This document presents a set of guidelines for authors who wish to express themselves more clearly to foreign readers, or readers whose first language is not American English. Topics include idioms, technical terms, jargon, word meaning, acronyms, and international conventions of measurement. The guidelines will help writers of technical documents present their ideas more effectively to audiences that may include individuals whose first language is not American English, including audiences with individuals from other English-speaking countries.

Laser safety evaluation and output emission measurements were performed (during October and November 2001) on SNL MILES and Mini MILES laser emitting components. The purpose, to verify that these components, not only meet the Class 1 (eye safe) laser hazard criteria of the CDRH Compliance Guide for Laser Products and 21 CFR 1040 Laser Product Performance Standard; but also meet the more stringent ANSI Std. z136.1-2000 Safe Use of Lasers conditions for Class 1 lasers that govern SNL laser operations. The results of these measurements confirmed that all of the Small Arms Laser Transmitters, as currently set (''as is''), meet the Class 1 criteria. Several of the Mini MILES Small Arms Transmitters did not. These were modified and re-tested and now meet the Class 1 laser hazard criteria. All but one System Controllers (hand held and rifle stock) met class 1 criteria for single trigger pulls and all presented Class 3a laser hazard levels if the trigger is held (continuous emission) for more than 5 seconds on a single point target. All units were Class 3a for ''aided'' viewing. These units were modified and re-tested and now meet the Class 1 hazard criteria for both ''aided'' as well as ''unaided'' …

This paper describes the approach of dealing with an historic legacy of pharmaceutical manufacturing operations, which arose as a result of the temporary cessation of sea disposal in 1983. The result of that cessation was an accumulation of 1,000 reinforced concrete lined steel drums containing intermediate level nuclear waste of mixed chemical and physical form. Included are the steps taken which established a policy, the resulting strategy and the unique and innovative means by which the plan was implemented. The objective was to reduce the financial liability of the waste contained within the drums by removing those portions that had already decayed, segregating the waste in terms of non disposable and disposable isotopes, size reduction and long-term storage of the residues in a retrievable waste form. As part of this process the Company established a UK strategy which would ensure that the Company was self sufficient in radioactive waste handling storage facilities until the provision of a national facility, currently predicted to be approximately 2040.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently evaluating alternative treatment standards for radioactively contaminated high mercury (Hg) subcategory wastes, which do not require the removal of mercury from the waste. The Sulfur Polymer Stabilization/Solidification (SPSS) process developed at Brookhaven National Laboratory is one of several candidate technologies capable of successfully treating various Hg waste streams. To supplement previously supplied data on treatment of soils, EPA needed additional data concerning stabilization of high Hg subcategory waste sludges. To this end, a 5000 ppm sludge surrogate, containing approximately 50 wt% water, was successfully treated by pilot-scale SPSS processing. In two process runs, 85 and 95 wt% of water was recovered from the sludge during processing. At waste loadings of 46 wt% (30 wt% dry) sludge, the treated waste form had no detectable mercury (<10 ppb) in TCLP leachates. Data gathered from the demonstration of treatment of this sludge will provide the EPA with information to support revisions to current treatment requirements for high Hg subcategory wastes.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is faced with a massive cleanup task in resolving the legacy of environmental problems from years of manufacturing nuclear weapons. One of the major activities within this task is the treatment and disposal of the extremely large amount of high-level radioactive (HLW) waste stored at the Hanford Site in Richland, Washington. The current planning for the method of choice for accomplishing this task is to vitrify (glassify) this waste for disposal in a geologic repository. This paper describes the results of the DOE-chartered independent review of alternatives for solidification of Hanford HLW that could achieve major cost reductions with reasonable long-term risks, including recommendations on a path forward for advanced melter and waste form material research and development. The potential for improved cost performance was considered to depend largely on increased waste loading (fewer high-level waste canisters for disposal), higher throughput, or decreased vitrification facility size.

