The Savannah River Site has areas where soil is contaminated with metals and/or radionuclides. Many of these areas are surrounded by native vegetation which is growing adjacent to the area and where the roots have penetrated into the contaminated soil of the area. In some cases vegetation has actually invaded the contaminated area. Even though the volume of contaminated vegetation is small, there are problems associated with its disposal. Vegetation decomposes quickly after burial and the volume of buried vegetation can decrease. The voids left can lead to subsidence and possible failure of the clay cap constructed over hazardous and/or radioactive waste burial grounds. An alternative to burying the wood is to burn it and bury the ash. However, burning will introduce the contamination in the vegetation into the air where there is potential for inhalation of the contaminants. A procedure is described to assess the hazard associated with inhalation of contamination from burning of vegetation growing in contaminated soil. The procedure is applied to evaluation of the consequence of burning vegetation grown adjacent to and in the SRL Seepage Basins. The results indicate that burning the vegetation during the day could introduce a level of contaminants to the atmosphere …

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed how the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) ensures the cost-effectiveness of projects funded under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on disability representatives, focusing on: (1) the extent to which disability representatives contribute to Social Security Administration's (SSA) Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) decisional delays; (2) other potential reasons for decisional delays; and (3) additional options available to SSA to ensure that disability decisions are reached in a timely manner."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the counternarcotics efforts of the United States and Mexico, focusing on: (1) Mexico's efforts in addressing the drug threat; and (2) the status of U.S. counternarcotics assistance provided to Mexico."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the major management challenges and program risks facing the Department of State."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed and updated its previous work on airfares and service and reexamined the effect that certain barriers have had on these measures, focusing on: (1) how airfares have changed since 1990 for travel to and from 171 airports serving various U.S. communities; (2) how the quality of air service has changed since 1978 for travel to and from these airports; and (3) the extent to which certain barriers to entry--restrictive gate-leasing arrangements, controls on the number of allowable takeoffs and landings at some airports, and the limits on the distance that flights from some airports can be--influence competition at affected airports."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Automated Land and Mineral Record System project, also known as the ALMRS/Modernization, focusing on: (1) the history of the project; (2) the results of GAO's reviews, including the key reasons for problems; and (3) where GAO believes BLM should go from here."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed its preliminary findings and observations pertaining to pilot shortages, focusing on: (1) the validity of pilot requirements; (2) the extent of the reported shortages and where they exist; (3) the key factors contributing to pilot shortages; (4) the services' plans for correcting such shortfalls; and (5) other steps that could be taken to address the problem."

A kind of microwave power source, called a free-electron laser afterburner (FEL afterburner) which consists of a free-electron laser buncher and a slow-wave output structure sharing a magnetic wiggler field with the buncher, is proposed. The buncher and the slow-wave structure can operate in either a travelling-wave state or a standing-wave state. In the buncher, the wiggler field together with the radiation field makes an electron beam bunched, and in the slow-wave structure the wiggler field keeps the beam bunched while the bunched beam interacts strongly with the slow-wave structure and so produces rf power. The bunching process comes from the free-electron laser mechanism and the generating process of rf power is in a slow-wave structure. A three-dimensional, time-dependent code is used to simulate a particular standing-wave FEL afterburner and it is shown that rf power of up to 1.57 GW can be obtained, at 17.12 GHz, from a l-kA, 5-MeV electron beam.

This paper describes various upgrades and tests done at the Research Division 500 kW Transrex power supply dc current transductors and chassis. The results of all modifications were measured on the same test setup with the same transductor head and chassis. Field testing of over one-hundred power supplies indicated that the results given in this paper are similar to the signals observed in the field within a factor of + or {minus} two. The dc transductors yield 10Vdc burden resistor voltage at 5000 A load current.

