On May 30, 1998 scrap metal containing radioactive Cesium-137 (Cs-137) was accidentally melted in a furnace at the Acerinox steel mill in Algeciras, Spain. Cs-137 was released from the mill's smokestack, and spread across the western Mediterranean Sea to France and Italy and beyond. The first indication of the release was radiation levels up to 1000 times background reported by Swiss, French, and Italian authorities during the following two weeks. Initially no elevated radiation levels were detected over Spain. A release of hazardous material to the atmosphere is the type of situation the Atmospheric Release Advisory Capability (ARAC) emergency response organization was designed to address. The amount and exact time of the release were unknown, though the incident was thought to have taken place during the last week in May. Using air concentration measurements supplied by colleagues of ARAC in Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, Russia and the European Union, ARAC meteorologists estimated the magnitude and timing of the release (Vogt, 1999). Correctly locating the downwind footprint is the most important goal of emergency response modeling. In this study, we compare predicted results for the Algeciras event based on four wind data sources: (1) US Navy Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction …

During the test of the LEDA injector on the CRITS RFQ, an automatic data acquisition system has been implemented. The purpose was to measure the sparking rate of this CW RFQ. The RF level has some influences on vacuum, but there is no evidence of any reciprocal effect. The raw sparking rate is very difficult to interpret, since burst of sparks bias the statistics. A more convenient and useful interpretation is the number of sparking seconds. At the nominal field level (1.75 Kilp), the sparking-second rate is 0.5 per minute without beam. It strongly depends on the field, with a logarithmic law: 4.5 decade/Kilp. With beam, the sparking rate jumps to 3.0 per minute. As far as tested, it depends neither on the beam current (20 to 80 mA) nor on the field (1.5 to 1.7 Kilp tested). With sparking rates as measured here, one could not hope to build an RFQ that would be free of sparks over a several months continuous operation. Such a requirement, based on an extrapolation of the curves presented here, would lead to a maximal electric field much lower than the Kilpatrick value, an unreasonable requirement for a functional RFQ. A conclusion is that …

This describes a test program to establish the in-situ material properties of the reinforced concrete in Building 221-U for comparison to the original design specifications. Field sampling and laboratory testing of concrete and reinforcing steel structural materials in Building 221-U for design verification will be undertaken. Forty seven samples are to be taken from radiologically clean exterior walls of the canyon. Laboratory testing program includes unconfined compressive strength of concrete cores, tensile strength of reinforcing steel, and petrographic examinations of concrete cores taken from walls below existing grade.

The purpose of this project is to develop a computer code for joint inversion of seismic and electrical data, to improve underground imaging for site characterization and remediation monitoring. The computer code developed in this project will invert geophysical data to obtain direct estimates of porosity and saturation underground, rather than inverting for seismic velocity and electrical resistivity or other geophysical properties. This is intended to be a significant improvement in the state-of-the-art of underground imaging, since interpretation of data collected at a contaminated site would become much less subjective. Potential users include DOE scientists and engineers responsible for characterizing contaminated sites and monitoring remediation of contaminated sites. In this three-year project, we use a multi-phase approach consisting of theoretical and numerical code development, laboratory investigations, testing on available laboratory and borehole geophysics data sets, and a controlled field experiment, to develop practical tools for joint electrical and seismic data interpretation.

Where there is a significant actuarial basis for decision making (e.g., the occurrence of fires in single-family dwellings), there is little incentive for formal risk management. Formal risk assessments are most useful in those cases where the value of the structure is high, many people may be affected, the societal perception of risk is high, consequences of a mishap would be severe, and the actuarial uncertainty is large. For these cases, there is little opportunity to obtain the necessary experiential data to make informed decisions, and the consequences in terms of money, lives, and societal confidence are severe enough to warrant a formal risk assessment. Other important factors include the symbolic value of the structure and vulnerability to single point failures. It is unlikely that formal risk management and assessment practices will or should replace the proven institutions of building codes and engineering practices. Nevertheless, formal risk assessment can provide valuable insights into the hazards threatening high-value and high-risk (perceived or actual) buildings and structures, which can in turn be translated into improved public health, safety, and security. The key is to choose and apply the right assessment tool to match the structure in question. Design-for-reliability concepts can be applied …

Energy Related Inventions Program Number 613 was a two year program to commercialize a unique new wear material, Metal Reinforced Carbon Composite, MRCC. The program was designed to manufacture sample components of MRCC for evaluation by potential users and manufacturers. As a result of the program Burton Technologies Inc. and Rotary Power International are forming a joint company to manufacture, market and license MRCC materials to a wide range of industries.

