We participated in the first exercise to build confidence in the analysis of biomedical samples for trace levels of CW agents and/or their degradation, reaction or metabolites.

The TORUS collaboration derives its name from the research it focuses on, namely the Theory of Reactions for Unstable iSotopes. It is a Topical Collaboration in Nuclear Theory, and funded by the Nuclear Theory Division of the Office of Nuclear Physics in the Office of Science of the Department of Energy. The funding supports one postdoctoral researcher for the years 1 through 3. The collaboration brings together as Principal Investigators a large fraction of the nuclear reaction theorists currently active within the USA. The mission of the TORUS Topical Collaboration is to develop new methods that will advance nuclear reaction theory for unstable isotopes by using three-body techniques to improve direct-reaction calculations, and, by using a new partial-fusion theory, to integrate descriptions of direct and compound-nucleus reactions. This multi-institution collaborative effort is directly relevant to three areas of interest: the properties of nuclei far from stability; microscopic studies of nuclear input parameters for astrophysics, and microscopic nuclear reaction theory.

The TORUS collaboration derives its name from the research it focuses on, namely the Theory of Reactions for Unstable iSotopes. It is a Topical Collaboration in Nuclear Theory, and funded by the Nuclear Theory Division of the Office of Nuclear Physics in the Office of Science of the Department of Energy. The funding started on June 1, 2010, it will have been running for nine months by the date of submission of this Annual Continuation and Progress Report on March 1, 2011. The extent of funding was reduced from the original application, and now supports one postdoctoral researcher for the years 1 through 3. The collaboration brings together as Principal Investigators a large fraction of the nuclear reaction theorists currently active within the USA. The mission of the TORUS Topical Collaboration is to develop new methods that will advance nuclear reaction theory for unstable isotopes by using three-body techniques to improve direct-reaction calculations, and, by using a new partial-fusion theory, to integrate descriptions of direct and compound-nucleus reactions. This multi-institution collaborative effort is directly relevant to three areas of interest: the properties of nuclei far from stability; microscopic studies of nuclear input parameters for astrophysics, and microscopic nuclear reaction theory.

Development of a new technology for commercial application can be significantly accelerated by leveraging related technologies used in other markets. Synergies across multiple application domains attract research and development (R and D) talent - widening the innovation pipeline - and increases the market demand in common components and subsystems to provide performance improvements and cost reductions. For these reasons, driver development plans for inertial fusion energy (IFE) should consider the non-fusion technology base that can be lveraged for application to IFE. At this time, two laser driver technologies are being proposed for IFE: solid-state lasers (SSLs) and KrF gas (excimer) lasers. This document provides a brief survey of organizations actively engaged in these technologies. This is intended to facilitate comparison of the opportunities for leveraging the larger technical community for IFE laser driver development. They have included tables that summarize the commercial organizations selling solid-state and KrF lasers, and a brief summary of organizations actively engaged in R and D on these technologies.

Hydrogen is an environmentally attractive transportation fuel that has the potential to displace fossil fuels. The Freedom CAR and Freedom FUEL initiatives emphasize the importance of hydrogen as a future transportation fuel. Presently, Las Vegas has one hydrogen fueling station powered by natural gas. However, the use of traditional sources of energy to produce hydrogen does not maximize the benefit. The hydrogen fueling station developed under this grant used electrolysis units and solar energy to produce hydrogen fuel. Water and electricity are furnished to the unit and the output is hydrogen and oxygen. Three vehicles were converted to utilize the hydrogen produced at the station. The vehicles were all equipped with different types of technologies. The vehicles were used in the day-to-day operation of the Las Vegas Valley Water District and monitoring was performed on efficiency, reliability and maintenance requirements. The research and demonstration utilized for the reconfiguration of these vehicles could lead to new technologies in vehicle development that could make hydrogen-fueled vehicles more cost effective, economical, efficient and more widely used. In order to advance the development of a hydrogen future in Southern Nevada, project partners recognized a need to bring various entities involved in hydrogen development and …

Extraction of natural gas by hydraulic fracturing of the Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale, a major gas-bearing unit in the Appalachian Basin, results in significant quantities of produced water containing high total dissolved solids (TDS). We carried out a strontium (Sr) isotope investigation to determine the utility of Sr isotopes in identifying and quantifying the interaction of Marcellus Formation produced waters with other waters in the Appalachian Basin in the event of an accidental release, and to provide information about the source of the dissolved solids. Strontium isotopic ratios of Marcellus produced waters collected over a geographic range of ∼375 km from southwestern to northeastern Pennsylvania define a relatively narrow set of values (εSr SW = +13.8 to +41.6, where εSr SW is the deviation of the 87Sr/86Sr ratio from that of seawater in parts per 104); this isotopic range falls above that of Middle Devonian seawater, and is distinct from most western Pennsylvania acid mine drainage and Upper Devonian Venango Group oil and gas brines. The uniformity of the isotope ratios suggests a basin-wide source of dissolved solids with a component that is more radiogenic than seawater. Mixing models indicate that Sr isotope ratios can be used to sensitively differentiate …

The Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model is used in short-range simulations to explore the sensitivity of model physics and horizontal grid resolution. We choose five events with the clear-sky conditions to study the impact of different planetary boundary layer (PBL), surface and soil-layer physics on low-level wind forecast for two wind farms; one in California (CA) and the other in Texas (TX). Short-range simulations are validated with field measurements. Results indicate that the forecast error of the CA case decreases with increasing grid resolution due to the improved representation of valley winds. Besides, the model physics configuration has a significant impact on the forecast error at this location. In contrast, the forecast error of the TX case exhibits little dependence on grid resolution and is relatively independent of physics configuration. Therefore, the occurrence frequency of lowest root mean square errors (RMSEs) at this location is used to determine an optimal model configuration for subsequent decade-scale regional climate model (RCM) simulations. In this study, we perform two sets of 20-year RCM simulations using the data from the NCAR Global Climate Model (GCM) simulations; one set models the present climate and the other simulates the future climate. These RCM simulations will …

This document was created to comply with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (CVRWQCB) Waste Discharge Requirement (Order No. 98-148). This order established new requirements to assess the effect of and effort required to reduce salts in process water discharged to the subsurface. This includes the review of technical, operational, and management options available to reduce total dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations in cooling tower and mechanical equipment water discharges at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL's) Experimental Test Site (Site 300) facility. It was observed that for the six cooling towers currently in operation, the total volume of groundwater used as make up water is about 27 gallons per minute and the discharge to the subsurface via percolation pits is 13 gallons per minute. The extracted groundwater has a TDS concentration of 700 mg/L. The cooling tower discharge concentrations range from 700 to 1,400 mg/L. There is also a small volume of mechanical equipment effluent being discharged to percolation pits, with a TDS range from 400 to 3,300 mg/L. The cooling towers and mechanical equipment are maintained and operated in a satisfactory manner. No major leaks were identified. Currently, there are no re-use options being employed. Several approaches known …

Hall thrusters provide efficient space propulsion by electrostatic acceleration of ions. Rotating electron clouds in the thruster overcome the space charge limitations of other methods. Images of the thruster startup, taken with a fast camera, reveal a bright ionization period which settles into steady state operation over 50 μs. The cathode introduces azimuthal asymmetry, which persists for about 30 μs into the ignition. Plasma thrusters are used on satellites for repositioning, orbit correction and drag compensation. The advantage of plasma thrusters over conventional chemical thrusters is that the exhaust energies are not limited by chemical energy to about an electron volt. For xenon Hall thrusters, the ion exhaust velocity can be 15-20 km/s, compared to 5 km/s for a typical chemical thruster

Stockpile stewardship requires the description of weapons performance without resorting to underground nuclear testing. In the earlier tests, selected isotopes were used as detectors, and recovered after irradiation. Aspects of nuclear device performance were inferred by comparing the measured isotopic ratios to those predicted from simulations. The reaction flows that produce the final isotopic distributions proceed through regions of the nuclear chart that include unstable nuclei. Presently, improved nuclear data input is required to reanalyze prior tests and to certify the stockpile's reliability and safety. Many important cross sections are unknown, as is shown in the example of the Yttrium reaction network (Figure 1). The relevant reactions include (n,2n), (n,n'), (n,gamma), (n,p) and other charged-particle emitting reactions. The cross sections have to be calculated or inferred from indirect measurements. In both cases, reliable optical models that are valid a few nucleons away from stability are needed. The UNEDF Nuclear Reaction activities address this need by combining nuclear-structure input from UNEDF structure calculations with modern reaction theory and large-scale computational capabilities to develop microscopic nucleon-nucleus optical potentials that can be extrapolated to unstable nuclei. In addition, the reaction calculation tools and optical models developed in this context are proving valuable for …

The United States has abundant wind resources, such that only about 3% of the resource would need to be developed to achieve the goal of producing 20% of electricity in the United States by 2030. Inappropriately sited wind development may result in conflicts with wildlife that can delay or derail development projects, increase projects costs, and may degrade important conservation values. The most cost-effective approach to reducing such conflicts is through landscape-scale siting early in project development. To support landscape scale siting that avoids sensitive areas for wildlife, we compiled a database on species distributions, wind resource, disturbed areas, and land ownership. This database can be viewed and obtained via http://wind.tnc.org/awwi. Wind project developers can use this web tool to identify potentially sensitive areas and areas that are already disturbed and are therefore likely to be less sensitive to additional impacts from wind development. The United States goal of producing 20% of its electricity from wind energy by the year 2030 would require 241 GW of terrestrial nameplate capacity. We analyzed whether this goal could be met by using lands that are already disturbed, which would minimize impacts to wildlife. Our research shows that over 14 times the DOE goal …

