The major objectives of the proposed study are to 1) determine the leaching characteristics of Cr(VI) from contaminated sediments collected from 100 area spill sites, 2) elucidate possible Cr(VI) mineral and/or chemical associations that may be responsible for Cr(VI) retention in the Hanford site 100 areas through the use of i) macroscopic solubility studies and ii) microscale characterization of contaminated sediments, and 3) from these data construct a conceptual model of Cr(VI) geochemistry in the Hanford 100 area vadose zone. These objectives are based on locating and obtaining contaminated sediment with depth and at varying Cr(VI) concentrations as we hypothesize that mineral/chemical-Cr(VI) associations should be related to the total Cr concentration and other master geochemical variables (e.g., pH, counter-cation type and concentration, and water content). In addressing these objectives, additional benefits accrued will be (1) a fuller understanding of Cr(VI) entrained in the vadose zone that will that can be utilized in modeling potential Cr(VI) source terms, and 2) accelerating the Columbia River 100 area corridor cleanup by developing remedial action based on a fundamental understanding of Cr(VI) vadose zone geochemistry.

Conventional coal-burning power plants are major contributors of excess CO2 to the atmospheric inventory. Because such plants are stationary, they are particularly amenable to CO2 capture and disposal by deep injection into confined geologic formations. However, the energy penalty for CO2 separation and compression is steep, and could lead to a 30-40 percent reduction in useable power output. Integrated gas combined cycle (IGCC) plants are thermodynamically more efficient, i.e.,produce less CO2 for a given power output, and are more suitable for CO2 capture. Therefore, if CO2 capture and deep subsurface disposal were to be considered seriously, the preferred approach would be to build replacement IGCC plants with integrated CO2 capture, rather than retrofit existing conventional plants. Coal contains minor quantities of sulfur and nitrogen compounds, which are of concern, as their release into the atmosphere leads to the formation of urban ozone and acid rain, the destruction of stratospheric ozone, and global warming. Coal also contains many trace elements that are potentially hazardous to human health and the environment. During CO2 separation and capture, these constituents could inadvertently contaminate the separated CO2 and be co-injected. The concentrations and speciation of the co-injected contaminants would differ markedly, depending on whether CO2 …

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We present measurements of CP-violating asymmetries and branching fractions for the decays B{sup +} {yields} {omega}{pi}{sup +}, B{sup +} {yields} {omega}K{sup +}, and B{sup 0} {yields} {omega}K{sup 0}. The data sample corresponds to 232 million B{bar B} pairs produced by e{sup +}e{sup -} annihilation at the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance. For the decay B{sup 0} {yields} {omega}K{sub s}{sup 0}, we measure the time-dependent CP-violation parameters S = 0.51{sub -0.39}{sup +0.35} {+-} 0.02, and C = -0.55{sub -0.26}{sup +0.28} {+-} 0.03. We also measure the branching fractions, in units of 10{sup -6}, {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} {omega}{pi}{sup +}) = 6.1 {+-} 0.7 {+-} 0.4, {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} {omega}K{sup +}) = 6.1 {+-} 0.6 {+-} 0.4, and {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} {omega}K{sup 0}) = 6.2 {+-} 1.0 {+-} 0.4, and charge asymmetries {Alpha}{sub ch}(B{sup +} {yields} {omega}{pi}{sup +}) = -0.01 {+-} 0.10 {+-} 0.01 and {Alpha}{sub ch}(B{sup +} {yields} {omega}K{sup +}) = 0.05 {+-} 0.09 {+-} 0.01.

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This report discusses federal authority over water, and federal "reserved" and non-reserved water rights.

The primary activities associated with maintenance of the Subsurface Microbial Culture Collection (SMCC) were designed to ensure that the collection served as a valuable resource to DOE-funded and other scientists, especially DOE-funded scientists associated with the NABIR Program. These activities were carried out throughout the period covered by this report and in-cluded: (1) assistance in the selection of cultures for research, (2) distribution of cultures and/or data on request, (3) incorporation of newly isolated microbial strains, (4) preservation of newly isolated strains, (5) partial characterization of newly isolated strains, (6) development and main-tenance of representative subsets of cultures, (6) screening of SMCC strains for specific charac-teristics, (7) phylogenetic characterization of SMCC strains, (8) development and maintenance of a SMCC website, (9) maintenance of the SMCC databases, (10) archiving of SMCC records, and (11) quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) activities. We describe in the Final Technical Report our accomplishments related to these activities during the period covered by this report.

