This Facility Work Plan (FWP) has been prepared as required by Module VII,Section VII.M.1 of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Hazardous Waste Permit, NM4890139088-TSDF (the Permit); (NMED, 1999a). This work plan describes the programmatic facility-wide approach to future investigations at Solid Waste Management Units (SWMUs) and Areas of Concern (AOCs) specified in the Permit. This FWP addresses the current Permit requirements. It uses the results of previous investigations performed at WIPP and expands the investigations as required by the Permit. As an alternative to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Facility Investigation (RFI) specified in Module VII of the Permit, current New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) guidance identifies an Accelerated Corrective Action Approach (ACAA) that may be used for any SWMU or AOC (NMED, 1998). This accelerated approach is used to replace the standard RFI Work Plan and Report sequence with a more flexible decision-making approach. The ACAA process allows a Facility to exit the schedule of compliance contained in the Facility’s Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) permit module and proceed on an accelerated time frame. Thus, the ACAA process can be entered either before or after an RFI Work Plan. According to NMED’s guidance, a facility …

An all solid-state kicker pulser for a high current induction accelerator (the Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test facility DARHT-2) has been designed and fabricated. This kicker pulser uses multiple solid state modulators stacked in an inductive-adder configuration. Each modulator is comprised of multiple metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) which quickly switch the energy storage capacitors across a magnetic induction core. Metglas is used as the core material to minimize loss. Voltage from each modulator is inductively added by a voltage summing stalk and delivered to a 50 ohm output cable. A lumped element circuit model of the inductive adder has been developed to optimize the performance of the pulser. Results for several stalk geometries will be compared with experimental data.

A technique is developed to construct bulk hydroxyapatite (HAp) with different cellular structures. The technique involves the initial synthesis of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite powder from an aqueous solution using water-soluble compounds and then followed by spray drying into agglomerated granules. The granules were further cold pressed and sintered into bulks at elevated temperatures. The sintering behavior of the HAp granules was characterized and compared with those previously reported. Resulting from the fact that the starting HAp powders were extremely fine, a relatively low activation energy for sintering was obtained. In the present study, both porous and dense structures were produced by varying powder morphology and sintering parameters. Porous structures consisting of open cells were constructed. Sintered structures were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and x-ray tomography. In the present paper, hydroxyapatite coatings produced by magnetron sputtering on silicon and titanium substrates will also be presented. The mechanical properties of the coatings were measured using nanoindentation techniques and microstructures examined using transmission electron microscopy.

The goal of this joint LLNL-CalEnergy project is to develop a method for precipitating marketable silica from spent Salton Sea Geothermal Field (SSGF) brines. Many markets for silica exist. We have initially targeted production of silica as a rubber additive. Silica reinforced rubber gives tires less rolling resistance, greater tear strength, and better adhesion to steel belts. Previous silica precipitates produced by CalEnergy from Salton Sea brines were not suitable as rubber additives. They did not to disperse well in the rubber precursors and produced inferior rubber. CalEnergy currently minimizes silica scaling in some of their production facilities by acidifying the brine pH. The rate of silica precipitation slows down as the pH is lowered, so that energy extraction and brine reinfection are possible without unacceptable amounts of scaling even with more than 700 ppm SiO{sub 2} in solution. We are adding a step in which a small amount of base is added to the acidified brine to precipitate silica before reinfection. By carefully controlling the type, rate, and amount of base addition, we can optimize the properties of the precipitate to approach those of an ideal rubber additive.

This plan includes the sampling, analysis, and quality assurance requirements for the 100-BC-5 Operable Unit on the USDOE Hanford Site.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory was awarded ten Environmental Management Science Program (EMSP) research grants in fiscal year 1996, six in fiscal year 1997, eight in fiscal year 1998 and seven in fiscal year 1999.(a) All of the fiscal year 1996 awards have been completed and the Principal Investigators are writing final reports, so their summaries will not be included in this document. This section summarizes how each of the currently funded grants addresses significant U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) cleanup issues, including those at the Hanford Site. The technical progress made to date in each of these research projects is addressed in more detail in the individual progress reports contained in this document. This research performed at PNNL is focused primarily in four areas: Tank Waste Remediation, Decontamination and Decommissioning, Spent Nuclear Fuel and Nuclear Materials, and Soil and Groundwater Cleanup.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory conducted a proof-of-principle test at the Fort Lewis Logistics Center to determine the feasibility of using the innovative remedial technology In Situ Redox Manipulation (ISRM) to treat groundwater contaminated with dissolved TCE. ISRM creates a permeable treatment zone in the subsurface to remediate redox-sensitive contaminants in groundwater. The permeable treatment zone is created by injecting a chemical reducing agent (sodium dithionite with pH buffers) into the aquifer through a well to chemically reduce the naturally occurring ferric iron in the sediments to ferrous iron. Once the reducing agent has been given sufficient time to react with aquifer sediments, residual chemicals and reaction products are withdrawn through the same well. Redox-sensitive contaminants such as TCE, moving in a dissolved-phase plume through the treatment zone, are destroyed. TCE is degraded via reductive dechlorination within the treatment zone to benign degradation products (acetylene, ehtylene). Analyses of sediment samples collected from post-test boreholes showed a high degree of iron reduction, which confirmed the effectiveness of the treatment zone.