The Hanford Site has 28 double-shell tanks (DSTs) and 149 single-shell tanks (SSTs) containing radioactive wastes that are complex mixes of radioactive and chemical products. The mission of the Department of Energy's River Protection Project is to retrieve and treat the Hanford tank waste for disposal and close the tank farms. A key aspect of the mission is to retrieve and transfer waste from the SSTs, which are at greater risk for leaking, into DSTs for interim storage until the waste is transferred to and treated in the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant. There is, however, limited space in the existing DSTs to accept waste transfers from the SSTs, and approaches to overcoming the limited DST space will benefit the overall mission. The purpose of this study is to summarize and analyze the key previous experiment that forms the basis for the relaxed controls and to summarize progress and results on new experiments focused on understanding the conditions that result in low gas retention. The previous large-scale test used about 50 m3 of sediment, which would be unwieldy for doing multiple parametric experiments. Accordingly, experiments began with smaller-scale tests to determine whether the desired mechanisms can be studied without the …

This document is an update to the 'ADIS Algorithm Evaluation Project Plan' specified in the Statement of Work for the US-VISIT Identity Matching Algorithm Evaluation Program, as deliverable II.D.1. The original plan was delivered in August 2010. This document modifies the plan to reflect modified deliverables reflecting delays in obtaining a database refresh. This document describes the revised schedule of the program deliverables. The detailed description of the processes used, the statistical analysis processes and the results of the statistical analysis will be described fully in the program deliverables. The US-VISIT Identity Matching Algorithm Evaluation Program is work performed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) under IAA HSHQVT-07-X-00002 P00004 from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

This report provides a summary of the effects of aging on and the expected forms of plutonium in Tank 18 waste residues. The findings are based on available information on the operational history of Tank 18, reported analytical results for samples taken from Tank 18, and the available scientific literature for plutonium under alkaline conditions. These findings should apply in general to residues in other waste tanks. However, the operational history of other waste tanks should be evaluated for specific conditions and unique operations (e.g., acid cleaning with oxalic acid) that could alter the form of plutonium in heel residues. Based on the operational history of other tanks, characterization of samples from the heel residues in those tanks would be appropriate to confirm the form of plutonium. During the operational period and continuing with the residual heel removal periods, Pu(IV) is the dominant oxidation state of the plutonium. Small fractions of Pu(V) and Pu(VI) could be present as the result of the presence of water and the result of reactions with oxygen in air and products from the radiolysis of water. However, the presence of Pu(V) would be transitory as it is not stable at the dilute alkaline conditions that …

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of River Protection (ORP) is responsible for the retrieval, treatment, immobilization, and disposal of Hanford's tank waste. Currently there are approximately 56 million gallons of highly radioactive mixed wastes awaiting treatment. A key aspect of the River Protection Project (RPP) cleanup mission is to construct and operate the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). The WTP will separate the tank waste into high-level and low-activity waste (LAW) fractions, both of which will subsequently be vitrified. The projected throughput capacity of the WTP LAW Vitrification Facility is insufficient to complete the RPP mission in the time frame required by the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order, also known as the Tri-Party Agreement (TPA), i.e. December 31, 2047. Therefore, Supplemental Treatment is required both to meet the TPA treatment requirements as well as to more cost effectively complete the tank waste treatment mission. The Supplemental Treatment chosen will immobilize that portion of the retrieved LAW that is not sent to the WTP's LAW Vitrification facility into a solidified waste form. The solidified waste will then be disposed on the Hanford site in the Integrated Disposal Facility (IDF). In addition, the WTP LAW vitrification facility off-gas …

Pursuant to the Arrangement between the European Commission DG Joint Research Centre (EC-JRC) and the Department of Energy (DOE) to continue cooperation on research, development, testing, and evaluation of technology, equipment, and procedures in order to improve nuclear material control, accountancy, verification, physical protection, and advanced containment and surveillance technologies for international safeguards, dated 1 September 2008, the IRMM and LLNL established cooperation in a program on the Study of Chemical Changes in Uranium Oxyfluoride Particles under IRMM-LLNL Action Sheet 36. The work under this action sheet had 2 objectives: (1) Achieve a better understanding of the loss of fluorine in UO{sub 2}F{sub 2} particles after exposure to certain environmental conditions; and (2) Provide feedback to the EC-JRC on sample reproducibility and characteristics.