Presently the Heavy Ion Fusion Virtual National Laboratory is researching ion sources and injector concepts to understand how to optimize beam brightness over a range of currents (50-2000 mA argon equivalent). One concept initially accelerates millimeter size, milliamp beamlets to 1 MeV before merging them into centimeter size, ampere beams. Computer simulations have shown the final brightness of the merged beams is dominated by the emittance growth of the merging process, as long as the beamlets ion temperature is below a few eV. Thus, a RF multicusp source capable of high current density can produce beams with better brightness compared to ones extracted from a colder source with a large aperture and lower current density. As such, experiments have begun to develop a RF multicusp source capable of delivering one amp of extracted beam current. It is expected that it will require 10 kW of 13 MHz RF power delivered via a quartz shielded, one and half turn, four inch diameter antenna. Important considerations in the development of the source include the dependence of current density and beam ion temperature on consumed RF power and gas pressure. A fast rise time ({approx}100 ns) for the extracted beam pulse must also …

In the framework of the preparation for the decommissioning of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) an Industrial Complex for Solid Radwaste Management (ICSRM) will be built under the EC TACIS Program in the vicinity of ChNPP. The paper will present the proposed concepts and their integration into existing buildings and installations. Further, the paper will consider the safety cases, as well as the integration of Western and Ukrainian Organizations into a cohesive project team and the requirement to guarantee the fulfillment of both Western standards and Ukrainian regulations and licensing requirements. The paper will provide information on the status of the interim design and the effects of value engineering on the output of basic design phase. The paper therefor summarizes the design results of the involved design engineers of the Design and Process Providers BNFL (LOT 1), RWE NUKEM GmbH (LOT 2 and General) and INITEC (LOT 3).

Today's restrictive environmental regulations encourage paper mills to close their water systems. Closed water systems increase the level of contaminants significantly. Accumulations of solid suspensions are detrimental to both the papermaking process and the final products. To remove these solids, technologies such as flotation using dissolved air (DAF), centrifuging, and screening have been developed. Dissolved Air Flotation systems are commonly used to clarify whitewater. These passive systems use high pressure to dissolve air into whitewater. When the pressure is released, air micro-bubbles form and attach themselves to fibers and particles, which then float to the surface where they are mechanically skimmed off. There is an economic incentive to explore alternatives to the DAF technology to drive down the cost of whitewater processing and minimize the use of chemicals. The installed capital cost for a DAF system is significant and a typical DAF system takes up considerable space. An alternative approach, which is the subject of this project, involves a dual method combining the advantages of chemical flocculation and in-line ultrasonic clarification to efficiently remove flocculated contaminants from a water stream

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Temperature dependent extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra were measured for a 3.3 at. % Ga stabilized Pu alloy over the range T= 20 - 300 K. EXAFS data were acquired at both the Ga K-edge and the Pu L{sub III} edge. Curve-fits were performed to the first shell interactions to obtain pair-distance distribution widths, {sigma}, as a function of temperature. The temperature dependence of {sigma}(T) was accurately modeled using a correlated-Debye model for the lattice vibrational properties, suggesting Debye-like behavior in this material. Using this formalism, we obtain pair-specific correlated-Debye temperatures, {Theta}{sub cD}, of 110.7 {+-} 1.7 K and 202.6 {+-} 3.7 K, for the Pu-Pu and Ga-Pu pairs, respectively. The result for the Pu-{Theta}{sub cD} value compares well with previous vibrational studies on {delta}-Pu. In addition, our results represent the first unambiguous determination of Ga-specific vibrational properties in Pu-Ga alloys, i.e, {Theta}{sub cD} for the Ga-Pu pair. Because the Debye temperature can be related to a measure of the lattice stiffness, these results indicate the Ga-Pu bonds are significantly stronger than the Pu-Pu bonds. This effect has important implications for lattice stabilization mechanisms in these alloys.

We calculate the {phi} meson collision rate and mean free path in a hot hadronic gas. The Hidden Local Symmetry model is used to take into account interactions of {phi} mesons with pseudoscalar ({pi}, K) and vector mesons ({rho}, {omega}, K*, {phi}). In contrast to previous calculations we find a significantly small mean free path (around 1 fm at T=200MeV). This implies that {phi} mesons produced after hadronization in relativistic heavy ion collisions will not leave the collision region without scattering. The consequences of these findings to the analysis of {phi} yields are discussed.

The Hidden Local Symmetry Lagrangian is used to study the interactions of phi mesons with other pseudoscalar and vector mesons in a hadronic gas at finite temperature. We have found a significantly small phi mean free path (less than 2.4 fm at T > 170 MeV) due to large collision rates with rho mesons, kaons and predominantly K* in spite of their heavy mass. This implies that phi mesons produced after hadronization in relativistic heavy ion collisions will not leave the hadronic system without scattering. The effect of these interactions on the time evolution of the phi density in the expanding hadronic fireball is investigated.

