The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) began processing Sludge Batch 7a (SB7a), also referred to as Macrobatch 8 (MB8), in June 2011. SB7a is a blend of the heel of Tank 40 from Sludge Batch 6 (SB6) and the SB7a material that was transferred to Tank 40 from Tank 51. SB7a was processed using Frit 418. During processing of each sludge batch, the DWPF is required to take at least one glass sample to meet the objectives of the Glass Product Control Program (GPCP), which is governed by the DWPF Waste Compliance Plan, and to complete the necessary Production Records so that the final glass product may be disposed of at a Federal Repository. Three pour stream glass samples and two Melter Feed Tank (MFT) slurry samples were collected while processing SB7a. These additional samples were taken during SB7a to understand the impact of antifoam and the melter bubblers on glass redox chemistry. The samples were transferred to the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) where they were analyzed.

This guide is a summary of the campaign finance regulations applicable to political committees.

This report provides information about the Funding for Child and Family Services Authorized Under Title IV-B of the Social Security Act for child welfare.

Fast Ignition (FI) uses Petawatt laser generated particle beam pulse to ignite a small volume called a pre-compressed Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) target, and is the favored method to achieve the high energy gain per target burn needed for an attractive ICF power plant. Ion beams such as protons, deuterons or heavier carbon ions are especially appealing for FI as they have relative straight trajectory, and easier to focus on the fuel capsule. But current experiments have encountered problems with the 'converter-foil' which is irradiated by the Petawatt laser to produce the ion beams. The problems include depletion of the available ions in the convertor foils, and poor energy efficiency (ion beam energy/ input laser energy). We proposed to develop a volumetrically-loaded ultra-high-density deuteron deuterium cluster material as the basis for converter-foil for deuteron beam generation. The deuterons will fuse with the ICF DT while they slow down, providing an extra 'bonus' energy gain in addition to heating the hot spot. Also, due to the volumetric loading, the foil will provide sufficient energetic deuteron beam flux for 'hot spot' ignition, while avoiding the depletion problem encountered by current proton-driven FI foils. After extensive comparative studies, in Phase I, high purity …

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A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) protects the U.S. homeland through two distinct but interrelated missions: (1) homeland defense, which defends against threats such as terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and cyber incidents; and (2) civil support, which involves supporting other federal agencies in responding to major domestic disasters, emergencies, and special events. DOD has issued and updated several key pieces of doctrine, policy, and strategy for homeland defense and civil support, but it has not updated its primary Strategy for Homeland Defense and Civil Support since it was initially issued in 2005 and does not have a process--similar to that for its joint publications and directives-- to do so. The Joint Staff determined in August 2010 that joint publications on homeland defense needed a complete revision. The joint publication on civil support is also being revised. U.S. Northern Command, the combatant command responsible for homeland defense, is revising these publications to reflect changes in national and department priorities and to incorporate lessons learned from exercises and events such as Hurricane Katrina. Still, such key national and department-level strategies and significant events are not reflected in DOD's …

This report provides an overview of the federal estate tax since 2001, highlighting recent trends in federal and state estate tax revenue. The report also analyzes the impact of the three policy options cited above, and presents an economic perspective of the policy options.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Key standards for manufactured homes provide a lower margin of safety against a carbon monoxide exposure incident than those for site-built homes, which are constructed at their permanent locations. For instance, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Code requires a minimum 3-foot separation between air intakes and exhaust vents, while industry standards for site-built homes have required a greater distance for many years. The industry standards call for a greater separation between air intakes and exhaust vents to help reduce the risk that contaminants such as carbon monoxide will re-enter the home. Indoor air quality experts whom GAO interviewed stated that the exhaust of an improperly operating furnace combined with unique wind conditions could, in rare cases, present a risk of carbon monoxide exposure. GAO analysis shows that increasing the separation between an air intake and exhaust vents, using industry standards, can significantly dilute concentrations of contaminants."

