Using spectroscopic data produced in the experimental investigations of bulk systems, including X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS), Photoelectron Spectroscopy (PES) and Bremstrahlung Isochromat Spectroscopy (BIS), the theoretical results within for UO{sub 2}{sup 6}, PuO{sub 2}{sup 6} and Pu{sup 7} clusters have been evaluated. The calculations of the electronic structure of the clusters have been performed within the framework of the Relativistic Discrete-Variational Method (RDV). The comparisons between the LLNL experimental data and the Russian calculations are quite favorable. The cluster calculations may represent a new and useful avenue to address unresolved questions within the field of actinide electron structure, particularly that of Pu. Observation of the changes in the Pu electronic structure as a function of size suggests interesting implications for bulk Pu electronic structure.

The research conducted in this work package is aimed at taking advantage of the long term thermodynamic stability of crystalline ceramics to create more durable waste forms (as compared to high level waste glass) in order to reduce the reliance on engineered and natural barrier systems. Durable ceramic waste forms that incorporate a wide range of radionuclides have the potential to broaden the available disposal options and to lower the storage and disposal costs associated with advanced fuel cycles. Assemblages of several titanate phases have been successfully demonstrated to incorporate radioactive waste elements, and the multiphase nature of these materials allows them to accommodate variation in the waste composition. Recent work has shown that they can be successfully produced from a melting and crystallization process. The objective of this report is to explain the design of ceramic host systems culminating in a reference ceramic formulation for use in subsequent studies on process optimization and melt property data assessment in support of FY13 melter demonstration testing. The waste stream used as the basis for the development and testing is a combination of the projected Cs/Sr separated stream, the Trivalent Actinide - Lanthanide Separation by Phosphorous reagent Extraction from Aqueous Komplexes (TALSPEAK) …

Groundwater beneath T-Area, a former laboratory and semiworks operation at the Department of Energy (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS), is contaminated by chlorinated solvents (cVOCs). Since the contamination was detected in the 1980s, the cVOCs at T-Area have been treated by a combination of soil vapor extraction and groundwater pump and treat. The site received approval to temporarily discontinue the active groundwater treatment and implement a treatability study of enhanced attenuation - an engineering and regulatory strategy that has recently been developed by DOE and the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC 2007). Enhanced attenuation uses active engineering solutions to alter the target site in such a way that the contaminant plume will passively stabilize and shrink and to document that the action will be effective, timely, and sustainable. The paradigm recognizes that attenuation remedies are fundamentally based on a mass balance. Thus, long-term plume dynamics can be altered either by reducing the contaminant loading from the source or by increasing the rate of natural attenuation processes within all, or part of, the plume volume. The combination of technologies that emerged for T-Area included: (1) neat (pure) vegetable oil deployment in the deep vadose zone in the former source area, …

The Navajo Hopi Land Commission Office (NHLCO), a Navajo Nation executive branch agency has conducted activities to determine capacity-building, institution-building, outreach and management activities to initiate the development of large-scale renewable energy - 100 megawatt (MW) or larger - generating projects on land in Northwestern New Mexico in the first year of a multi-year program. The Navajo Hopi Land Commission Renewable Energy Development Project (NREP) is a one year program that will develop and market a strategic business plan; form multi-agency and public-private project partnerships; compile site-specific solar, wind and infrastructure data; and develop and use project communication and marketing tools to support outreach efforts targeting the public, vendors, investors and government audiences.

We performed resonant soft X-ray diffraction on known charge density wave (CDW) compounds, rare earth tri-tellurides. Near the M{sub 5} (3d - 4f) absorption edge of rare earth ions, an intense diffraction peak is detected at a wavevector identical to that of CDW state hosted on Te{sub 2} planes, indicating a CDW-induced modulation on the rare earth ions. Surprisingly, the temperature dependence of the diffraction peak intensity demonstrates an exponential increase at low temperatures, vastly different than that of the CDW order parameter. Assuming 4f multiplet splitting due to the CDW states, we present a model to calculate X-ray absorption spectrum and resonant profile of the diffraction peak, agreeing well with experimental observations. Our results demonstrate a situation where the temperature dependence of resonant X-ray diffraction peak intensity is not directly related to the intrinsic behavior of the order parameter associated with the electronic order, but is dominated by the thermal occupancy of the valence states.

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