This report presents conceptual designs for containment of high-level wastes (HLW) and low-level wastes (LLW) that will result from disassembly of fuel elements from the High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor at the Fort St. Vrain nuclear power plant in Platteville, Colorado. Hexagonal fuel elements will enter the disassembly area as a HLW and exit as either as HLW or LLW. The HLW will consist of spent fuel compacts that have been removed from the hexagonal graphite block. Graphite dust and graphite particles produced during the disassembly process will also be routed to the container that will hold the HLW spent fuel compacts. The LLW will consist of the emptied graphite block. Three alternatives have been introduced for interim storage of the HLW containers after the spent fuel has been loaded. The three alternatives are: (a) store containers where fuel elements are currently being stored, (b) construct a new dry storage facility, and (c) employ Multi-Purpose Canisters (currently in conceptual design stage). Containment of the LLW graphite block will depend on several factors: (a) LLW classification, (b) radiation levels, and (c) volume-reducing technique (if used). Packaging may range from cardboard boxes for incinerable wastes to 55-ton cask inserts for remote-handled wastes. Before …

In addition to the stable silica polymorph quartz, several metastable silica phases are present in Yucca Mountain. The conversion of these phases to quartz is accompanied by volume reduction and a decrease in the aqueous silica activity, which may destabilize clinoptilolite and mordenite. The primary reaction sequence for the silica phases is from opal or glass to disordered opal-CT, followed by ordering of the opal-CT and finally by the crystallization of quartz. The ordering of opal-CT takes place in the solid state, whereas the conversion of opal-CT takes place through dissolution-reprecipitation involving the aqueous phase. It is proposed that the rate of conversion of opal-CT to quartz is controlled by diffusion of defects out of a disordered surface layer formed on the crystallizing quartz. The reaction rates are observed to be dependent on temperature, pressure, degree of supersaturation, and pH. Rate equations selected from the literature appear to be consistent with observations at Yucca Mountain.

Geochemical processes can results in changes in hydrological properties and processes via modification of pore and fracture volumes. Coupling of these processes must be taken into account when modeling repository evolution. Preliminary calculations have been carried out to determine the distribution of equilibrium vs kinetically controlled recrystallization domains in the repository block, and what the magnitude of resulting changes in porosity may be. The results suggest that equilibrium may be achieved for most of the hydrological regimes that may develop, except within fractures a few tens of meters from emplacement drifts. Preliminary models suggest total change in porosity may be ca. twenty percent in equilibrium-dominated regimes.

This report describes a study to determine the feasibility to use neutrons to probe hidden spaces within buildings for the presence of mercury. The study was performed in four phases: First a search of the scientific literature was performed to ascertain the behavior of mercury subsequent to the capture of a thermal or near-thermal neutron. Second, a Monte Carlo investigation (using the code MCNP) of the effects of neutrons on materials expected to be found near and/or surrounding the mercury was undertaken. Third, a Monte Carlo study of the shielding and beam forming properties of various configurations of moderator material was started. Lastly, a Monte Carlo analysis of a likely field situation involving mercury behind 1 inch and 2 inch thicknesses of concrete was performed.

Work was done in three tasks during the first quarter. In Task 1, a new SCR reactor system has been built, complete with on-line GC and MS analyses. The GC is used to monitor the N{sub 2} product so the NO{sub x} > N{sub 2} conversion can be calculated. The MS is used to analyze the N{sub 2}0 concentration. In addition, a wet analytical technique has been established for SO{sub 3} analysis. The new SCR system and the SO{sub 3} analytical technique have been subjected to shakedown tests with success. Along with the existing SCR reactor system, there are now two systems that are being run independently. In Task 2, a procedure for the synthesis of stable Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} Pillared clay has been established. Inductive coupled plasma spectrometric analysis (ICP) has been used to analyze the chemical composition of the Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} Pillared clay. Preliminary results for the SCR activities of the Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} pillared clay are obtained in Task 3. The results show that the activities are near that of the commercial V{sub 2}O{sub 5}/TiO{sub 2} catalysts. However, the SO{sub 2}-to-SO{sub 3} conversion is substantially lower with the pillared clay catalyst, which could be an important …

