The goal of this proposed work is to directly address the need for rapid on-line characterization of the physical properties of HLW slurries during all phases of the remediation process, from in-tank characterization of sediments to monitoring of the concentration, particle size, and degree of agglomeration and gelation of slurries during transport. This will be done with both optical and ultrasonic methods. There are three tasks: (1) develop optical and acoustic measurements to provide the fundamental science needed for successful device development and implementation, (2) develop theories that describe the interrelationship between wave propagation and the physical properties of the slurry, and (3) solve, in the framework of these theories, the inversion problem and compare them with the experimental measurements to non-intrusively characterize slurries.

Conference abstract book contains seven sections: Plenary-4 abstracts; Chemical-9 abstracts; Radiation-7 abstracts; Ultra Low Doses and Medicine-6 abstracts; Biomedical-11 abstracts; Risk Assessment-5 abstracts and Poster Sessions-25 abstracts. Each abstract was provided by the author/presenter participating in the conference.

This Corrective Action Investigation Plan contains the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Operations Office's approach to collect the data necessary to evaluate corrective action alternatives appropriate for the closure of Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 5 under the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order. Corrective Action Unit 5 consists of eight Corrective Action Sites (CASs): 05-15-01, Sanitary Landfill; 05-16-01, Landfill; 06-08-01, Landfill; 06-15-02, Sanitary Landfill; 06-15-03, Sanitary Landfill; 12-15-01, Sanitary Landfill; 20-15-01, Landfill; 23-15-03, Disposal Site. Located between Areas 5, 6, 12, 20, and 23 of the Nevada Test Site (NTS), CAU 5 consists of unlined landfills used in support of disposal operations between 1952 and 1992. Large volumes of solid waste were produced from the projects which used the CAU 5 landfills. Waste disposed in these landfills may be present without appropriate controls (i.e., use restrictions, adequate cover) and hazardous and/or radioactive constituents may be present at concentrations and locations that could potentially pose a threat to human health and/or the environment. During the 1992 to 1995 time frame, the NTS was used for various research and development projects including nuclear weapons testing. Instead of managing solid waste at one or two disposal sites, the practice …

The National Geoscience Data Repository System, Phase III was an operational project focused on coordinating and facilitating transfers of at-risk geoscience data from the private sector to the public domain.

First Article Tests of a stabilization method for greater than 260 mg mercury/kg oil were performed under a treatability study. This alternative treatment technology will address treatment of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) organics (mainly used pump oil) contaminated with mercury and other heavy metals. Some of the oil is also co-contaminated with tritium, other radionuclides, and hazardous materials. The technology is based on contacting the oil with a sorbent powder (Self-Assembled Mercaptan on Mesoporous Support, SAMMS), proven to adsorb heavy metals, followed by stabilization of the oil/powder mixture using a stabilization agent (Nochar N990). Two variations of the treatment technology were included in the treatability study. The SAMMS (Self-Assembled Mercaptan on Mesoporous Silica) technology was developed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for removal and stabilization of RCRA metals (i.e., lead, mercury, cadmium, silver, etc.) and for removal of mercury from organic solvents [1]. The SAMMS material is based on self-assembly of functionalized monolayers on mesoporous oxide surfaces. The unique mesoporous oxide supports provide a high surface area, thereby enhancing the metal-loading capacity. SAMMS material has high flexibility in that it binds with different forms of mercury, including metallic, inorganic, organic, charged, and neutral compounds [1] The material removes …

This research presents a study of the hardness, electrical, and thermal properties AlMgB{sub 14} containing Al{sub 2}MgO{sub 4} spinel. This research also investigated how much Al{sub 2}MgO{sub 4} spinel consistently forms with AlMgB{sub 14}, if AlMgB{sub 14} materials can be produced by hot isostatic pressing (HIP), what effects TiC and TiB{sub 2} have on this composite material, and the importance of mechanical alloying. Included also is a study of the variation in hardness measurements and how they relate to SI units. Heretofore, all ultra-hard materials (hardness > 40 GPA) have been found to be cubic in structure, electrical insulators, and expensive; the behavior of AlMgB{sub 14}, which in certain specimens and compositions can have hardness values greater than 40 GPa, is therefore quite unusual since it is non-cubic, conductive, and moderate in cost. This offers an opportunity to investigate the relationship between hardness, thermal, and electrical properties from a new perspective. The main purpose of this project was to characterize the different properties of the AlMgB{sub 14} materials and to demonstrate that this material can be made in bulk. The technologies used for this study include microhardness measurement techniques, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction …

The Westinghouse Savannah River Company (WSRC) has developed a software tool for automating the Human Factors Engineering (HFE) design review, analysis, and evaluation processes. The tool provides a consistent, cost effective, graded, user-friendly approach for evaluating process control system Human System Interface (HSI) specifications, designs, and existing implementations. The initial set of HFE design guidelines, used in the tool, was obtained from NUREG- 0700. Each guideline was analyzed and classified according to its significance (general concept vs. supporting detail), the HSI technology (computer based vs. non-computer based), and the HSI safety function (safety vs. non-safety). Approximately 10 percent of the guidelines were determined to be redundant or obsolete and were discarded. The remaining guidelines were arranged in a Microsoft Access relational database, and a Microsoft Visual Basic user interface was provided to facilitate the HFE design review. The tool also provides the capability to add new criteria to accommodate advances in HSI technology and incorporate lessons learned. Summary reports produced by the tool can be easily ported to Microsoft Word and other popular PC office applications. An IBM compatible PC with Microsoft Windows 95 or higher is required to run the application.

The objectives of this were two fold. First, core displacement studies were done to determine whether microbial processes could recover residual oil at elevated pressures. Second, the importance of biosurfactant production for the recovery of residual oil was studies. In these studies, a biosurfactant-producing, microorganisms called Bacillus licheniformis strain JF-2 was used. This bacterium produces a cyclic peptide biosurfactant that significantly reduces the interfacial tension between oil and brine (7). The use of a mutant deficient in surfactant production and a mathematical MEOR simulator were used to determine the major mechanisms of oil recovery by these two strains.

An iridium alloy doped with small amounts of cerium and thorium is being developed as a potential replacement for the iridium-based DOP-26 alloy (doped with thorium only) that is currently used by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for cladding and post-impact containment of the radioactive fuel in radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) heat sources which provide electric power for interplanetary spacecraft. This report summarizes results of studies conducted to date under the Iridium Alloy Characterization and Development subtask of the Radioisotope Power System Materials Production and Technology Program to characterize the properties of the iridium-based alloy (designated as DOP-40) containing both cerium and thorium. Included within this report are data on grain growth of sheet material in vacuum and low-pressure oxygen environments, grain growth in vacuum of the clad vent set cup material, weldability, and the effect of grain size and test temperature on tensile properties. Where applicable, data for the DOP-26 alloy are included for comparison. Both grain size and grain-boundary cohesion affect the ductility of iridium alloys. In this study it was found that cerium and thorium, when added together, refine grain size more effectively than when thorium is added by itself (especially at high temperatures). In …

We propose a model for generalized parton distributions of the pion based on the power-law ansatz for the effective light-cone wave function.

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