A Reliability and Safety Program plan outline has been prepared for the operational phase of a Waste Isolation Facility. The program includes major functions of risk assessment, technical support activities, quality assurance, operational safety, configuration monitoring, reliability analysis and support and coordination meetings. Detailed activity or task descriptions are included for each function. Activities are time-phased and presented in the PERT format for scheduling and interactions. Task descriptions include manloading, travel, and computer time estimates to provide data for future costing. The program outlined here will be used to provide guidance from a reliability and safety standpoint to design, procurement, construction, and operation of repositories for nuclear waste. These repositories are to be constructed under the National Waste Terminal Storage program under the direction of the Office of Waste Isolation, Union Carbide Corp. Nuclear Division.

There are three computer programs, written in the BASIC language, used for taking data from an atomic absorption spectrophotometer operating in the flame mode. The programs are divided into logical sections, and these have been flow-charted. The general features, the structure, the order of subroutines and functions, and the storage of data are discussed. In addition, variables are listed and defined, and a complete listing of each program with a symbol occurrence table is provided.

Present overcurrent relay settings are presented and evaluated for adequacy in terms of the updated short circuit analysis. Recommendations are made for new relay and trip device settings to improve coordination. Switchgear ratings are examined against available short circuit currents, and recommendations are made where applicable. Vital MCC-A and B are examined in detail to provide maximum continuity of service for every fault contingency. A recommendation is made to improve the reliability of these buses.

Friable cinder rock was examined by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray analysis (SEM/ED). The technique consisted of impregnating the rock with epoxy resin and then locating porosity sites by the presence of epoxy. The resin was identified in the sample by correlating beam damage and elemental analysis by x-ray fluorescence (ED) with a characteristic phase in the SEM image. Analyses of this type should be useful in interpreting experiments designed to simulate in situ retorting.

A fluorine-18 recovery system using an anion-exchange side-stream column was designed for the H/sub 2//sup 18/O target at the ORNL 86-inch cyclotron. The extent of radiolysis was determined and a catalyst vessel, containing a palladium catalyst, was incorporated to recombine the radiolysis product gases. The preliminary design of an externally bombarded gas target for the production of /sup 18/F/sub 2/ from /sup 18/O/sub 2/ was also completed.

The feasibility of utilizing the fluid energy mill for grinding potassium perchlorate for use in pyrotechnic blends was investigated. It was found that the particle size of the material was significantly reduced by the action of the mill with no significant change in the level of contamination. The grinding parameters selected seemed to have no direct relationship with the physical properties of the final product. The action of the mill induced a significant electrostatic charge on the potassium perchlorate which affects the handling characteristics and possibly the chemical character. The feasibility but not the desirability of utilizing the fluid energy mill to grind potassium perchlorate was demonstrated.

Most of the large U.S. utilities were surveyed by telephone and mail on questions concerning nuclear power plant siting and nuclear energy centers (NECs). The main purpose of the survey was for guidance of ERDA's NEC program. The questions covered the following topics: availability of sites; impact of environmental and other restraints; plans for development of multi-unit sites; interest in NEC development; interest in including fuel-cycle facilities in NECs; and opinions on the roles desired for the state and Federal governments in power plant siting. The main conclusion of the survey was that, while many utilities were considering multiple-unit sites of 2 to 5 units, none were planning larger energy centers at the present time. However, several expressed interest in NECs as a long-range future development.

This report covers all nondestructive development effort on the Roll Control Program for the period June 1, 1976 through December 15, 1976. Information previously reported will be re-presented here and appropriately updated. The samples consist of solid propellant and composites of propellant and inhibitor that are currently being examined in the accelerated aging and shelf life prediction studies of materials involved in the B-77 Roll Control Program.