By 2050, when cleanup of the Hanford Site is expected to be completed, large worldwide demands to increase the global production of animal and fish protein, food, and fiber are anticipated, despite advancements in crop breeding, genetic engineering, and other technologies. The most likely large areas for expanded irrigation in the Pacific Northwest are the undeveloped East High areas of the Columbia Basin Project and non-restricted areas within the Hanford Site in south-central Washington State. The area known as the Hanford Site has all the components that favor successful irrigated farming. Constraints to agricultural development of the Hanford Site are political and social, not economic or technical. Obtaining adequate water rights for any irrigated development will be a major issue. Numerous anticipated future advances in irrigation and resource conservation techniques such as precision agriculture techniques, improved irrigation systems, and irrigation system controls will greatly minimize the negative environmental impacts of agricultural activities.

This plan includes the sampling, analysis, and quality assurance requirements for the 100-FR-3 Operable Unit on the USDOE Hanford Site.

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) as amended by the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT) establishes that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) regulate efficiency levels of certain categories of commercial heating, cooling, and water-heating equip-ment. EPACT establishes the initial minimum efficiency levels for products falling under these categories, based on ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-1989 requirements. EPCA states that, if ASHRAE amends Standard 90.1-1989 efficiency levels, then DOE must establish an amended uniform national manufacturing standard at the minimum level specified in the amended Standard 90.1 and that it can establish higher efficiency levels if they would result in significant additional energy savings. Standard 90.1-1999 increases minimum efficiency levels for some of the equipment categories covered by EPCA 92. DOE conducted a screening analysis to determine the energy-savings potential for EPACT-covered products meet and exceeding these levels. This paper describes the methodology, data assumptions, and results of the analysis.

The High Energy and Nuclear Physics Data Access GrandChallenge project has developed an optimizing storage access softwaresystem that was prototyped at RHIC. It is currently undergoingintegration with the STAR experiment in preparation for data taking thatstarts in mid-2000. The behavior and lessons learned in the RHIC MockData Challenge exercises are described as well as the observedperformance under conditions designed to characterize scalability. Up to250 simultaneous queries were tested and up to 10 million events across 7event components were involved in these queries. The system coordinatesthe staging of "bundles" of files from the HPSS tape system, so that allthe needed components of each event are in disk cache when accessed bythe application software. The caching policy algorithm for thecoordinated bundle staging is described in the paper. The initialprototype implementation interfaced to the Objectivity/DB. In this latestversion, it evolved to work with arbitrary files and use CORBA interfacesto the tag database and file catalog services. The interface to the tagdatabase and the MySQL-based file catalog services used by STAR aredescribed along with the planned usage scenarios.

The purpose of this calculation is to evaluate the thermal performance of the naval long spent nuclear fuel (SNF) waste package (WP) under multiple disposal conditions in a monitored geologic repository (MGR). The scope of this calculation is limited to determination of thermal temperature profiles upon the surface of, and within, the naval long SNF WP. The objective is to develop a temperature profile history within the WP, at time increments up to 10,000 years of emplacement. The results of this calculation are intended to support the Naval SNF WP Analysis and Model Report (AMR) for Site Recommendation (SR). This calculation was performed to the specifications within its Technical Development Plan (TDP) (Ref. 8.16). This calculation is developed and documented in accordance with the AP-3.12Q/REV. 0IICN. 0 procedure, Calculations.

This report provides particle size distribution data for samples near the Immobilized Low-Activity Waste (ILAW) Site that were archived in the Hanford Geotechnical Sample Library. Seventy-nine sediment samples were analyzed from four boreholes. Samples were collected from every ten feet in the boreholes. Eightly percent of the samples were classified as slightly gravelly sand. Fifteen percent were classified as gravelly sand, gravelly silty sand, or sandy gravels. These data indicate that the particle size of the sediment is consistent across the ILAW site and is dominated by sand in the upper part of the Hanford formation with more gravel rich units in the lower part.