ACME Wind Turbine Corporation has contacted our dynamic analysis firm regarding structural health monitoring of their wind turbine blades. ACME has had several failures in previous years. Examples are shown in Figure 1. These failures have resulted in economic loss for the company due to down time of the turbines (lost revenue) and repair costs. Blade failures can occur in several modes, which may depend on the type of construction and load history. Cracking and delamination are some typical modes of blade failure. ACME warranties its turbines and wishes to decrease the number of blade failures they have to repair and replace. The company wishes to implement a real time structural health monitoring system in order to better understand when blade replacement is necessary. Because of warranty costs incurred to date, ACME is interested in either changing the warranty period for the blades in question or predicting imminent failure before it occurs. ACME's current practice is to increase the number of physical inspections when blades are approaching the end of their fatigue lives. Implementation of an in situ monitoring system would eliminate or greatly reduce the need for such physical inspections. Another benefit of such a monitoring system is that …

This report discusses the dispose of waste from the production of nuclear weapons. The Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for FY2005 (P.L. 108-375) authorizing Department of Energy (DOE) to grout some of the tank wastes in place in Idaho and South Carolina.

FY2006 annual report of research conducted by the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, a research unit of the University of Georgia operating on the Savannah River Site in Aiken, County, SC.

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Progress Report Date: 01/23/06 (report delayed due to Hurricane Katrina) Report of results to date: The goals of this 3-year project are to: (1) update and successfully deploy our present immunosensors at DOE sites; (2) devise immunosensor-based assays for Pb(II), Hg(II), chelators, and/or Cr(III) in surface and groundwater; and (3) develop new technologies in antibody engineering that will enhance this immunosensor program. Note: Work on this project was temporarily disrupted when Hurricane Katrina shut down the University on August 29, 2005. While most of the reagents stored in our refrigerators and freezers were destroyed, all of our hybridoma cell lines were saved because they had been stored in liquid nitrogen. We set up new tissue culture reactors with the hybridomas that synthesize the anti-uranium antibodies, and are purifying new monoclonal antibodies from these culture supernatants. Both the in-line and the field-portable sensor were rescued from our labs in New Orleans in early October, and we continued experiments with these sensors in the temporary laboratory we set up in Hammond, LA at Southeastern Louisiana University.

Close packed coupled multi-electrodes arrays (MEA) simulating a planar electrode were used to measure the current evolution as a function of position during initiation and propagation of crevice corrosion of AISI 316 stainless steel. Scaling laws derived from polarization data enabled the use of rescaled crevices providing spatial resolution. Crevice corrosion of AISI 316 stainless steel in 0.6 M NaCl at 50 C was found to initiate close to the crevice mouth and to spread inwards with time. The local crevice current density increased dramatically over a short period to reach a limiting value.

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The V-22 Osprey is a tilt-rotor aircraft, capable of vertical or short take off and landing, with forward flight like a conventional fixed-wing aircraft. The MV-22 is the Marine Corps' top aviation priority. Marine Corps leaders believe that the Osprey will provide them an unprecedented capability to quickly and decisively project power from well over the horizon. The V-22 program has been under development for over 25 years. Safety and maintenance concerns have arisen over this period. Supporters tout the V-22's potential operational capabilities relative to the helicopters it will replace. It will fly faster, farther, and with more payload than the currently used machinery. Detractors tend to emphasize the V-22's long development schedule, its three fatal accidents, and its high cost relative to the helicopters it will replace.

The V-22 Osprey is a tilt-rotor aircraft, capable of vertical or short take-off and landing, with forwarding flight like a conventional fixed-wing aircraft. The MV-22 is the Marine Corps’ top aviation priority. Marine Corps leaders believe that Osprey will provide them an unprecedented capability to quickly and decisively project power from well over the horizon. The Air Force’s CV-22 version will be used for special operations. Army officials have testified that the service has no requirement for the V-22, but the Navy has expressed interest in purchasing MV-22s for a variety of missions.

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The major challenges to coalition forces are now quelling a persistent Iraqi resistance movement and training sufficient Iraqi forces to assume responsibility for the nations domestic security. This report discusses military planning and operations in Iraq.

This report provides information about the Community Development Block Grant Funds in Disaster Relief and Recovery. Over the years, congress has appropriated supplemental CDBG funds supported recovery efforts in New York city.

Report detailing issues and legislative concerns regarding immigration during the 109th Congress, with a focus on security concerns.

The use of multi-coupled electrode arrays in various corrosion applications is discussed with the main goal of advancing the understanding of various corrosion phenomena. Both close packed and far spaced electrode configurations are discussed. Far spaced electrode arrays are optimized for high throughput experiments capable of elucidating the effects of various variables on corrosion properties. For instance the effects of a statistical distribution of flaws on corrosion properties can be examined. Close packed arrays enable unprecedented spatial and temporal information on the behavior of local anodes and cathodes. Interactions between corrosion sites can trigger or inhibit corrosion phenomena and affect corrosion damage evolution.

This report discusses the concerns over financing federal elections campaigns in the aspect of our political system.

The 1607-D4 Septic System was a septic tank and tile field that received sanitary sewage from the 115-D/DR Gas Recirculation Facility. This septic system operated from 1944 to 1968. Decommissioning took place in 1985 and 1986 when all above-grade features were demolished and the tank backfilled. The results of verification sampling demonstrated that residual contaminant concentrations do not preclude any future uses and allow for unrestricted use of shallow zone soils. The results also showed that residual contaminant concentrations are protective of groundwater and the Columbia River.

This report examines the data of the survey on the distribution of household wealth.