A six-inch radius mass spectrometer has been constructed and demonstrated to adequately analyze water samples for uranium concentrations down to 5 to 10 ng/liter (ppt). The precision and accuracy of the isotope-dilution, thermal emission method is sufficient to meet the needs of the Uranium Resources Evaluation (URE) project. A single analyst can analyze in excess of 50 samples per day, including all preparation and instrument time. This analysis rate will meet the economic constraints of the URE analytical program.

A commercial, double-beam atomic absorption spectrophotometer has been interfaced with a sample changer and a Hewlett-Packard 9810A calculator to yield a completely automated analysis system. The interface electronics can be easily constructed and should be adaptable to any double-beam atomic absorption instrument. The calculator is easily programmed and can be used for general laboratory purposes when not operating the instrument. The automated system has been shown to perform very satisfactorily when operated unattended to analyze a large number of samples. Performance statistics agree well with a manually operated instrument.

Four manuals containing methods for the accountability of plutonium nitrate solutions, plutonium dioxide, uranium dioxide and mixed uranium-plutonium oxide have been prepared by us and issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. A similar manual on methods for the accountability of uranium and plutonium in reprocessing plant dissolver solutions is now in preparation. In the present paper, we discuss the contents of the previously issued manuals and give a preview of the manual now being prepared.

Preliminary results obtained in the analysis of the effluent brine from the LLL four-stage flash system are reported. Of principal interest was the rate of formation of suspended solids and the rate of decrease of dissolved silicon (or silica) in the solution as a function of the pH of the effluent brine. The experiments were conducted using Magmamax No. 1 brine at the LLL Test Facility near Calipatria, California. The wellhead brine (having a pH of approximately 5.7) was acidified in the flash system to pH values of 5.0, 4.0, and 3.0, +- 0.2 pH unit, and the solids and silica in the effluent at approximately 90/sup 0/C were measured, respectively, by filtration and atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Changes in solids and silica concentration were determined after holding the brine at 90 +- 5/sup 0/C for periods of time up to one week. Data from studies of the size distribution of suspended particles in three solutions are summarized.

Results are reported from research project to obtain data on the behavior of potentially toxic substances introduced into surface waters from nuclear power plants, the impact magnitude of these substances on representative and economically important aquatic species, and the development of models with which to predict the partitioning of these substances among the abiotic aquatic compartments. Data are included from an investigation of copper partitioning in freshwater and seawater, the toxicity of copper to representative marine organisms, and a mathematical model to predict copper partitioning.

The Gunn-diode microwave cavity instrument is a self-contained (the vacuum pump is external) microwave spectrometer for the specific detection and monitoring of ammonia gas in air. A solid state microwave source is used together with a high-Q resonant microwave cavity which is both the frequency selecting device for the source and the sample container through which the sampled gases pass. The ammonia absorption transition at 23,870.1 MHz is monitored continuously with this instrument. The monitoring frequency is stable to one part in 10/sup 9/ so that the system only responds to NH/sub 3/ absorption--there are no known interfering gases. The instrument was designed for simple operation and easy calibration. Except for the calibration procedure, the instrument operates automatically from turn-on. A four-digit readout is supplied on the front panel and it reads the concentration of ammonia directly in parts-per-million over a range of from 0.00 to 20 ppM. A 0 to 10 volt output is also available at the rear panel for recording data on an external recorder.

Computer graphics which are useful for displaying and analyzing data are presented. Many classical and several newly developed graphical techniques in statistical data analysis are presented for small univariate and multivariate data sets. These include histograms, empirical density functions, pie charts, contour plots, a discriminant analysis display, cluster analysis, Chernoff ''faces,'' and Andrews' sine curves. Recent advances in data collection technology and computer data base management systems have made it imperative to utilize computer graphics for large data sets. Several innovative graphical techniques are presented to handle this situation. Spatial relationships among the data (particularly geographic data) are difficult to conceptualize. Several cartographic techniques are presented which enhance the understanding of these spatial relationships within the data.