The material of choice for a solid oxide fuel cell cathode based on a yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte is doped lanthanum manganite, (La, Sr)MnO{sub 3}. It excels at many of the attributes necessary for a system to work at the required operating temperature and is flexible enough to allow for materials optimization. Although strontium-doping increases the electronic conductivity of the material, the ionic conductivity of the material remains negligible under operating conditions. Studies have shown that the internal equilibrium of the material heavily favors oxidation of the manganese and rather than the loss of lattice oxygen as a charge compensation mechanism. This lack of oxygen vacancies in the structure retards the ability of the material to conduct oxygen ions; thus the optimized system requires a large number of engineered triple point boundary locations to work efficiently. We have successfully doped the host LSM lattice to alter the interred equilibrium of the material to increase its ionic conductivity and thus lower the cathodic overpotential of the system. Our presentation will discuss these new materials, the results of cell tests, and a number of characterization experiments performed.

Significant progress has been made toward solving the century-old problem of chromatic aberrations in diffractive optics. Our approach exploits modern materials and microfabrication technology and is very different from the purely diffractive strategy,'' which is commonly employed and which results in multiple diffractive elements separated by a finite distance. We have developed a Fresnel zone plate lens comprised of a serial stack of patterned minus-filters which allows broadband radiation to be focused (or imaged) without longitudinal or transverse chromatic aberrations. 7 refs., 4 figs.

We report on studies of the top quark, beyond the measurements of its mass and produciton cross section, which have been carried out recently by the CDF and D0 collaborations, based on {approximately}110{+-}6 pb{sup -1} of proton-antiproton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.8 TeV. Each experiment has searched for t{yields}H{sup +}b decays and, from the lack of observable signal, excluded previously unexplored regions of the [M{sub H+},tan{beta}] parameter space. D0 has studied the correlation between the spin states of pair-produced top quarks, and CDF has studied the helicity of the W bosons produced in the decay of top quarks. Within large statistical uncertainties, both measurements agree with predictions of the standard model.

This report discusses the Permitting Plan regarding NEPA, SEPA, RCRA, and other regulatory standards and alternatives, for planning the environmental permitting of the Canister Storage Building, Project W-464.

We present preliminary results of a new measurement of the b quark fragmentation function in Z{sup 0} decays using a novel kinematic B hadron energy reconstruction technique. The measurement is performed using 150,000 hadronic Z{sup 0} events recorded in the SLD experiment at SLAC between 1996 and 1997. The small and stable SLC beam spot and the CCD-based vertex detector are used to reconstruct topological B-decay vertices with high efficiency and purity, and to provide precise measurements of the kinematic quantities used in this technique. We measure the B energy with good efficiency and resolution over the full kinematic range. We compare the scale B hadron energy distribution with several functional forms of the B hadron energy distribution and predictions of several models of b quark fragmentation. Several functions including JETSET + Peterson are excluded by the data. The average scaled energy of the weakly decaying B hadron is measured to be x{sub B} = 0.719 {+-} 0.005 (stat) {+-} 0.007 (syst) {+-} 0.001 (model) (preliminary).

The solidification behavior and resultant solidification cracking susceptibility of autogenous gas tungsten arc fusion welds in alloy HR-160 was investigated by Varestraint testing, differential thermal analysis, and various microstructural characterization techniques. The alloy exhibited a liquidus temperature of 1387 {deg}C and initiated solidification by a primary L - {gamma} reaction in which Ni, Si, and Ti segregated to the interdendritic liquid and Co segregated to the {gamma} dendrite cores. Chromium exhibited no preference for segregation to the solid or liquid phase during solidification. Solidification terminated at {approx} 1162 {deg}C by a eutectic-type L - [{gamma}+ (Ni,Co){sub 16}(Ti,Cr){sub 6}Si{sub 7}] reaction. The (Ni,Co){sub 16}(Ti,Cr){sub 6}Si{sub 7} phase is found to be analogous to the G phase which forms in the Ni-Ti-Si and Co-Ti-Si ternary systems, and similarities are found to exist between the solidification behavior of this commercial multicomponent alloy and the simple Ni-Si and Ni-Ti binary systems. Reasonable agreement is obtained between the calculated and measured volume percent of the [{gamma} +(Ni,Co){sub l6}(Ti,Cr){sub 6}Si{sub 7}] eutectic-typr constituent with the Scheil equation using experimentally determined k values for Si and Ti from electron microprobe data. The alloy exhibited a very high susceptibility to solidification cracking in the Varestraint test. This is …

The Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) at Argonne National Laboratory-West (ANL-W) was shutdown in September, 1994. This sodium cooled reactor had been in service since 1964, and by the US Department of Energy (DOE) mandate, was to be placed in an industrially and radiologically safe condition for ultimate decommissioning. The deactivation of a liquid metal reactor presents unique concerns. The first major task associated with the project was the removal of all fueled assemblies. In addition, sodium must be drained from systems and processed for ultimate disposal. Residual quantities of sodium remaining in systems must be deactivated or inerted to preclude future hazards associated with pyrophoricity and generation of potentially explosive hydrogen gas. A Sodium Process Facility (SPF) was designed and constructed to react the elemental sodium from the EBR-II primary and secondary systems to sodium hydroxide for disposal. This facility has a design capacity to allow the reaction of the complete inventory of sodium at ANL-W in less than two years. Additional quantities of sodium from the Fermi-1 reactor are also being treated at the SPF.

