. Separate abstracts were prepared for the papers.

This report discusses the following topics: quark-hadron phase transition; hadron production without phase transition; fractal structure in multiparticle production; and j/psi suppression in pA collisions. (LIP)

High energy physics (HEP) research at the Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory (SSCL) is a highly collaborative affair. Scientists participating in SSC research come from a worldwide distribution of institutions. The Solenoid Detector Collaboration (SDC) currently has more than 1100 members from 20 countries. Likewise, the Gamma, Electron, Muon (GEM) collaboration members number more than 1000 from 17 countries. Roughly half of the collaborators on these experiments are from outside the US Communications, in general, and data transmission, in particular, are crucial to the success of the collaborations and to the ultimate success of the SSC. The bulk of data transmission to and from the Laboratory is over the Energy Science NETwork (ESNET). The purpose of this document is to describe the anticipated network capacity needed to provide adequate communication among these widespread collaborations.

This report examines the issues concerning final waste forms, or residuals, that result from the treatment of mixed waste in molten salt oxidation (MSO) and incinerator systems. MSO is a technology with the potential to treat a certain segment of the waste streams at US Department of Energy (DOE) sites. MSO was compared with incineration because incineration is the best demonstrated available technology (BDAT) for the same waste streams. The Grand Junction Projects Office (GJPO) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) prepared this report for the DOE Office of Environmental Restoration (OER). The goals of this study are to objectively evaluate the anticipated residuals from MSO and incineration, examine regulatory issues for these final waste forms, and determine secondary treatment options. This report, developed to address concerns that MSO residuals present unique disposal difficulties, is part of a larger effort to successfully implement MSO as a treatment technology for mixed and hazardous waste. A Peer Review Panel reviewed the MSO technology in November 1991, and the implementation effort is ongoing under the guidance of the MSO Task Force.

The June 1, 1985, Department of Energy (DOE)/Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Site-Specific Procedural Agreement for Geologic Repository Site Investigation and Characterization Program requires the DOE to develop and maintain a catalog of data which will be updated and provided to the NRC at least quarterly. This catalog is to include a description of the data; the time (date), place, and method of acquisition; and where it may be examined. The Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP) Technical Data Catalog is published and distributed in accordance with the requirements of the Site-Specific Agreement. The YMP Technical Data Catalog is a report based on reference information contained in the YMP Automated Technical Data Tracking System (ATDT). The reference information is provided by Participants for data acquired or developed in support of the YMP. The Technical Data Catalog is updated quarterly and published in the month following the end of each quarter. A complete revision to the Catalog is published at the end of each fiscal year. Supplements to the end-of-year edition are published each quarter. These supplements provide information related to new data items not included in previous quarterly updates and data items affected by changes to previously published reference information. The …

We investigated the role of reactive oxygen intermediates (ROIs) and protein kinase C (PKC) in radiation- and H{sub 2}O{sub 2}-evoked c-jun gene expression in human HL-205 cells. This induction of c-jun gene expression could be prevented by pretreatment of the cells with Nacetylcysteine (an antioxidant) or H7 (a PKC and PKA inhibitor) but not by HA1004, a PKA inhibitor, suggesting a role for ROls and PKC in mediating c-jun gene expression. We also investigated potential differences in c-jun gene expression in a panel of normal and tumor cells untreated or treated with ionizing radiation or H{sub 2}O{sub 2}. Treatment with radiation or H{sub 2}O{sub 2} produced a varied response, from some reduction to an increase of more than an order of magnitude in the steady-state level of c-jun mRNA. These data indicate that although induction of c-jun may be a common response to ionizing radiation and H{sub 2}O{sub 2}, this response was reduced or absent in some cell types.

