Strontium isotope compositions (87Sr/86Sr) measured in groundwater samples from 273 wells in the Pasco Basin unconfined aquifer below the Hanford Site show large and systematic variations that provide constraints on groundwater recharge, weathering rates of the aquifer host rocks, communication between unconfined and deeper confined aquifers, and vadose zone-groundwater interaction. The impact of millions of cubic meters of wastewater discharged to the vadose zone (103-105 times higher than ambient drainage) shows up strikingly on maps of groundwater 87Sr/86Sr. Extensive access through the many groundwater monitoring wells at the site allows for an unprecedented opportunity to evaluate the strontium geochemistry of a major aquifer, hosted primarily in unconsolidated sediments, and relate it to both long term properties and recent disturbances. Groundwater 87Sr/86Sr increases systematically from 0.707 to 0.712 from west to east across the Hanford Site, in the general direction of groundwater flow, as a result of addition of Sr from the weathering of aquifer sediments and from diffuse drainage through the vadose zone. The lower 87Sr/86Sr groundwater reflects recharge waters that have acquired Sr from Columbia River Basalts. Based on a steady-state model of Sr reactive transport and drainage, there is an average natural drainage flux of 0-1.4 mm/yr near …

OAK-B135 This paper is submitted in fulfillment of DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-015F22369 on the experience of western states/provinces with demand response (DR) in the electricity sector. Demand-side resources are often overlooked as a viable option for meeting load growth and addressing the challenges posed by the region's aging transmission system. Western states should work together with utilities and grid operators to facilitate the further deployment of DR programs which can provide benefits in the form of decreased grid congestion, improved system reliability, market efficiency, price stabilization, hedging against volatile fuel prices and reduced environmental impacts of energy production. This report describes the various types of DR programs; provides a survey of DR programs currently in place in the West; considers the benefits, drawbacks and barriers to DR; and presents lessons learned and recommendations for states/provinces.

As was reported in our previous work, accurate, nondisturbing near-anode measurements of the plasma density, electron temperature, and plasma potential performed with biased and emissive probes allowed the first experimental identification of both electron-repelling (negative anode fall) and electron-attracting (positive anode fall) anode sheaths in Hall thrusters. An interesting new phenomenon revealed by the probe measurements is that the anode fall changes from positive to negative upon removal of the dielectric coating, which appears on the anode surface during the course of Hall thruster operation. As reported in the present work, energy dispersion spectroscopy analysis of the chemical composition of the anode dielectric coating indicates that the coating layer consists essentially of an oxide of the anode material (stainless steel). However, it is still unclear how oxygen gets into the thruster channel. Most importantly, possible mechanisms of anode fall formation in a Hall thruster with a clean and a coated anodes are analyzed in this work; practical implication of understanding the general structure of the electron-attracting anode sheath in the case of a coated anode is also discussed.

The River Protection Project-Waste Treatment Plant (RPP-WTP) requested Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to conduct small-scale foaming and antifoam testing using actual Hanford waste and simulants subjected to air sparging. The foaminess of Hanford tank waste solutions was previously demonstrated in SRNL during WTP evaporator foaming and ultrafiltration studies and commercial antifoam DOW Q2-3183A was recommended to mitigate the foam in the evaporators. Currently, WTP is planning to use air spargers in the HLW Lag Storage Vessels, HLW Concentrate Receipt Vessel, and the Ultrafiltration Vessels to assist the performance of the Jet Pulse Mixers (JPM). Sparging of air into WTP tanks will induce a foam layer within the process vessels. The air dispersion in the waste slurries and generated foams could present problems during plant operation. Foam in the tanks could also adversely impact hydrogen removal and mitigation. Antifoam (DOW Q2-3183A) will be used to control foaming in Hanford sparged waste processing tanks. These tanks will be mixed by a combination of pulse-jet mixers and air spargers. The percent allowable foaminess or freeboard in WTP tanks are shown in tables.

CIRCE (Coherent InfraRed CEnter) is a proposal for a new electron storage ring to be built at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). The ring design is optimized for the generation of coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) in the terahertz frequency range. Among others, CIRCE operation includes three interesting CSR modes: ultra stable, femtosecond laser slicing and broadband bursting. CSR allows CIRCE to generate an extremely high flux in the terahertz frequency region. The many orders of magnitude increase in the intensity over that presently achievable by conventional sources, has the potential to enable new science experiments. The characteristics of CIRCE and of the different modes of operation are described in this paper.