Optical interference lithography offers a robust patterning technology capable of achieving high spatial resolution over extremely large field sizes ( {approx}1 m ). Here, we compare two different approaches for fabricating arrays of holes using interferometric techniques. We show that by applying an image reversal process to standard two-beam interference lithography, arrays of high aspect ratio holes can be generated. This process scales to submicron periods and allows holes as small as 0.1 micron to be patterned. Next, we present an analysis of the multiple-beam approach for patterning holes. We demonstrate that while the formation of higher contrast intensity patterns is possible by interfering four or more beams, the shape and modulation depth of such patterns are inherently sensitive to relative phase variations.

A major function of the Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) is to characterize waste in support of waste management and disposal activities at the Hanford Site. Analytical data from sampling and analysis and other available information about a tank are compiled and maintained in a tank characterization report (TCR). This report and its appendixes serve as the TCR for single-shell tank 241-U-112. The objectives of this report are (1) to use characterization data in response to technical issues associated with tank 241-U-112 waste, and (2) to provide a standard characterization of this waste in terms of a best-basis inventory estimate. Section 2.0 summarizes the response to technical issues, Section 3.0 shows the best-basis inventory estimate, Section 4.0 makes recommendations about the safety status of the tank and additional sampling needs. The appendixes contain supporting data and information. This report supports the requirements of the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (Ecology et al. 1997), Milestone M-44-15b, change request M-44-97-03 to issue characterization deliverables consistent with the Waste Information Requirements Document developed for 1998.

The off-shell aspects of the one-pion-exchange potential (OPEP) are discussed. Relativistic Hamiltonians containing relativistic kinetic energy, relativistic OPEP with various off-shell behaviors and Argonne v{sub 18} short-range parameterization are used to study the deuteron properties. The OPEP off-shell behaviors depend on whether a pseudovector or pseudoscalar pion-nucleon coupling is used and are characterized by a parameter {mu}. The authors study potentials having {mu} = {minus}1, 0 and +1 and they find that they are nearly unitarily equivalent. They also find that a nonrelativistic Hamiltonian containing local potentials and nonrelativistic kinetic energy provides a good approximation to a Hamiltonian containing a relativistic OPEP based on pseudovector pion-nucleon coupling and relativistic kinetic energy.

Nitric acid is used to clean depleted uranium in the form of cast billets, and cast and wrought parts in the processing cycle and is the largest contributor of waste to the West End Treatment Facility (WETF). An estimated 27,000 gallons of liquid and 75 to 95% of all uranium received was sent to the WETF for processing from this facility in our baseline year. Because wrought parts account for the largest throughput at the nitric acid facility, an alternative cleaning method for these parts was examined first. Test results on the first part type from the wrought family showed ultrasonic cleaning to be an effective cleaning method. Since the geometry for this part presented the most difficulty in terms of ultrasonic cleaning, the entire wrought family is expected to be moved from the nitric acid facility to the ultrasonic cleaning facility. As a result, there will be an 83% reduction part throughput at the nitric acid facility which corresponds to a significant decrease in wastes sent to the WETF and a reduction in the generation and associated costs of waste overall. This change also eliminated two building moves involving two RAD areas resulting in a part movement reduction of …

The purpose of this paper is to describe the current state of avalanche transistor based Pockels cell driver development at LLNL and to provide the reader with a set of useful design guidelines. A general description of the units is followed by a short section on the circuit design of avalanche transistor pulsers. A more detailed design guide is given. Techniques for delivering either {1/4} or {1/2} wave voltages to a Pockels cell are covered. Recently these units have been modified for use at repetition rates up to 10kHz. Operating at high repetition rates represents problems for both the driver and the Pockels Cell. Design solutions for the pulser are presented as well as discussion of Pockels cell acoustic resonance.

Synchrotron-based 13 nm measurements of scatter from individual mirrors and an assembled imaging system for Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography have been compared to a model of image formation in the presence of scatter. The theory uses a Power Spectral Density description of the constituent optics to describe modifications to the image due to scatter. Reasonable agreement between measurements and theory was obtained for both individual mirrors and the assembled system. 9 refs., 4 figs.