During the December 1999 startup of antiproton stacking, a quick measurement of the Debuncher momentum aperture was made. The measurement was done by turning off and de-tuning the Debuncher bunch rotation cavities and observing the Debuncher 75 MHz longitudinal schottky signal of the circulating antiprotons as shown in Figure 1. The frequency at the center of the plot corresponds to the rotation frequency of the Debuncher RF cavities. (The schottky signal and the bunch rotation frequency occur at the 127th and 90th harmonics of the revolution frequency, respectively.) Figure 1 shows that the Debuncher bunch rotation energy is offset from the middle of the Debuncher momentum aperture by about 0.7% (57 MeV). The measured value of momentum aperture using the width of the base of the signal shown in Figure 1 ({eta} = 0.006 ) is 3.9% (346 MeV). This is close to the design value of 4%, so the offset is probably not due to any asymmetric momentum aperture restrictions.

This DIE applies to the surface facilities component of the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (W) ESF. The ESF complex-including surface and subsurface accommodations--encompasses an area that is approximately six miles wide and nine miles long (approximately 30,000 acres total) (United States Department of Energy [DOE] 1997, p. 9.04). It is located on federally withdrawn lands, near the southwest border of the Nevada Test Site (NTS) in southern Nevada (DOE 1997, p. 9.04). Site characterization activities are conducted within the subsurface ESF to obtain the information necessary to determine whether the Yucca Mountain Site is suitable as a geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Most ESF surface facilities are located within the Conceptual Controlled Area Boundary (CCAB) (DOE 1997, p. 9.04), with the exception of the southeastern most portions of the H-Road and the Water Supply System. Various SBT activities are also conducted throughout the Yucca Mountain region as a part of the overall site-characterization effort. In general, the DIE for SBT Activities (Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System [CRWMS] Management and Operating Contractor [M&O] 1998a) evaluates activities associated with SBT. Potential test-to-test interference and waste isolation impacts associated with SBT activities are also evaluated in CRWMS …

The purpose of this calculation is to evaluate a mid-assembly axial fuel cladding temperature profile of a 21 pressurized water reactor (PWR) spent nuclear fuel (SNF) waste package (WP) loaded with average fuel assemblies and emplaced in a monitored geologic repository. This calculation is intended to evaluate Viability Assessment (VA) and Enhanced Design Alternatives (EDA) II design configurations in support of performance assessment. This calculation was developed by Waste Package Operations (WPO) under Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) procedure AP-3.12Q, Revision 0.

To evaluate the postclosure performance of a potential monitored geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, a Total System Performance Assessment (TSPA) will be conducted. Nine Process Model Reports (PMRs), including this document, are being developed to summarize the technical basis for each of the process models supporting the TSPA model. These reports cover the following areas: (1) Integrated Site Model; (2) Unsaturated Zone Flow and Transport; (3) Near Field Environment; (4) Engineered Barrier System Degradation, Flow, and Transport; (5) Waste Package Degradation; (6) Waste Form Degradation; (7) Saturated Zone Flow and Transport; (8) Biosphere; and (9) Disruptive Events. Analysis/Model Reports (AMRs) contain the more detailed technical information used to support TSPA and the PMRs. The AMRs consists of data, analyses, models, software, and supporting documentation that will be used to defend the applicability of each process model for evaluating the postclosure performance of the potential Yucca Mountain repository system. This documentation will ensure the traceability of information from its source through its ultimate use in the TSPA-Site Recommendation (SR) and in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis processes. The objective of the Biosphere PMR is to summarize (1) the development of the biosphere model, and (2) the Biosphere Dose Conversion …

An understanding of the transport of radionuclides through unsaturated and saturated tuffaceous material is essential in assessing the safety of the proposed high-level waste repository at Yucca Mountain. Migration experiments with conservative and chemically reactive non-radioactive tracers have been performed at the Busted Butte Unsaturated Zone underground facility, SE of Yucca Mountain, and with radionuclides in columns of crushed tuff at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. In this paper, complementary radionuclide migration experiments, performed under unsaturated conditions in a small block of tuff excavated from Busted Butte, are described.