Performance assessment calculations are based on geochemical models that assume that interactions among radionuclides, rocks and groundwaters under natural conditions, can be estimated or bound by data obtained from laboratory-scale studies. The data include radionuclide distribution coefficients, measured in saturated batch systems of powdered rocks, and retardation factors measured in short-term column experiments. Traditional approaches to model validation cannot be applied in a straightforward manner to the simple reactive transport models that use these data. An approach to model validation in support of performance assessment is described in this paper. It is based on a recognition of different levels of model validity and is compatible with the requirements of current regulations for high-level waste disposal. Activities that are being carried out in support of this approach include (1) laboratory and numerical experiments to test the validity of important assumptions inherent in current performance assessment methodologies,(2) integrated transport experiments, and (3) development of a robust coupled reaction/transport code for sensitivity analyses using massively parallel computers.

The US Department of Energy is studying the suitability of Yucca Mountain (YM) as a potential nuclear waste repository site. Environmental conditions are important to engineered barrier system (EBS) design, materials testing, selection, design criteria, waste-form characterization, and performance assessment. Yucca Mountain is located in uninhabited desert which results in an environmental framework (unsaturated conditions, and sorptive properties of the rock materials) that is generally favorable for waste disposal. However, waste package (WP) and engineered barrier system (EBS) design concepts, including materials testing and selection, design criteria development, waste-form characterization, and performance assessments all require a specific and detailed understanding of the environmental conditions that will interact with the WP/EBS. Environmental conditions assessments from a series of laboratory and modeling studies have been conducted which provide the current understanding of the near-field environmental conditions at YM that not only exist now but will exist in the future. Because the environmental conditions can change with time, emphasis of the investigations were on processes and changed (not ambient) conditions.

Five of the eight coals to be studied in this project have been selected on the basis of economic importance as well as geologic and chemical histories. Plans have been initiated to collect the first sample, a Pittsburgh seam coal from southwestern Pennsylvania. However, we have as yet not received permission from the mine to collect our working face sample. In addition, preliminary work was completed on development and testing of a procedure to photo-oxidize vitrinite containing coal blocks using the optical microscope.

The additives Si, Al, MgO, P{sub 2}O{sub 5} were mechanically blended with fluorinelsodium calcine in varying proportions. The batches were vacuum sealed in stainless steel canisters and hot isostatically pressed at 20,000 PSI and 1000 C for 4 hours. The resulting suite of glass-ceramic waste forms parallels the natural rocks in microstructural and compositional heterogeneity. Several crystalline phases ar analogous in composition and structure to naturally occurring minerals. Additional crystalline phases are zirconia and Ca-Mg borate. The glasses are enriched in silica and alumina. Approximately 7% calcine elements occur dissolved in this glass and the total glass content in the waste forms averages 20 wt%. The remainder of the calcine elements are partitioned into crystalline phases at 75 wt% calcine waste loading. The waste forms were tested for chemical durability in accordance with the MCC1-test procedure. The leach rates are a function of the relative proportions of additives and calcine, which in turn influence the composition and abundances of the glass and crystalline phases. The DOE leach rate criterion of less than 1 g/m{sup 2}-day is met by all the elements B, Cs and Na are increased by lowering the melt viscosity. This is related to increased crystallization or devitrification …