BL 7.2 is a new beamline at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) dedicated to electron beam diagnostics. The system, which is basically a hard x-ray pinhole camera, was installed in the storage ring in August 2003 and commissioning with the ALS electron beam followed immediately after. In this paper the commissioning results are presented together with the description of the relevant measurements performed for the beamline characterization.

We present recent developments in design concepts for LUX - a source of ultra-short synchrotron radiation pulses based on a recirculating superconducting linac. The source produces high-flux x-ray pulses with duration of 100 fs or less at a 10 kHz repetition rate, optimized for the study of ultra-fast dynamics across many fields of science [1]. Cascaded harmonic generation in free-electron lasers (FEL's) produces coherent radiation in the VUV-soft x-ray regime, and a specialized technique is used to compress spontaneous emission for ultra-short-pulse photon production in the 1-10 keV range. High-brightness electron bunches of 2-3 mm-mrad emittance at 1 nC charge in 30 ps duration are produced in an rf photocathode gun and compressed to 3 ps duration following an injector linac, and recirculated three times through a 1 GeV main linac. In each return path, independently tunable harmonic cascades are inserted to produce seeded FEL radiation in selected photon energy ranges from approximately 20 eV with a single stage of harmonic generation, to 1 keV with a four-stage cascade. The lattice is designed to minimize emittance growth from effects such as coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR), and resistive wall wakefields. Timing jitter between pump lasers and x-ray pulses is minimized by …

In support of Low-Curie Salt (LCS) process validation at the Savannah River Site (SRS), Liquid Waste Disposition (LWD) has undertaken a program of tank characterization, including salt sampling. As part of this initiative, they sampled the surface and subsurface of Tank 10H saltcake using a series of three 12-inch long sample tubes. These tubes each contain 1-foot long segments of the saltcake from one location, representing the top three feet of saltcake. The primary objective of the characterization that will be useful to the selection and processing of the next waste tanks. Most important is the determination of the Cs-137 concentration and liquid retention properties of Tank 10H saltcake to confirm acceptability of processing. Additional chemical analyses are performed to provide information on salt elemental, ionic, and radiological composition to aid in assessment of the suitability of processing drained and dissolved material and in refining the information in the waste characterization system (WCS).

CIRCE (Coherent InfraRed Center) at the Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL), is a proposal for a new electron storage ring optimized for the generation of coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) in the terahertz frequency range. One of the main requirement for this special mode of operation is the capability of the ring of operating at small momentum compaction values. In this regime, the longitudinal dynamics becomes strongly nonlinear and an accurate control of the higher order energy dependent terms of the momentum compaction is necessary. The lattice for CIRCE allows controlling the seterms up to the third order. The paper describes the lattice and presents the calculated performances in terms of momentum acceptance, dynamic aperture , lifetime and momentum compaction tune capabilities.

The Savannah River Site (SRS) is currently in the process of Deactivation and Decommissioning (D and D) several processing areas. This paper addresses the Material Control and Accountability (MC and A) activities that were developed and implemented to downgrade the material balance area (MBA) from an active Category I facility to an inactive Category IV MBA. MC and A downgrade requirements developed address topical areas that can impact final facility closure milestones. Final operational activities to process the remaining nuclear material in the facility needed to be coordinated with MC and A closure activities to minimize the amount of time and cost associated with the closure of the facility. MC and A activities that needed to be addressed included; the decommissioning of process areas, transfer of accountable nuclear material to other facilities, the material hold-up measurements required once process areas were shut down, the access requirements to nuclear material during the final processing and simultaneous closure of processing areas, the usage of enhanced material surveillance requirements to improve the utilization of Operations personnel, the updating and record retention for accountability records, the transition to a lower category MBA for final deactivation activities which included phasing out security force personnel, and …

Continuing advancements in software and hardware technology are providing facilities the opportunity for improvements in the areas of safety, regulatory compliance, administrative control, data collection, and reporting. Implementing these changes to improve plant operating efficiency can also create many challenges which include but are not limited to: justifying cost, planning for scalability, implementing applications across varied platforms, integrating multitudes of proprietary vendor applications, and creating a common vision for diverse process improvement projects. The Defense Programs (DP) facility at the Savannah River Site meets these challenges on a daily basis. Like many other plants, DP, has room for improvement when it comes to effective and clear communication, data entry, data storage, and system integration. Specific examples of areas targeted for improvement include: shift turnover meetings using system status data one to two hours old, lockouts and alarm inhibits performed on points on the Distributed Control System (DCS) and tracked in a paper logbook, disconnected systems preventing preemptive correction of regulatory compliance issues, and countless examples of additional task and data duplication on independent systems. Investment of time, money, and careful planning addressing these issues are already providing returns in the form of increased efficiency, improved plant tracking and reduced cost …