A simple test problem proposed by Noh, a strong shock reflecting from a rigid wall, demonstrates a generic problem with numerical shock capturing algorithms at boundaries that Noh called excess wall heating.'' We show that the same type of numerical error occurs in general when shock waves interact. The underlying cause is the non-uniform convergence to the hyperbolic solution of the inviscid limit of the solution to the PDEs with viscosity. The error can be understood from an analysis of the asymptotic solution. For a propagating shock, there is a difference in the total energy of the parabolic wave relative to the hyperbolic shock. Moreover, the relative energy depends on the strength of the shock. The error when shock waves interact is due to the difference in the relative energies between the incoming and outgoing shock waves. It is analogous to a phase shift in a scattering matrix. A conservative differencing scheme correctly describes the Hugoniot jump conditions for a steady propagating shock. Therefore, the error from the asymptotics occurs in the transient when the waves interact. The entropy error that occurs in the interaction region remains localized but does not dissipate. A scaling argument shows that as the viscosity …

The complete CombiNO[sub x], process has now been demonstrated at a level that is believed to be representative of a full-scale boiler in terms of mixing capabilities. A summary of the results is displayedin Figure 5-1. While firing Illinois Coal on the Reburn Tower, Advanced Reburning was capable of reducing NO[sub x], by 83 percent. The injection of methanol oxidized 50--58 percent of the existing NO to N0[sub 2]. Assuming that 85 percent of the newly formed N0[sub 2] can be scrubbed in a liquor modified wet-limestone scrubber, the CombiNO[sub x], process has been shown capable of reducing NO[sub 2], by 90--91 percent in a large pilot-scale coal-fired furnace. There is still uncertainty regarding the fate of the N0[sub 2] formed with methanol injection. Tests should be conducted to determine whether the reconversion is thermodynamic or catalytic, and what steps can be taken (such as quench rate) to prevent it from happening.

Amax R D will perform laboratory scale development of a promising, practical catalyst for the selective oxidation of methane to methanol. The primary component of this catalyst is vanadium-phosphate (VPO) which has shown good activity and selectivity in the partial oxidation of n-butane and propane but has not been studied in detail for methane oxidation. The goal of the project is to develop a catalyst which allows methane oxidation to methanol to be conducted at high conversion and selectivity. A low CH[sub 4]/O[sub 2] ratio will be employed with air as the source of oxygen. Temperatures below 600[degrees]C and pressures up to 20 atm are to be investigated. The use of steam in the feed gas will also be investigated. The catalyst development strategy will be to utilize promoters and supports to improve the activity and selectivity of the unmodified VPO catalyst. The catalyst testing reactor system was used to perform blank (empty) reactor runs over a wide range of temperatures, pressure, and flow rates. No methane conversion was observed at temperatures of 500[degrees]C or lower in any of the tests. At higher temperatures, significant methane conversion to carbon dioxide was observed. At 550[degrees]C, 300 psig, and the highest flow …

Work to develop a highly selective methyl chloride synthesis catalyst continued, but no stable catalyst with >80% selectivity at 20% methane exists yet. Effort was made on finalizing the pre- engineering scope definition of the Process Demonstration Unit. Natural gas purification, reactor, reactor effluent and MeCl purification, and anhydrous HCl recovery are discussed.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

This paper addresses problems of calibration and estimation of a parameter, p{sub o}, in high level neutron coincidence counting (HLNC) measurement. The presentation begins with a deductive approach, based on the generally accepted physical equations which are satisfied by the total and coincidence count rates. A new approach for the estimation of p{sub o} via measurement and a new calibration procedure consistent with the physical theory of coincidence counting measurement are presented. The approach is compared with the existing conventional approach in which possible inconsistency with the theoretical model is shown. In addition, the original model for neutron coincidence counting in a multiplying medium was extended to simultaneously account for the possible presence of poison, as well as for the neutron detection. The equations suitable for the data analysis of measurement of waste and their criteria are given.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has begun the decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of Building 9201-4 (Alpha-4) at the Oak Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, The Alpha-4 Building was used from 1953--1962 to house a column exchange (Colex) process for lithium isotope separation. This process involved electrochemical and solvent extraction processes that required substantial quantities of mercury. Presently there is no law or regulation mandating decommissioning at DOE facilites or setting de minimis or ``below regulatory concern`` (BRC) radioactivity levels to guide decommissioning activities at DOE facilities. However, DOE Order 5820.2A, Chap. V (Decommissioning of Radioactively Contaminated Facilities), requires that the regulatory status of each project be identified and that technical engineering planning must assure D&D compliance with all environmental regulations during cleanup activities. To assist in the performance of this requirement, this paper gives a brief overview of potential federal and state regulatory requirements related to D&D activities at Alpha-4. Compliance with other federal, state, and local regulations not addressed here may be required, depending on site characterization, actual D&D activities, and wastes generated.