The purpose of this analysis is to evaluate potential effects of fault displacement on emplacement drifts, including drip shields and waste packages emplaced in emplacement drifts. The output from this analysis not only provides data for the evaluation of long-term drift stability but also supports the Engineered Barrier System (EBS) process model report (PMR) and Disruptive Events Report currently under development. The primary scope of this analysis includes (1) examining fault displacement effects in terms of induced stresses and displacements in the rock mass surrounding an emplacement drift and (2 ) predicting fault displacement effects on the drip shield and waste package. The magnitude of the fault displacement analyzed in this analysis bounds the mean fault displacement corresponding to an annual frequency of exceedance of 10{sup -5} adopted for the preclosure period of the repository and also supports the postclosure performance assessment. This analysis is performed following the development plan prepared for analyzing effects of fault displacement on emplacement drifts (CRWMS M&O 2000). The analysis will begin with the identification and preparation of requirements, criteria, and inputs. A literature survey on accommodating fault displacements encountered in underground structures such as buried oil and gas pipelines will be conducted. For a …

Thinly laminated (<0.01 mm) opal sheets and globules associated with calcite in fractures and cavities in the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, have U concentrations of 50 to 300 ppm. Previous uranium-series thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) analyses of 0.2- to 1-mm-thick subsamples resulted in a model of slow mineral growth at rates of 0.5 to 5 mm/m.y. To test this growth model using finer sampling resolution, in situ microdigestions were performed by applying a drop of hydrofluoric acid directly to opal surfaces within a small area encircled by jeweler's wax. After several minutes, the liquid was removed, spiked with a tracer solution, and analyzed by TIMS for both U and Th using a single rhenium filament with colloidal graphite. Solutions contained about 0.5 nanograms of U, equivalent to opal weights of 1 to 10 micrograms and dissolved-layer thicknesses less than 0.003 mm. Microdigested opal surfaces have Th-230/U ages of 5 to 10 thousand years (ka) in contrast to much older ages of 150 to 250 ka obtained previously from whole-globule digestions. Additional tests of the growth model were made on cross sections of identical opal globules using the sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) with a 0.04-mm-diameter O-minus primary …

The Penasco Shugart Queen Sand Unit located in sections 8, 9, 16 & 17, T18S, 31E Eddy County New Mexico is operated by MNA Enterprises Ltd. Co. Hobbs, NM. The first well in the Unit was drilled in 1939 and since that time the Unit produced 535,000 bbl of oil on primary recovery and 375,000 bbl of oil during secondary recovery operations that commenced in 1973. The Unit secondary to primary ratio is 0.7, but other Queen waterfloods in the area had considerably larger S/P ratios. On June 25 1999 MNA was awarded a grant under the Department of Energy's ''Technology Development with Independents'' program. The grant was used to fund a reservoir study to determine if additional waterflood reserves could be developed. A total of 14 well bores that penetrate the Queen at 3150 ft are within the Unit boundaries. Eleven of these wells produced oil during the past 60 years. Production records were pieced together from various sources including the very early state production records. One very early well had a resistivity log, but nine of the wells had no logs, and four wells had gamma ray-neutron count-rate perforating logs. Fortunately, recent offset deep drilling in the area …

This report summarizes the accomplishment made during the first year of this cooperative research effort between Washington University, Ohio State University and Air Products and Chemicals. A technical review of the variables affecting the SBCR performance, some aspects of bubble dynamics and hydrodynamics properties and physical properties of FT waxes and catalyst have been performed. The needed experimental facilities and measurement techniques have been evaluated and prepared. Exxon Norpar 14 has been suggested as a solvent to be used that mimics at room temperature and pressure up to 200 psi the hydrodynamics of FT waxes. A new correlation has been developed and tested to predict gas-liquid mass transfer coefficient at high pressure operation based on high pressure gas holdup and atmospheric data of gas-liquid mass transfer coefficient.

X-ray radiography is used as a principal diagnostic in a wide range of hydrodynamic tests relevant to the weapons program and also for basic materials and equation-of-state science studies. The quality of the x-ray radiograph can be significantly degraded by the scattering of x-rays within the object and by components of the test system itself. Elimination of these scattered x-rays from the recorded images can either substantially improve the image contrast and signal-to-noise or allow smaller, lower-cost x-ray sources to be used. The scattered x-rays could be minimized through the use of a much shorter-duration x-ray pulse and a fast, gated detector. The short duration x-ray pulse and the fast gated detector allow detection of only those x-rays which pass through the object being radiographed. X-rays which are the result of scattering have longer path lengths and take longer to reach the target. Most of these can be eliminated if the detector if gated off before they arrive at the detector. Until recently there were no sources of high energy x-rays (1-10 MeV) with short duration (sub 100 picosecond) pulses. Now the Petawatt Laser Facility (ref 1) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has been able to produce 0.1 rads at …

This document describes the proposed strategy for disposal of spent and failed melters from the tank waste treatment plant to be built by the Office of River Protection at the Hanford site in Washington. It describes program management activities, disposal and transportation systems, leachate management, permitting, and safety authorization basis approvals needed to execute the strategy.