Two aspects of the radionuclide source terms used for total-system performance assessment (TSPA) analyses have been reviewed. First, a detailed radionuclide inventory (i.e., one in which the reactor type, decay, and burnup are specified) is compared with the standard source-term inventory used in prior analyses. The latter assumes a fixed ratio of pressurized-water reactor (PWR) to boiling-water reactor (BWR) spent fuel, at specific amounts of burnup and at 10-year decay. TSPA analyses have been used to compare the simplified source term with the detailed one. The TSPA-91 analyses did not show a significant difference between the source terms. Second, the radionuclides used in source terms for TSPA aqueous-transport analyses have been reviewed to select ones that are representative of the entire inventory. It is recommended that two actinide decay chains be included (the 4n+2 ``uranium`` and 4n+3 ``actinium`` decay series), since these include several radionuclides that have potentially important release and dose characteristics. In addition, several fission products are recommended for the same reason. The choice of radionuclides should be influenced by other parameter assumptions, such as the solubility and retardation of the radionuclides.

The Nevada Test Site (NTS) is located in the southwestern part of Nevada, about 105 km (65 mi) northwest of the city of Las Vegas. Underground tests of nuclear weapons devices have been conducted at the NTS since late 1962 and ground water beneath the NTS has been contaminated with radionuclides produced by these tests. This concern prompted this examination of the potential health risk to these individuals from drinking the contaminated ground water either at a location on the NTS (assuming loss of institutional control after 100 y) or at one offsite (considering groundwater migration). For the purpose of this assessment, a representative mix of the radionuclides of importance and their concentrations in ground water beneath the NTS were identified from measurements of radionuclide concentrations in groundwater samples-of-opportunity collected at the NTS. Transport of radionuclide-contaminated ground water offsite was evaluated using a travel-time-transport approach. At both locations of interest, potential human-health risk was calculated for an individual ingesting radionuclide-contaminated ground water over the course of a 70-y lifetime. Uncertainties about human physiological attributes, as well as about estimates of physical detriment per unit of radioactive material, were quantified and incorporated into the estimates of risk. The maximum potential excess …

The Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA) authorized the US Department of Energy (DOE) to clean up two uranium mill tailings processing sites near Slick Rock, Colorado, in San Miguel County. The purpose of the cleanup is to reduce the potential health effects associated with the radioactive materials remaining on the sites and on vicinity properties (VP) associated with the sites. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated standards for the UMTRCA that contained measures to control the contaminated materials and to protect the groundwater from further degradation. Remedial actions at the Slick Rock sites must be performed in accordance with these standards and with the concurrence of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

CalTOX has been developed as a spreadsheet model to assist in health-risk assessments that address contaminated soils and the contamination of adjacent air, surface water, sediments, and ground water. The modeling effort includes a multimedia transport and transformation model, exposure scenario models, and efforts to quantify and reduce uncertainty in multimedia, multiple-pathway exposure models. This report provides an overview of the CalTOX model components, lists the objectives of the model, describes the philosophy under which the model was developed, identifies the chemical classes for which the model can be used, and describes critical sensitivities and uncertainties. The multimedia transport and transformation model is a dynamic model that can be used to assess time-varying concentrations of contaminants introduced initially to soil layers or for contaminants released continuously to air or water. This model assists the user in examining how chemical and landscape properties impact both the ultimate route and quantity of human contact. Multimedia, multiple pathway exposure models are used in the CalTOX model to estimate average daily potential doses within a human population in the vicinity of a hazardous substances release site. The exposure models encompass twenty-three exposure pathways. The exposure assessment process consists of relating contaminant concentrations in the …

An overview is presented of research that focuses on slow flows of suspensions in which colloidal and inertial effects are negligibly small. We describe nuclear magnetic resonance imaging experiments to quantitatively measure particle migration occurring in concentrated suspensions undergoing a flow with a nonuniform shear rate. These experiments address the issue of how the flow field affects the microstructure of suspensions. In order to understand the local viscosity in a suspension with such a flow-induced, spatially varying concentration, one must know how the viscosity of a homogeneous suspension depends on such variables as solids concentration and particle orientation. We suggest the technique of falling ball viscometry, using small balls, as a method to determine the effective viscosity of a suspension without affecting the original microstructure significantly. We also describe data from experiments in which the detailed fluctuations of a falling ball`s velocity indicate the noncontinuum nature of the suspension and may lead to more insights into the effects of suspension microstructure on macroscopic properties. Finally, we briefly describe other experiments that can be performed in quiescent suspensions (in contrast to the use of conventional shear rotational viscometers) in order to learn more about boundary effects in concentrated suspensions.