The complete CombiNO{sub x}, process has now been demonstrated at a level that is believed to be representative of a full-scale boiler in terms of mixing capabilities. A summary of the results is displayed in Figure 5-1. While firing Illinois Coal on the Reburn Tower, Advanced Reburning was capable of reducing NO{sub x}, by 83 percent. The injection of methanol oxidized 50--58 percent of the existing NO to N0{sub 2}. Assuming that 85 percent of the newly formed N0{sub 2} can be scrubbed in a liquor modified wet-limestone scrubber, the CombiNO{sub x}, process has been shown capable of reducing NO{sub 2}, by 90--91 percent in a large pilot-scale coal-fired furnace. There is still uncertainty regarding the fate of the N0{sub 2} formed with methanol injection. Tests should be conducted to determine whether the reconversion is thermodynamic or catalytic, and what steps can be taken (such as quench rate) to prevent it from happening.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established health and environmental protection regulations to correct and prevent ground water contamination resulting from processing activities at inactive uranium milling sites (52 FR 36000 (1987)). According to the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) of 1978, 42 USC {section}7901 et seq., the US Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for assessing the inactive uranium processing sites. The DOE has determined that for Slick Rock, this assessment shall include hydrogeologic site characterization for two separate uranium processing sites, the Union Carbide (UC) site and the North Continent (NC) site, and for the proposed Burro Canyon disposal site. The water resources protection strategy that describes how the proposed action will comply with the EPA ground water protection standards is presented in Attachment 4. The following site characterization activities are discussed in this attachment: Characterization of the hydrogeologic environment, including hydrostratigraphy, ground water occurrence, aquifer parameters, and areas of recharge and discharge. Characterization of existing ground water quality by comparison with background water quality and the maximum concentration limits (MCL) of the proposed EPA ground water protection standards. Definition of physical and chemical characteristics of the potential contaminant source, including concentration and leachability of …

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a city council violates the Open Meetings Act when a majority of the council signs a letter that has not been authorized in an open meeting (RQ-252).

Letter opinion issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Application of section 21.9205, Education Code (ID# 23490)

Waste tank fissile material and non-fissile material estimates are used to evaluate criticality safety for the existing sludge inventory and batches of sludge sent to Extended Sludge Processing (ESP). This report documents the weight ratios of several non-fissile waste constituents to fissile waste constituents from canyon reprocessing waste streams. Weight ratios of Fe, Mn, Al, Mi, and U-238 to fissile material are calculated from monthly loss estimates from the F and H Canyon Low Heat Waste (LHW) and High Heat Waste (HHW) streams. The monthly weight ratios for Fe, Mn and U-238 are then compared to calculated minimum safe weight ratios. Documented minimum safe weight ratios for Al and Ni to fissile material are currently not available. Total mass data for the subject sludge constituents is provided along with scatter plots of the monthly weight ratios for each waste stream.

Work to develop a highly selective methyl chloride synthesis catalyst continued, but no stable catalyst with >80% selectivity at 20% methane exists yet. Effort was made on finalizing the pre- engineering scope definition of the Process Demonstration Unit. Natural gas purification, reactor, reactor effluent and MeCl purification, and anhydrous HCl recovery are discussed.