This statement presented to the Subcommittee on Natural Resources of the US House of Representatives gives a definition of acid rain, presents new data on the regional and temporal nature of the problem, and discusses research needs. (ACR)

We have studied actinide burn-up in ICF reactor pellets; i.e., 14 MeV neutron fission of the very long-lived actinides that pose storage problems. A major advantage of pellet fuel region burn-up is safety: only milligrams of highly toxic and active material need to be present in the fusion chamber, whereas blanket burn-up requires the continued presence of tons of actinides in a small volume. The actinide data tables required for Monte Carlo calculations of the burn-up of /sup 241/Am and /sup 243/Am are discussed in connection with a study of the sensitivity to cross section uncertainties. More accurate and complete cross sections are required for realistic quantitative calculations.

The objectives of this program were: (1) to investigate the pertinent properties of a variety of possible sealants for solar collectors and identify the most promising candidates, and (2) to study the effect of breathing in flat-plate, thermal solar collector units. The study involved two types of sealants, Class PS which includes preformed seals or gaskets and Class SC which includes sealing compounds or caulks. It was the intent of the study to obtain data regarding initial properties of candidate elastomers from manufacturers and from the technical literature and to use those sources to provide data pertaining to endurance of these materials under environmental service conditions. Where necessary, these data were augmented by experimental measurements. Environmental stresses evaluated by these measurements included elevated temperatures, moisture, ultraviolet light, ozone and oxygen, and fungus. The second major area of the work involved a study of the effects of materials used and design on the durability of solar collectors. Factors such as design, fabrication, materials of construction, seals and sealing techniques and absorber plate coatings were observed on actual field units removed from service. Such phenomena as leakage, corrosion and formation of deposits on glazing and absorber plate were noted. An evaluation of …