A fully relativistic layer-KKR formalism was developed and implemented for calculating the single-particle Green function in atomic layers parallel to crystalline surfaces magnetic and non magnetic materials: The method was applied to the calculation surface spectroscopies, such as low energy electron diffraction (LEED), angle-resolve ultraviolet photo emission spectroscopy (UPS), and photoelectron scattering. Numeric tests were performed for non magnetic actinide surfaces and magnetic Fe surface Theoretical angle-resolved UPS spectra are presented for uranium monolayers on Pt(111) and for f.c.c. u(lll) surfaces. We find that u island formation can take place if a peak in the UPS spectra appears just before the Fermi energy immediately as u is deposited on P and we suggest an experimental procedure for testing this prediction. An intensity map photo excited electrons from the 2p{sub 3/2} core states of Fe(110) surface is also show Sizable magnetic anisotropy is found due to the interference between exchange and spin-orbit interaction, which is suitable for studying a possible surface-induced magnetism actinide adlayers.

Rock mass mechanical properties are important in the design of drifts and ramps. These properties are used in evaluations of the impacts of thermomechanical loading of potential host rock within the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project. Representative intact rock and joint mechanical properties were selected for welded and nonwelded tuffs from the currently available data sources. Rock mass qualities were then estimated using both the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (Q) and Geomechanics Rating (RMR) systems. Rock mass mechanical properties were developed based on estimates of rock mass quality, the current knowledge of intact properties, and fracture/joint characteristics. Empirical relationships developed to correlate the rock mass quality indices and the rock mass mechanical properties were then used to estimate the range of rock mass mechanical properties.

The Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project of the US Department of Energy (DOE) is investigating the suitability of the Topopah Spring Tuff at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for use as a disposal site for spent nuclear fuel and other high-level waste forms. The performance of the high-level waste forms and the engineered barrier system at the site must be shown to comply with the requirements in 10 CFR 60. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has the responsibility for determining the performance of the US commercial reactor spent nuclear fuels under potential repository conditions. Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) performs testing of these highly radioactive materials in support of the LLNL program. This report summarizes the rationale for selecting additional spent fuels that should be acquired to support the LLNL and PNL testing programs. These programs have identified specific attributes that may affect spent fuel behavior in a repository.

A variety of chemical byproducts including SOF{sub 2}, SO{sub 2}F{sub 2}, SF{sub 4}, HF, SO{sub 2}, etc. are produced at varying concentrations by electrical arcs, sparks or corona discharge in SF{sub 6}; most of the byproducts are toxic to some degree. Using a cell culture system, we have studied the toxicity of individual byproduct gases, as well as electrically decomposed SF{sub 6}. The toxic potency of various byproducts can be compared, using this cellular assay. The animal toxicological data for these gases, although sparse, is also reviewed. The rationale for selection of various byproduct gases as monitors for evaluating the hazard potential of decomposed SF{sub 6} is discussed.

The Boussinesq system describes weakly nonlinear dispersive long waves plasmas and incompressible irrotational fluids. This study presents some results regarding the structure and behavior of a system of equations that yield the spatial structure of triad interactions in the Boussinesq system. Such a system forms part of a model for the formation and evolution of sand ridges on the continental shelf. The aims of this study are to provide some insight into the behavior of the triad system and into the sand ridge model in particular.