Irradiated (or spent) graphite fuel stored at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) includes Fort St. Vrain (FSV) reactor and Peach Bottom reactor spent fuels. Conditioning and disposal of spent graphite fuels presently includes three broad alternatives: (1) direct disposal with minimum fuel packaging or conditioning, (2) mechanical disassembly of spent fuel into high-level waste and low-level waste portions to minimize geologic repository requirements, and (3) waste-volume reduction via burning of bulk graphite and other spent fuel chemical processing of the spent fuel. A multi-year program for the engineering development and demonstration of conditioning processes is described. Program costs, schedules, and facility requirements are estimated.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) prepares quarterly, short-term energy supply, demand, and price projections for publication in February, May, August, and November in the Short-Term Energy Outlook (Outlook). An annual supplement analyzes the performance of previous forecasts, compares recent cases with those of other forecasting services, and discusses current topics related to the short-term energy markets. (See Short-Term Energy Outlook Annual Supplement, DOE/EIA-0202.) The forecast period for this issue of the Outlook extends from the third quarter of 1993 through the fourth quarter of 1994. Values for the second quarter of 1993, however, are preliminary EIA estimates (for example, some monthly values for petroleum supply and disposition are derived in part from weekly data reported in the Weekly Petroleum Status Report) or are calculated from model simulations using the latest exogenous information available (for example, electricity sales and generation are simulated using actual weather data). The historical energy data are EIA data published in the Monthly Energy Review, Petroleum Supply Monthly, and other EIA publications. Minor discrepancies between the data in these publications and the historical data in this Outlook are due to independent rounding.

The University of Virginia Reactor Facility is an integral part of the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering and is used to support educational programs in engineering and science at the University of Virginia and at other area colleges and universities. The University of Virginia Research Reactor (UVAR) is the highest power (two megawatts thermal power) and one of the most utilized university research reactor in the mid-Atlantic states. A major objective of this facility is to support educational programs in the region. The University of Virginia has received support under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) University Reactor Instrumentation Program every year since 1990. The monies from this program have been used to purchase new equipment to replace outdated or inadequate safety-related instrumentation used in conjunction with reactor operations. This report documents the equipment purchased and the status of the installation and use of this equipment from September 1990 through August 1993. This report constitutes the final report for this project period.

Detailed measurements of the V-I curves for a number of Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8} and Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}Ca{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 10}/Ag composite tapes were made at 4.2, 27, and 64-77 K as a function of applied magnetic field as well as the angle between the tape face and the direction of applied field. Results suggest that the weak vortex-pinning strength, and the amount of the weakly coupled grain boundaries and of the non-superconducting volume are primary limiting factors for critical current densities in Bi(2212)/Ag and Bi(2223)/Ag, respectively. Furthermore, in both cases, the dissipative voltages arise from the interior of the gains.

Simple mass transport models using constant boundary conditions at the waste form surface and at the host rock boundary do not always result in realistic predictions of the performance of an underground repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. What is needed is a model that couples the important processes that can not be modeled independently, including (1) thermal modeling, (2) geochemical modeling, (3) containment degradation, (4) waste form dissolution, and (5) radionuclide transport. Such a model is being developed by modifying the AREST code.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is characterizing Yucca Mountain Nevada, as a potential site for long-term underground storage of high-level nuclear waste. DOE is committed to reclaim all lands disturbed by the project, and return them to a stable ecological state, with a composition and productivity similar to predisturbance conditions. A study was implemented to assess plant species which naturally invade disturbed sites in the Yucca Mountain Project Area. In 1991 and 1992 study plots were established on disturbed sites. Sites were characterized by disturbance type (i.e., road, drill pad, etc.), disturbance severity, vegetation association, time since abandonment, and topographic placement. Density of all perennial plant species was measured on disturbed and undisturbed plots. The species with the highest density in disturbed sites was Chrysothamnus teretifolia. This species was not a major contributor in undisturbed sites. In the undisturbed sites Ambrosia dumosa had the highest density of perennial plant species but was also high in density in the disturbance sites. Total species density was higher in undisturbed sites compared to disturbed sites. Plant species density analysis compared disturbed and undisturbed vegetation associations. Results will be used to design reclamation field trails and to finalize the Yucca Mountain Project Reclamation …

A survey is given of supersymmetry and supergravity and their phenomenology. Some of the topics discussed are the basic ideas of global supersymmetry, the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) and its phenomenology, the basic ideas of local supersymmetry (supergravity), grand unification, supersymmetry breaking in supergravity grand unified models, radiative breaking of SU(2) {times} U(1), proton decay, cosmological constraints, and predictions of supergravity grand unified models. While the number of detailed derivations are necessarily limited, a sufficient number of results are given so that a reader can get a working knowledge of this field.