This project presents a novel approach to prepare the {sup 99m}Tc-bridged multivalent RGD (arginine-glycine-aspartate) peptides. This project will focus on fundamentals of {sup 99m}Tc radiochemistry. The main objective of this project is to demonstrate the proof-of-principle for the proposed radiotracers. Once a kit formulation is developed for preparation of the {sup 99m}Tc-bridged multivalent RGD peptides, various tumor-bearing animal models will be used to evaluate their potential for SPECT (single photon-emission computed tomography) imaging of cancer. We have demonstrated that (1) multimerization of cyclic RGD peptides enhances the integrin {alpha}{sub v}{beta}{sub 3} bonding affinity and radiotracer tumor uptake; (2) addition of G{sub 3} or PEG{sub 4} linkers makes it possible for two RGD motifs in 3P-RGD{sub 2} and 3G-RGD{sub 2} to achieve simultaneous integrin {alpha}{sub v}{beta}{sub 3} binding; and (3) multimers are actually bivalent (not multivalent), the presence of extra RGD motifs can enhance the tumor retention time of the radiotracer.

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There are three primary reactions in the sodium manganese oxide high temperature water splitting cycle. In the first reaction, Mn2O3 is decomposed to MnO at 1,500°C and 50 psig. This reaction occurs in a high temperature solar reactor and has a heat of reaction of 173,212 J/mol. Hydrogen is produced in the next step of this cycle. This step occurs at 700°C and 1 atm in the presence of sodium hydroxide. Finally, water is added in the hydrolysis step, which removes NaOH and regenerates the original reactant, Mn2O3. The high temperature solar‐driven step for decomposing Mn2O3 to MnO can be carried out to high conversion without major complication in an inert environment. The second step to produce H2 in the presence of sodium hydroxide is also straightforward and can be completed. The third step, the low temperature step to recover the sodium hydroxide is the most difficult. The amount of energy required to essentially distill water to recover sodium hydroxide is prohibitive and too costly. Methods must be found for lower cost recovery. This report provides information on the use of ZnO as an additive to improve the recovery of sodium hydroxide.

The objectives of this report were to: provide a current state of the science of radioiodine biogeochemistry relevant to its fate and transport at the Hanford Site; conduct a review of Hanford Site data dealing with groundwater {sup 129}I; and identify critical knowledge gaps necessary for successful selection, implementation, and technical defensibility in support of remediation decisions.

This report looks at how controversies stemming from various importance given to different aspects of United States energy policy affect the legislation on energy policy, particularly during election years.

The economic rationale for interventions in energy markets helps inform the debate surrounding energy tax policy. This report begins by providing background on the economic rationale for energy market interventions, highlighting various market failures. After identifying possible market failures in the production and consumption of energy, possible interventions are discussed. The report concludes with an analysis of energy tax policy as it stands at the start of the 112th Congress.

This project combines outcrop-scale heterogeneity characterization, laboratory experiments, and numerical simulations. The study is designed to test whether established dispersion theory accurately predicts the behavior of solute transport through heterogeneous media and to investigate the relationship between heterogeneity and the parameters that populate these models. The dispersion theory tested by this work is based upon the fractional advection-dispersion equation (fADE) model. Unlike most dispersion studies that develop a solute transport model by fitting the solute transport breakthrough curve, this project will explore the nature of the heterogeneous media to better understand the connection between the model parameters and the aquifer heterogeneity. Our work at the Colorado School of Mines was focused on the following questions: 1) What are the effects of multi-scale geologic variability on transport of conservative and reactive solutes? 2) Can those transport effects be accounted for by classical methods, and if not, can the nonlocal fractional-order equations provide better predictions? 3) Can the fractional-order equations be parameterized through a link to some simple observable geologic features? 4) Are the classical equations of transport and reaction sufficient? 5) What is the effect of anomalous transport on chemical reaction in groundwater systems? The work is predicated on the observation …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In-country, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and its implementing partners face a range of factors that, to varying degrees, affect their ability to target food assistance effectively to vulnerable groups. These factors include (1) the quality of data used to identify and reach recipients, (2) host government policies, and (3) sharing of rations among recipients and community members. Targeting effectiveness is reduced when data quality is poor, host government policies cause distortions in program design and implementation, and sharing prevents food rations from being consumed by the intended recipients in the intended amounts. USAID and its implementing partners try to mitigate such challenges by, for example, employing technology to improve data quality, coordinating closely with government officials to foster better relationships, and educating recipients about proper food usage to reduce sharing. In some cases, host governments have facilitated targeting efforts by, for example, establishing national targeting guidelines that set a common standard, or national statistical offices that assist in collecting data. Nevertheless, ensuring that food assistance reaches intended recipients remains difficult."