Lubrication of wheel/rail systems has been recognized for the last two decades as a very important issue for railroads. Energy savings and less friction and wear can be realized if a lubricant can be used at the wheel/rail interface. On the other hand, adverse influences are seen in operating and wear conditions if improper or excessive lubrication is used. Also, inefficiencies in lubrication need to be avoided for economic and environmental reasons. The top-of-rail (TOR) lubricant concept was developed by Texaco Corporation to lubricate wheels and rails effectively and efficiently. Tranergy Corporation has been developing its SENTRAEN 2000{trademark} lubrication system for the last ten years, and this revolutionary new high-tech on-board rail lubrication system promises to dramatically improve the energy efficiency, performance, safety, and track environment of railroads. The system is fully computer-controlled and ensures that all of the lubricant is consumed as the end of the train passes. Lubricant quantity dispensed is a function of grade, speed, curve, and axle load. Tranergy also has its LA4000{trademark} wheel and rail simulator, a lubrication and traction testing apparatus. The primary task of this project was collecting and analyzing the volatile and semivolatile compounds produced as the lubricant was used. The volatile …

Characterization, packaging, transport, handling and disposal of remotely handled transuranic (RH TRU) waste at WIPP will be different than similar operations with contact handled transuranic (CH TRU) waste. This paper presents results of technical evaluations associated with the planned disposal of remotely handled transuranic waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).

We demonstrate the application code ''rap'' which is part of the ''Overture'' library. A CAD geometry imported from an IGES file is first cleaned up and simplified to suit the needs of mesh generation. Thereafter, the topology of the model is computed and a water-tight surface triangulation is created on the CAD surface. This triangulation is used to speed up the projection of points onto the CAD surface during the generation of overlapping surface grids. From each surface grid, volume grids are grown into the domain using a hyperbolic marching procedure. The final step is to fill any remaining parts of the interior with background meshes.

The radioactive waste management system at Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Romania was designed to maintain acceptable levels of safety for workers and to protect human health and the environment from exposure to unacceptable levels of radiation. In accordance with terminology of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), this system consists of the ''pretreatment'' of solid and organic liquid radioactive waste, which may include part or all of the following activities: collection, handling, volume reduction (by an in-drum compactor, if appropriate), and storage. Gaseous and aqueous liquid wastes are managed according to the ''dilute and discharge'' strategy. Taking into account the fact that treatment/conditioning and disposal technologies are still not established, waste minimization at the source is a priority environmental management objective, while waste minimization at the disposal stage is presently just a theoretical requirement for future adopted technologies . The necessary operational and maintenance procedures are in place at Cernavoda to minimize the production and contamination of waste. Administrative and technical measures are established to minimize waste volumes. Thus, an annual environmental target of a maximum 30 m3 of radioactive waste volume arising from operation and maintenance has been established. Within the first five years of operations at …

The question of whether and to what extent information on the pressures driving duct leaks can be extracted from the data taken during the Delta Q test for duct leakage is investigated. Curves of Delta Q vs. house pressure are generated for sets of cases where the supply and return leakage rates to/from outside are held constant while the leakage pressures are varied. It is found that the Delta Q curve takes on two qualitatively different shapes, one for leakage pressures within the range of house pressures used in the Delta Q test (i.e., -25 Pa to +25 Pa) and the other for leakage pressures well outside this range. These effects are seen in experimental data taken with leakage at known pressures. However, extracting the signal of the leakage pressure from the surrounding noise caused by random measurement variation is likely to be a difficult problem in many cases.

The core of the MARIA high flux multipurpose research reactor is highly heterogeneous. It consists of beryllium blocks arranged in 6 x 8 matrix, tubular fuel assemblies, control rods and irradiation channels. The reflector is also heterogeneous and consists of graphite blocks clad with aluminum. Its structure is perturbed by the experimental beam tubes. This paper presents methods and codes used to calculate the MARIA reactor neutronics characteristics and experience gained thus far at IAE and ANL. At ANL the methods of MARIA calculations were developed in connection with the RERTR program. At IAE the package of programs was developed to help its operator in optimization of fuel utilization.

Several advection algorithms are presented within the remap framework for unstructured mesh ALE codes. The methods discussed include a generic advection scheme based on a finite volume approach, and three groups of algorithms for the treatment of material boundary interfaces. The interface capturing algorithms belong to the Volume of Fluid (VoF) class of methods to approximate material interfaces from the local fractional volume of fluid distribution in arbitrary unstructured polyhedral meshes appropriate for the Kull code. Also presented are several schemes for extending single material radiation diffusion solvers to account for multi-material interfaces.