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Cementitious waste forms can be designed to chemically stabilize selected contaminants, such as Tc{sup +7} and Cr{sup +6}, by chemically reduction to lower valance states, Tc{sup +4} and Cr{sup +3}, respectively, and precipitation of these species in alkaline media as low solubility solid phases. Data for oxidation of this type of cementitious waste form cured under field conditions as a function of time is required for predicting the performance of the waste form and disposal facility. The rate of oxidation (oxidation front advancement) is an important parameter for predicting performance because the solubilities of some radionuclide contaminants, e.g., technetium, are a function of the oxidation state. A non-radioactive experiment was designed for quantifying the oxidation front advancement using chromium, as an approximate redox-sensitive surrogate (Cr{sup +6} / Cr{sup +3}) for technetium (Tc{sup +7} / Tc{sup +4}). Nonradioactive cementitious waste forms were prepared in the laboratory and cured under both laboratory and ?field conditions.? Laboratory conditions were ambient temperature and sealed sample containers. Field conditions were approximated by curing samples in open containers which were placed inside a plastic container stored outdoors at SRS. The container had a lid and was instrumented with temperature and humidity probes. Subsamples as thin as …

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The objectives of this work are the following: (1) The application of micro and mesoscale modeling techniques to study dislocation properties in ferritic and W-based materials; and (2) The development of computational models and tools to study damage accumulation in >1 dpa (fusion-like) conditions, both for Fe and W-based alloys. The high-temperature strength of structural ferritic alloys (ferritic/martensitic steels, ODS steels, bcc refractory alloys) hinges on the thermal stability of second phase particles and their interactions with dislocations. Irradiation damage can modify the structure and stability of both the particles and dislocations, particularly by the introduction of gas atoms, point defects and point defect clusters. The three aspects of materials strength that we are studying are: (a) Computation of dislocation mobility functions (stress-velocity relations) as a function of temperature and dislocation character. This will be done via molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of single dislocation motion under applied shear stress. This is a fundamental input to dislocation dynamics (DD) simulations and also provides fundamental insights into the high-temperature plastic behavior of ferritic materials. (b) Simulations of dislocation-obstacle interactions using MD and DD. This subtask includes simulating the effect on dislocation glide of precipitates (e.g., {alpha}' Cr precipitates), ODS particles, and irradiation …

The key feature of liquid wall chambers is the use of a renewable liquid layer to protect chamber structures from target emissions. Two primary options have been proposed and studied: wetted wall chambers and thick liquid wall (TLW) chambers. With wetted wall designs, a thin layer of liquid shields the structural first wall from short ranged target emissions (x-rays, ions and debris) but not neutrons. Various schemes have been proposed to establish and renew the liquid layer between shots including flow-guiding porous fabrics (e.g., Osiris, HIBALL), porous rigid structures (Prometheus) and thin film flows (KOYO). The thin liquid layer can be the tritium breeding material (e.g., flibe, PbLi, or Li) or another liquid metal such as Pb. TLWs use liquid jets injected by stationary or oscillating nozzles to form a neutronically thick layer (typically with an effective thickness of {approx}50 cm) of liquid between the target and first structural wall. In addition to absorbing short ranged emissions, the thick liquid layer degrades the neutron flux and energy reaching the first wall, typically by {approx}10 x x, so that steel walls can survive for the life of the plant ({approx}30-60 yrs). The thick liquid serves as the primary coolant and tritium …

This work investigates the synthesis of smart functional coatings (SFC) using chemical solution deposition methods. Chemical solution deposition methods have recently received attention in the materials research community due to several unique advantages that include low temperature processing, high homogeneity of final products, the ability to fabricate materials with controlled surface properties and pore structures, and the ease of dopant incorporation in controlled concentrations. The optical properties of thin films were investigated using UV-Vis spectroscopy, Raman, SEM and EDS, with the aim of developing a protective transparent coating for a ceramic surface as a first line of defense for tamper indication. The signature produced by the addition of rare earth dopants will be employed as an additional tamper indicating feature. The integration of SFC's as part of a broader verification system such as an electronic seals can provide additional functionality and defense in depth. SFC's can improve the timeliness of detection by providing a robust, in-situ verifiable tamper indication framework.

This addendum to the Closure Report for Corrective Action Unit 113: Area 25, Reactor Maintenance, Assembly, and Disassembly Facility, Building 3110, Nevada Test Site, Nevada, DOE/NV--891-VOL I-Rev. 1, dated July 2003, provides details of demolition, waste disposal, and use restriction (UR) modification for Corrective Action Unit 113, Area 25 R-MAD Facility. Demolition was completed on July 15, 2010, when the last of the building debris was disposed. Final field activities were concluded on August 30, 2010, after all equipment was demobilized and UR signs were posted. This work was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

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