Twenty-seven air tests have been completed in the /sup 1///sub 5/-scale Mark I test facility. The observed effects of vent line orifice variations on the hydrodynamic vertical load function (HVLF) are presented. The conditions for standard tests, to which the orifice variation tests are compared, are defined and discussed. These tests used the ''standard'' or 9.5 inch orifices in the 90/sup 0/ sector vent lines.

Copper and uranium were melted together in an electron beam furnace, rolled and vacuum annealed at 900/sup 0/C. Several samples were examined, varying in uranium content from 0.074 to 1.82 wt. percent. Each sample was mounted in a resin and polished for optical microscope and electron microprobe work. These samples, when viewed under an optical microscope exhibited three distinct phases: featureless grain surfaces, a light gray phase in the grain boundaries, and an occasional dark gray phase also found in the grain boundaries. It is shown that the Count Rate Discriminator technique used in coincidence with a target current detector provides a powerful tool to map and to determine quantitatively the distribution of minor phases in grain boundaries and inclusions. (DLC)

The Helgeson-Herrick geochemical code was used to calculate the solubility of NaCl, KCl, and KCl-NaCl in water and to predict which minerals will precipitate from Salton Sea Geothermal Field brines. The code's predictions of sulfide-silicate precipitation from the Magmamax No. 1 brine are in good agreement with field tests of scaling, although the observed sulfide-silicate scale matrix is in amorphous form, rather than the crystalline form predicted by the code. The code's predictions of scale precipitation from wells with different brine compositions are also in good agreement with field tests. The code appears to be a useful screening tool, despite reservations about the use of purely thermodynamic predictions in systems with important kinetic constraints. Several ways to improve and apply the code in the future are suggested.

The computer control system used on the twelve Neutral Beams of the 2XIIB experiment at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLL) has evolved over the last three years. It is now in its final form and in regular use. It provides automatic data collection, reduction, and graphics presentation, as well as automatic conditioning, automatic normal operation, and processing of calorimeter data. This paper presents an overview of the capabilities and implementation of the current system, a detailed discussion of the automatic conditioning algorithm, and discusses the future directions for neutral beam automation.

This program is part of the National Waste Terminal Storage program. The Geologic Review Group meeting was held in New Orleans, November 16-17. Start-up of the near-surface heater experiment in the Conasauga Shale formation is under way at Oak Ridge. The first shipment of experimental equipment from Oak Ridge to Avery Island, Louisiana, for the dome salt in-situ test was successfully completed. On November 9-10, a design status review on the spent fuel repository conceptual design was held with Kaiser Engineers, Inc. On November 2, OWI personnel reviewed the progress on the Economic Studies with TRW representatives.

A revised program plan is presented for developing an electric vehicle incorporating a flywheel regenerative power system with design considerations and goals for safety and for vehicle body construction using lightweight fiber-reinforced composite material. Schedules are included for each of the major steps in the program. (LCL)

Calculations show the probability of a tornado striking a plutonium area at Rocky Flats is 2.2 x 10/sup -4/ per year. The source term (expected value of plutonium release) should such an event occur is calculated at 3.3 x 10/sup -7/ grams. The source term for high-velocity, downslope winds is higher--2.2 x 10/sup -3/ grams. The probability of a meteorite that weighs one or more pounds (453 grams) striking a plutonium area is estimated at 8.88 x 10/sup -7/ per year. Because of this small probability and the remote chance that a plutonium release would occur even if a meteorite hit occurred, the hazard from meteorite impact is considered negligible. Conservative assumptions result in all calculated frequencies being almost certainly too high. Empirical observations have indicated lower frequencies than those calculated.

Simultaneous measurements of enthalpy, specific volume, temperature, and electrical resistivity for lead and uranium were measured. From the measured data, estimates of the bulk modulus and sound velocity in these metals are made. (GHT)

A survey of various coal gasification and liquefaction processes was carried out to determine the information needs of each process with respect to: physical properties, chemical properties, thermodynamic properties and transport properties of materials involved in the processes and also with respect to the engineering type data needed. (LTN)