Several classes of mesh motion algorithms are presented for the remap phase of unstructured mesh ALE codes. The methods range from local shape optimization procedures to more complex variational minimization methods applied to arbitrary unstructured polyhedral meshes necessary for the Kull code.

The Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC) Service Wastewater Discharge Facility replaces the existing percolation ponds as a disposal facility for the INTEC Service Waste Stream. A preferred alternative for helping decrease water content in the subsurface near INTEC, closure of the existing ponds is required by the INTEC Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Record of Decision (ROD) for Waste Area Group 3 Operable Unit 3-13 (DOE-ID 1999a). By August 2002, the replacement facility was constructed approximately 2 miles southwest of INTEC, near the Big Lost River channel. Because groundwater beneath the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) is protected under Federal and State of Idaho regulations from degradation due to INEEL activities, preoperational data required by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Order 5400.1 were collected. These data include preexisting physical, chemical, and biological conditions that could be affected by the discharge; background levels of radioactive and chemical components; pertinent environmental and ecological parameters; and potential pathways for human exposure or environmental impact. This document presents specific data collected in support of DOE Order 5400.1, including: four quarters of groundwater sampling and analysis of chemical and radiological parameters; general facility description; site specific geology, stratigraphy, …

The Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC) Service Wastewater Discharge Facility replaces the existing percolation ponds as a disposal facility for the INTEC Service Waste Stream. A preferred alternative for helping decrease water content in the subsurface near INTEC, closure of the existing ponds is required by the INTEC Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Record of Decision (ROD) for Waste Area Group 3 Operable Unit 3-13 (DOE-ID 1999a). By August 2002, the replacement facility was constructed approximately 2 miles southwest of INTEC, near the Big Lost River channel. Because groundwater beneath the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) is protected under Federal and State of Idaho regulations from degradation due to INEEL activities, preoperational data required by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Order 5400.1 were collected. These data include preexisting physical, chemical, and biological conditions that could be affected by the discharge; background levels of radioactive and chemical components; pertinent environmental and ecological parameters; and potential pathways for human exposure or environmental impact. This document presents specific data collected in support of DOE Order 5400.1, including: four quarters of groundwater sampling and analysis of chemical and radiological parameters; general facility description; site specific geology, stratigraphy, …

The necessity to develop the submarine fleet in Russia required constructing a special training base for the training of submarine crews. To this purpose two prototypes of nuclear power units, close analogous to those fitting out nuclear submarines were constructed and commissioned in the sixties on the Navy training centre's base located in Paldiski (Pakri peninsula, Estonia). In 1994, nuclear fuel was discharged from the reactors and transported to Russia while the reactors themselves were prepared for prolonged storage, prior to transfer of the Paldiski facilities to the ownership of the Estonian Republic. The Paldiski facilities are currently being dismantled with the exception of two sarcophagi made of concrete that are housing the two reactor compartments. The question of the future management of both sarcophagi is a key-issue in the cleaning up of the whole Paldiski site. Actually, three basic questions should answered: when should dismantling operations occur, how this should be done, and what could be the corresponding cost. Within the context of enlargement of the European Union, the Commission services (first Directorate-General for Environment and then Directorate-General for Enlargement) decided to support Estonia to respond to these three questions through a study contract that was awarded in 1999 …

Our previous study of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in a three-room environmental chamber showed that smoking history significantly influenced inter-room ETS transport, particularly of gas-phase nicotine. We conducted a three-home pilot study where smoking was limited to one room. Single-smoker residences were monitored during five one-week periods while the smoker participated in a smoking cessation program. Nicotine traced ETS particles were detected reliably in the smoking rooms (SRs) and unreliably in the non-smoking rooms (NSRs). On average, the ventilation- and volume-normalized smoking rate, 0.1 Cigarette-h{sup -1} m{sup -3}, added about 17 and 4 {micro}g m{sup -3} of ETS particles into the SR and NSR, while average nicotine concentration increases were 2 and 0.06 {micro}g m{sup -3}, respectively. Thus, nicotine tracers may underestimate ETS particle exposure in a NSR (e.g., a child's bedroom) by a factor of 2 to 8. In other words, ETS exposure predicted from nicotine concentrations could be almost an order of magnitude lower than actual exposure.