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act, as amended in 1987, directs the US Department of Energy (DOE) to study Yucca Mountain, in southern Nevada, as a potential site for long-term storage of high-level nuclear waste. DOE policy mandates the restoration of all lands disturbed by site characterization activities and DOE has developed an environmental program that is to be implemented during site characterization activities at Yucca.Mountain. DOE is currently conducting reclamation feasibility trials as part of this environmental program. No topsoil was saved on disturbances during early site investigation and minimal soil remains at existing disturbances on Yucca Mountain. A study was developed to test the effects of soil quality and depth on seedling emergence and survival. A series of plots was established and two treatments were tested. The first treatment compared native topsoil to subsoil imported from a borrow pit. The second treatment compared four different depth ranges of both soil types. All plots received identical seeding treatments. Seedling density was measured after emergence. Overall seedling densities were low, averaging 10.3 {plus_minus} 8.8 (SD) plants/m{sup 2}. Statistical analysis revealed a significant interaction between the two treatment factors. The subsoil had increasing densities from the deep soil depths to the shallow …

Thermal calculations of the effects of radioactive waste decay heat on the I repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada have been conducted by the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in conjunction with the B&W Fuel Company. For a number of waste package spacings, these 3D transient calculations use the TOPAZ3D code to predict drift wall temperatures to 10,000 years following emplacement. Systematic tcniperature variation occurs as a function of fuel age at emplacement and Areal Mass Loading (AML) during the first few centuries after emplacement. After about 1000 years, emplacement age is not a strong driver on rock temperature; AML has a larger impact. High AMLs occur when large waste packages are emplaced end-tocnd in drifts. Drift emplacement of equivalent packages results in lower rock teniperatures than borehole emplacement. For an emplacement scheme with 50% of the drift length occupied by packages, an AML of 138 MTU/acre is about three times higher than the Site Characterization Plan-Conceptual Design (SCP-CD) value. With this higher AML (requiring only 1/3 of the SCP-CD repository footprint), peak drift wall temperatures do not exceed 160*C, but rock temperatures excetd the boiling point of water for about 3000 years. These …

The 1993 InterAmerican Petroleum and Gas Conference (IPGC) took place September 27--28, 1993, in Dallas Texas. The EPGC was sponsored by the US Department of Energy, organized by the East-West Center and hosted by the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man at Southern Methodist University. The IPGC brought together senior oil industry and government representatives from the United States and Latin America to discuss energy security and more efficient resource utilization through improved cooperation and integration of upstream and downstream activities in the United States and Latin America with an emphasis on technology investments and complementary trade strategies. Special attention was given to the growing opportunities for private and foreign investment, trade and joint commercial ventures between US and Latin American companies. The papers included in these proceedings include most of the presentations offered at the conference that addressed a number of key issues including financial challenges of the hydrocarbon sector, regional and national outlook on the world oil market, upstream and downstream outlook, role of natural gas, and environment and infrastructure requirements. Selected papers have been processed separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology database.

Realistic health risk assessments were performed in a pilot study of three U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) sites. These assessments, covering a broad spectrum of data and methods, were used to identify needs for improving future health risk assessments at USDOE sites. Topics receiving specific recommendations for additional research include: choice of distributions for Monte Carlo simulation; estimation of risk reduction; analysis of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Database on food and nutrient intakes; investigations on effects of food processing on contaminant levels; background food and environmental concentrations of contaminants; method for handling exposures to groundwater plumes, methods for analyzing less than lifetime exposure to carcinogens; and improvement of bioaccumulation factors.