The surface topography of optics fabricated for Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography has been measured using a combination of phase-measuring interferometry and atomic force microscopy. Power Spectral Densities were computed over spatial frequencies extending from 2.0{times}10{sup {minus}8} nm{sup {minus}1} to 7.7{times}10{sup {minus}2} nm{sup {minus}1}. Roughness values for frequencies greater than 1.0{times}10{sup {minus}6} were 0.64 nm rms for a spherical optic and 0.95 nm rms for an aspheric optic. These values are significantly larger than 0.088 nm rms, which as obtained using a spherical optic representative of current limits in surface polishing technology. 9 refs., 4 figs.

The Hydro-Balanced Stuffing Box is a seal assembly for polished rod pumping installations commonly used in oil and gas pumping well installations to contain produced well fluids. The improved stuffing box was developed and patented by Harold H. Palmour of The Palmour Group of Livingston, TX. The stuffing box is designed to reduce the incidence of seal leakage and to utilize an environmentally safe fluid, so that if there is any leakage, environmental damage is reduced or eliminated. The unit was tested on two wells at the Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center. During the test period, the performance of the stuffing box was measured by monitoring the pressure on the tubing and the inner chamber with a Barton Two-pen recorder. The amount of safe fluid consumed, fluid leakage at the top of the stuffing box, pressure supplied from the nitrogen bottle, ambient temperature, and polish rod temperature was recorded. The stuffing box is capable of providing a better seal between well fluids an d the environment than conventional stuffing boxes. It allows the polished rod to operate cooler and with lubrication, extending the life of the packing elements, and reducing the amount of attention required to prevent leakage.

This paper presents several innovative and common sense approaches to pollution prevention that have been employed during facility deactivation at the Hanford Site in South Central Washington. It also presents several pollution prevention principles applicable to other projects. Innovative pollution prevention ideas employed at the Hanford site during facility deactivation included: (1) Recycling more than 185,000 gallons of radioactively contaminated nitric acid by sending it to an operating nuclear fuels reprocessing facility in England; (2) Recycling millions of pounds of chemicals and excess materials to other industries for reuse; (3) Evaporating flush water at a low rate and discharging it into the facility exhaust air stream to avoid discharging thousands of gallons of liquid to the soil column; and (4) Decontaminating and disposing of thousands of gallons of radioactively contaminated organic solvent waste to a RCRA licensed, power-producing, commercial incinerator. Common sense pollution prevention ideas that were employed include recycling office furniture, recycling paper from office files, and redeploying tools and miscellaneous process equipment. Additional pollution prevention occurred as the facility liquid and gaseous discharge streams were deactivated. From the facilities deactivation experiences at Hanford and the ensuing efforts to disposition excess chemicals and materials, several key pollution prevention principles …

Comprehensive understanding of chemical transport in response to fluid flow and diffusion in geologic processes requires thermodynamic and transport properties of a wide variety of aqueous species at the temperature and pressure of interest, as well as mass transfer computer codes that provide simultaneously for fluid flow, diffusion, dispersion, homogeneous chemical reactions, and mineral solubilities. As a result of research carried out with support from DOE in prior years of this grant, considerable progress has been made in developing computer codes to calculate advective-dispersive-diffusional transport at both high and low pressures and temperatures. These codes have become highly sophisticated, but their application to geochemical processes is limited by the availability of thermodynamic and transport data for the major solute species in the aqueous phase. Over the past three years, research has been directed primarily toward characterizing the thermodynamic behavior of concentrated supercritical aqueous electrolyte solutions and predicting the diffusion coefficients of organic species in oil field brines. Related research has been concerned with characterizing the growth rate of hydrothermal alteration zones and assessing the relative importance of aqueous diffusion and heterogeneous reactions at mineral surfaces in geochemical processes. 103 refs., 12 figs.

The objectives of this project are to study the effect of pretreatment methods on the two-stage liquefaction process. In particular the effects of dispersed catalysts and carbon monoxide atmospheres on a coal liquefaction process. The project is divided into three technical tasks. Task 1 and 2 deal with the analyses and liquefaction experiments, respectively, whereas Task 3 deals with the economic impact of utilizing the pretreatment methods. This quarter concentrated on Tasks 1 and 2. which are summarized below. The fractionated products from the coal liquefaction experiments conducted in Task 2 exhibited a very low H/C ratio, most likely due to the low H/C ratio of the Black Thunder recycle vehicle used in these liquefaction experiments. Wilsonville has reported the recycle vehicle as approximately 20% distillable material (1100{degree}F at one atmosphere), 20% insoluble material (CI) and 40% resid. We are now in the process of fractionating this material in order to determine its contribution to our liquefaction results. We also analyzed some of the sulfated iron catalysts for surface areas, finding that the calcined catalyst had surface areas of 76 m{sup 2}/g, compared to 6 m{sup 2}/g for the iron oxide used by Wilsonville. We also synthesized two more catalysts, …