The Savannah River Site (SRS) conducts performance assessment (PA) calculations to determine the appropriate amount of low-level radiological waste that can be safely disposed on site. Parameters are included in these calculations that account for the interaction between the immobile solid phase and the mobile aqueous phase. These parameters are either the distribution coefficient (K{sub d} value) or the apparent solubility value (K{sub sp}). These parameters are readily found in the literature and are used throughout the DOE complex. One shortcoming of K{sub d} values is that they are only applicable to a given set of solid and aqueous phase conditions. Therefore, a given radionuclide may have several K{sub d} values as it moves between formations and comes into contact with different solids and different aqueous phases. It is expected that the K{sub d} construct will be appropriate to use for a majority of the PA and for a majority of the radionuclides. However, semi-mechanistic models would be more representative in isolated cases where the chemistry is especially transitory or the radionuclide chemistry is especially complex, bringing to bear multiple species of varying sorption tendencies to the sediment. Semi-mechanistic models explicitly accommodate the dependency of K{sub d} values, or other …

This report looks at current U.S. policy towards Mexico and future legislation concerns for the 112th Congress. Although security issues have recently dominated the U.S. relationship with Mexico, analysts predict that bilateral relations may shift towards economic matters once President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto takes office.

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A number of tax provisions have either expired at the end of 2011 or are scheduled to expire at the end of this year. This report provides an overview of these expiring provisions.

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Assessing long-term performance of Category 3 waste cement grouts for radionuclide encasement requires knowledge of the radionuclide-cement interactions and mechanisms of retention (i.e., sorption or precipitation); the mechanism of contaminant release; the significance of contaminant release pathways; how wasteform performance is affected by the full range of environmental conditions within the disposal facility; the process of wasteform aging under conditions that are representative of processes occurring in response to changing environmental conditions within the disposal facility; the effect of wasteform aging on chemical, physical, and radiological properties; and the associated impact on contaminant release. This knowledge will enable accurate prediction of radionuclide fate when the wasteforms come in contact with groundwater. Data collected throughout the course of this work will be used to quantify the efficacy of concrete wasteforms, similar to those used in the disposal of LLW and MLLW, for the immobilization of key radionuclides (i.e., uranium, technetium, and iodine). Data collected will also be used to quantify the physical and chemical properties of the concrete affecting radionuclide retention.

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of River Projection manages the River Protection Project, which has the mission to retrieve and treat the Hanford tank waste for disposal and close the tank farms (Certa et al. 2011). Washington River Protection Solutions, LLC (WRPS) is responsible for a primary objective of this mission which is to retrieve and transfer tank waste to the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). A mixing and sampling program with four separate demonstrations is currently being conducted to support this objective and also to support activities in a plan for addressing safety concerns identified by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board related to the ability of the WTP to mix, sample, and transfer fast settling particles. Previous studies have documented the objectives, criteria, and selection of non-radioactive simulants for these four demonstrations. The identified simulants include Newtonian suspending liquids with densities and viscosities that span the range expected in waste feed tanks. The identified simulants also include non-Newtonian slurries with Bingham yield stress values that span a range that is expected to bound the Bingham yield stress in the feed delivery tanks. The previous studies identified candidate materials for the Newtonian and non-Newtonian suspending fluids, …