The retardation of neptunium was studied using batch sorption and column techniques. Pure mineral separates, tuffs and groundwaters from Yucca Mountain were used for these experiments. Our results indicate that Np sorption increases rapidly as the pH of the water increases in cases where surface complexation is thought w be the dominant sorption mechanism. Oxide minerals (such as hematite) sorb Np strongly; therefore, these minerals even at trace levels in Yucca Mountain tuffs can result in significant Np retardation. Neptunium in groundwaters from Yucca Mountain exhibited a significant amount of sorption onto quartz. Neptunium sorption onto quartz is important because of the large quantity of silica in the tuffs. Elution of neptunium solutions in groundwater through columns made of crushed tuff yielded sorption coefficients that agree with the sorption results obtained using batch sorption techniques. Agreement between batch and column experiments indicates a neptunium sorption mechanism that is linear, reversible, and instantaneous.

Research is underway to evaluate the Hydrocarb process for conversion of carbonaceous raw material to clean carbon and methanol products. These products are valuable in the market either as fuel or as chemical commodities. As fuel, methanol and carbon can be used economically, either independently or in slurry form, in efficient heat energies (turbines and internal combustion engines) for both mobile and stationary single and combined cycle power plants. When considering CO{sub 2} emission control in the utilization of fossil fuels, the copressing of those fossil fuels with biomass (which may include, wood, municipal solid waste and sewage sludge) is a viable mitigation approach. By coprocessing both types of feedstock to produce methanol and carbon while sequestering all or part of the carbon, a significant net CO{sub 2} reduction is achieved if the methanol is substituted for petroleum fuels in the transportation sector. The Hydrocarb process has the potential, if the R&D objectives are achieved, to produce alternative transportation fuel from indigenous resources at lower cost than any other biomass conversion process. These comparisons suggest the resulting fuel can significantly displace gasoline at a competitive price while mitigating CO{sub 2} emissions and reducing ozone and other toxics in urban atmospheres.

AQUATECH Systems a business unit of Allied-Signal Inc., proposes to demonstrate the technical viability and cost effectiveness of the SOXAL process a combined SO{sub x}/NO{sub x} control process on a 3 MW equivalent flue gas slip stream from Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation, Dunkirk Steam Station Boiler No. 4, a coal fired boiler. The SOXAL process combines 90+% sulfur dioxide removal from the flue gas using a sodium based scrubbing solution and regeneration of the spent scrubbing liquor using AQUATECH Systems` proprietary bipolar membrane technology. This regeneration step recovers a stream of sulfur dioxide suitable for subsequent processing to salable sulfur or sulfuric acid. Additionally 90+% control of NO{sub x} gases can be achieved in combination with conventional urea/methanol injection of NO{sub 2} gas into the duct. The SOXAL process is applicable to both utility and industrial scale boilers using either high or low sulfur coal. The SOXAL demonstration Program began September 10, 1991 and is approximately 22 months in duration. During the 6 months of scheduled operations period, expected to begin January 1992, data will be collected from the SOXAL system to define: SO{sub 2} and NO{sub x} control efficiencies; Current efficiency for the regeneration unit; Sulfate oxidation in the …

Early in 1993 Westinghouse Idaho Nuclear Company (WINCO) chartered a Panel of Nuclear Separations Experts. The purpose of this Panel was to assist WINCO scientists and engineers in selecting, evaluating, and ranking candidate aqueous-based processes and technologies for potential use in partitioning selected radionuclides from nitric acid solutions of retrieved Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) calcine. Radionuclides of interest are all transuranium elements, {sup 90}Sr, {sup 99}Tc, {sup 129}I, and {sup 137}Cs. The six man Panel met for 4 days (February 16--19, 1993) on the campus of the Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho. Principal topics addressed included: Available radionuclide removal technology; applicability of separations technology and processes to ICPP calcine; and potential integrated radionuclide partitioning schemes. This report, prepared from contributions from all Panel members, presents a comprehensive account of the proceedings and significant findings of the February, 1993 meeting in Pocatello.