This report provides the final results of analyses of the saltcake core sample and a separate supernate sample from Tank 29H. The supernate sample was markedly different from the drained interstitial liquid. The Tank 29H supernate had a reduction in 238Pu upon filtering through a 0.45-micron filter. Approximately 25 per cent of the U is in suspension in the supernate and can be removed by filtration. As expected, the radionuclides Cs-137 and Tc-99 are entirely soluble and the actinides are largely insoluble, in the interstitial liquid, within experimental error. It is not known how representative this saltcake sample is for the entire tank. There is considerably more liquid present in this sample than in most other tank samples examined thus far. The history of the tank indicates that some of the saltcake in the top layer likely dissolved by the addition of low ionic strength solutions over the past few years. Also, the sample was collected at the bottom of a 7-foot well that was mined into the saltcake with water. These water additions could have dissolved the sodium nitrate in the top layer, and left behind a layer containing the remaining salts, including those of aluminum, although it is …

The aim of the proposed research is to use electroactive ion exchange materials to remove anionic contaminants from HLW wastes and process streams. An ion exchange process using electroactive materials sorbs contaminants selectively and then expels (elutes) them electrochemically by changing the charge balance through redox reactions in the sorbent as opposed to requiring the addition of a chemical eluent. Such processes can theoretically remove anions (e.g., pertechnetate, chromate, and perchorate) and concentrate them in a separate product stream while adding no process chemicals. A practical implementation in HLW process facilities would be a breakthrough in the ability of DOE to economically minimize waste and prevent pollution throughout the complex. To enable this, our work focuses on manipulating specific properties of redox polymers to control the hydrophobicity and ion-pair properties pertinent to the reversibility, selectivity, stability, intercalation/de-intercalation rates, and capacity of the polymers.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected Uranium Disposition Services, LLC (UDS) to proceed with disposition of the inventory of depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF{sub 6}) for which DOE has management responsibility. To accomplish this task, UDS will construct and operate facilities at two DOE-owned sites, one near Paducah, Kentucky, and another near Portsmouth, Ohio, to convert DUF{sub 6} to uranium oxide (principally U{sub 3}O{sub 8}). The off-gas treatment system for the conversion process will produce aqueous hydrogen fluoride (AqHF), also known as hydrofluoric acid, and a relatively small amount of calcium fluoride (CaF{sub 2}), each containing some residual radioactive material. As part of its contractual charge, UDS must identify and implement a disposition for all three products generated by the DUF{sub 6} conversion facilities: uranium oxide, AqHF, and CaF{sub 2}. The UDS DUF{sub 6} Conversion Product Management Plan (DUF{sub 6}-UDS-PLN-004, September 2003) concludes that a viable commercial market exists for AqHF, which, if not sold, would have to be neutralized, producing a relatively large quantity of additional CaF{sub 2}. Although CaF{sub 2} has very limited market potential, there is some possibility that it also could be sold. If these potential markets could be developed, DOE would save the costs …

One of the throughput limitations for the Actinide Removal Process (ARP) and Salt Waste Processing Facility is the lengthy sorption time of plutonium on monosodium titanate(MST). Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) personnel proposed use of the In-Situ-Mixed Iron Oxide (IS-MIO) process, which removes strontium and actinides from waste streams with faster reaction kinetics than the MST process. The Savannah River National Laboratory and ANL received funding to develop the IS-MIO process for deployment at the Savannah River Site. Personnel performed simulant filtration tests to evaluate the process. They prepared 100 L of simulated SRS high level waste, added IS-MIO solutions to the simulated waste, mixed the solutions for four hours, and filtered the slurry in a bench-scale crossflow filter. The simulant was designed to maximize strontium solubility; it was not designed to match a particular tank composition. The crossflow filter was 3/8 inch internal diameter, 2 feet long, and possessing a 0.196 ft2 internal surface area. Researchers also performed a series of decontamination tests using actual waste. They prepared a multi-tank composite adjusted it to 5.6 M sodium, and allowed it to equilibrate. They used this material in six tests. Four of the tests used IS-MIO solutions, one of the tests …

Most visualizations of security-related network data require large amounts of finely detailed, high-dimensional data. However, in some cases, the data available can only be coarsely detailed because of security concerns or other limitations. How can interesting security events still be discovered in data that lacks important details, such as IP addresses, network security alarms, and labels? In this paper, we discuss a system we have designed that takes very coarsely detailed data-basic, summarized information of the activity on each TCP port during each given hour-and uses visualization to help uncover interesting security events.

Muon accelerators contain beam lines and components which are unlike any found in existing accelerators. Production of the muons requires targets for beams with powers which are at or beyond what has currently been achieved. Many subsystems use solenoid focusing systems where at any given point, several magnets have a significant influence. The beams that are transported can have energy spreads of {+-}30% or more. The required emittances necessitate accurate tracking of particles with angles of tenths of a radian and which are positioned almost at the edge of the beam pipe. Tracking must be done not only in vacuum, but also in materials; therefore, statistical fluctuations must also be included. Design and simulation of muon accelerators requires software which can: accurately simulate the dynamics of solid and liquid targets under proton bombardment; predict the production of particles from these targets; accurately compute magnetic fields based on either a real magnet design or a model which includes end fields; and accurately design and simulate a beam line where the transported beam satisfies the above specifications and the beam line contains non-standard, overlapping elements. The requirements for computational tools will be discussed, the capabilities of existing tools will be described and …

EOS7C is a TOUGH2 module for multicomponent gas mixtures in the systems methane carbon dioxide (CH4-CO2) or methane-nitrogen (CH4-N2) with or without an aqueous phase and H2O vapor. EOS7C uses a cubic equation of state and an accurate solubility formulation along with a multiphase Darcy s Law to model flow and transport of gas and aqueous phase mixtures over a wide range of pressures and temperatures appropriate to subsurface geologic carbon sequestration sites and natural gas reservoirs. EOS7C models supercritical CO2 and subcritical CO2 as a non-condensible gas, hence EOS7C does not model the transition to liquid or solid CO2 conditions. The components modeled in EOS7C are water, brine, non-condensible gas, gas tracer, methane, and optional heat. The non-condensible gas (NCG) can be selected by the user to be CO2 or N2. The real gas properties module has options for Peng-Robinson, Redlich-Kwong, or Soave-Redlich-Kwong equations of state to calculate gas mixture density, enthalpy departure, and viscosity. Partitioning of the NCG and CH4 between the aqueous and gas phases is calculated using a very accurate chemical equilibrium approach. Transport of the gaseous and dissolved components is by advection and Fickian molecular diffusion. We present instructions for use and example problems to …

Radionuclide contamination in the soil and groundwater at U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sites is a severe problem that requires monitoring and remediation. Radionuclide measurement techniques are needed to monitor surface waters, groundwater, and process waters. Typically, water samples are collected and transported to an analytical laboratory, where costly radiochemical analyses are performed. To date, there has been very little development of selective radionuclide sensors for alpha- and beta-emitting radionuclides such as 90Sr, 99Tc, and various actinides of interest. The objective of this project is to investigate novel sensor concepts and materials for sensitive and selective determination of beta- and alpha-emitting radionuclide contaminants in water. To meet the requirements for low-level, isotope-specific detection, the proposed sensors are based on radiometric detection. As a means to address the fundamental challenge of the short ranges of beta and alpha particle s in water, our overall approach is based on localization of preconcentration/separation chemistries directly on or within the active area of a radioactivity detector. Automated microfluidics is used for sample manipulation and sensor regeneration or renewal. The outcome of these investigations will be the knowledge necessary to choose appropriate chemistries for selective preconcentration of radionuclides from environmental samples, new materials that combine …

A new multigrid algorithm based on the method of self-correction for the solution of elliptic problems is described. The method exploits information contained in the residual to dynamically modify the source term (right-hand side) of the elliptic problem. It is shown that the self-correcting solver is more efficient at damping the short wavelength modes of the algebraic error than its standard equivalent. When used in conjunction with a multigrid method, the resulting solver displays an improved convergence rate with no additional computational work.

The paper will employ the Integrated Safeguards and Security Management (ISSM) methodology to analyze previous MCA issues. Each of the core functions of ISSM: Define the Scope of Work, Analyze the Risks, Develop and Implement Safeguards and Security Measures, Perform Work within Measures, Provide Feedback and Continuous Improvement will be discussed in the context of the MCA requirements in a plutonium processing facility. The two processes that will be explored are measurement of metal ingots and characterization of scrap for the proper disposition path. Recent self assessments and Surveys by the DOE have resulted in Satisfactory ratings and identification of Best Business Practices. The remediation of the MCA program into its current state of success will also be discussed in the framework of the ISSM methodology.