This report summarizes the results of wildlife surveys and other wildlife monitoring performed from January through December 1994. These surveys are part of a long-term ecological monitoring program conducted under the Natural Resource Protection and Compliance Program (NRPCP). This program is essential in identifying and quantifying fluctuations of wildlife populations, wildlife habitat use, and changes in the species using the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (Site) as year-round or seasonal habitat. Wildlife population densities vary constantly due to natural pressures, and only well-integrated, long-term monitoring can identify which factors influencing wildlife populations are a consequence of natural causes, and which are due to human activities. An integrated monitoring program that gathers data on ecologically interactive species is essential in evaluating population fluctuations. Such data can be an invaluable tool in predicting and avoiding impacts on the ecology of an area due to projected human activities. With 167 species of birds, three big game species, nine species of carnivores, nine species of mid-sized mammals, and 15 small mammal species, the Site provides habitat to a surprising variety of wildlife. Many of these species are sensitive species or indicator organisms that by their presence or, more significantly, by their absence can indicate …

Numerous laboratory and field studies have shown that the chemical form (i.e., speciation) of many metals and radionuclides is affected by the presence of naturally occurring organic matter (OM) and its degradation products. The effects of OM (e.g., wood products) on the speciation and, therefore, the mobility of Am, Bk, Cf, Cm, Cs, Ni, NpO{sub 2}, Rb, Sr. UO{sub 2}, and Zr were estimated through use of geochemical and groundwater flow modeling. Due to the complex mixture nature of naturally occurring OM, the OM system was simplified through use of surrogate compounds (citric acid and ethylenedinitrilotetraacetic acid (EDTA)) to estimate effects of OM on radionuclide mobility. Using this approach, OM was found to have no effect on the inventory limits for Cs, NpO{sub 2}, Rb and Zr. The inventory limits for the isotopes of Am, Bk, Cf, Cm, Ni, Pd, PuO{sub 2}, Sr, and UO{sub 2} calculated in the presence of OM decreased over a range of 26 percent for U-233 to 48 percent for Pu-240. The information in this report will be included in the next revision of the E-Area Vaults Performance Assessment.

No combustion tests for this program were conducted during this reporting period of January 1 to March 31, 1992. DOE-sponsored slogging combustor tests have been suspended since December 1991 in order to perform combustion tests on Northern States Power Company (NSP) coals. The NSP coal tests were conducted to evaluate combustor performance when burning western sub bituminous coals. The results of these tests will guide commercialization efforts, which are being promoted by NSP, Westinghouse Electric, and Textron Defense Systems. The NSP testing has been completed and preparation of the final report for that effort is underway. Although the NSP testing program has been completed, the Westinghouse/DOE program will not be resumed immediately. The reason for this is that Textron Defense Systems (TDS) has embarked on an internally funded program requiring installation of a new liquid fuel combustor system at the Haverhill site. The facility modifications for this new system are significant and it is not possible to continue the Westinghouse/DOE testing while these modifications are being made. These facility modifications are being performed during the period February 15, 1992 through May 31, 1992. The Westinghouse/DOE program can be resumed upon completion of this work.

No combustion tests for this program were conducted during this reporting period of January 1 to March 31, 1992. DOE-sponsored slogging combustor tests have been suspended since December 1991 in order to perform combustion tests on Northern States Power Company (NSP) coals. The NSP coal tests were conducted to evaluate combustor performance when burning western sub bituminous coals. The results of these tests will guide commercialization efforts, which are being promoted by NSP, Westinghouse Electric, and Textron Defense Systems. The NSP testing has been completed and preparation of the final report for that effort is underway. Although the NSP testing program has been completed, the Westinghouse/DOE program will not be resumed immediately. The reason for this is that Textron Defense Systems (TDS) has embarked on an internally funded program requiring installation of a new liquid fuel combustor system at the Haverhill site. The facility modifications for this new system are significant and it is not possible to continue the Westinghouse/DOE testing while these modifications are being made. These facility modifications are being performed during the period February 15, 1992 through May 31, 1992. The Westinghouse/DOE program can be resumed upon completion of this work.

Problems with MoSi{sub 2} include low-temperature fracture toughness, high-temperature creep resistance, and ``pest`` phenomena. Oxygen introduced by powder processing may be the cause of some of these problems. This study led to the following conclusions: Supplied powders have significant oxygen present prior to processing (up to 2.5 %), in the form of silica on the surface. This oxygen contamination did not increase by exposure to air at room temperature. An improved powder processing method was developed that uses glass encapsulation. Analysis of microstructures created from powders that contained 4900 to 24,100 ppM oxygen showed that the silica was transferred to the fully dense MoSi{sub 2} as SiO{sub 2} inclusions. A method of producing MoSi{sub 2} with less oxygen was attempted.

During the accelerator studies period of 12/90 through 1/91 the Accumulator BPM system was investigated in some detail in an effort to improve its reliability and accuracy in making closed orbit measurements. The motivation for this is to try and improve the beam energy resolution for E760. The relativistic {beta} of the {bar p} is given by {beta} = f{sub R}L/c where f{sub R} is the revolution frequency, L is the orbit length ({approx} 474050mm), and c is the speed of light. Hence, the error in {beta} is given by d{beta}/{beta} = df{sub R}/f{sub R} + dL/L. Since df{sub R}/f{sub R} is {approx} 2 x 10{sup -7}, the main contribution to the error comes from dL. During the E760 run of 5/90 to 9/90 dL was estimated to be {approx} 1mm. It is thought that this can be reduced to {approx} .25mm with proper use of the present BPM system. L is given by L = L{sub 0} + {delta}L where L{sub 0} is the accurately known orbit length of a reference orbit (extracted from an energy scan of the J/{Psi} or {Psi}{prime}), and {delta}L is the difference orbit between the current orbit and the reference orbit. SL is calculated …

Past claims of the suitability of the MA-8 multianvil press as a deformation apparatus may have been overstated. On the basis of measurements of final octahedron size and of guide block displacement as a function of time, using the 10/5, 14/8, and 18/11 assemblies (octahedron edge length in mm/truncation edge length in mm) with MgO octahedra and pyrophyllite gasketing, it appears that at run conditions of interest to most researchers there is no appreciable time-dependent creep of gaskets and octahedra. All inelastic deformation occurs at rather low pressures: below about 10 GPa for the 10/5, 7 GPa for the 14/8, and 6 GPa for the 18/11 assemblies, with substantial uncertainties in these pressures. Above these limits all deformation of the pressure medium is elastic. Pressure stepping as a means of increasing the inelastic deformation rate of a sample is probably ineffective. Displacement measured at the guide blocks, previously believed to indicate deformation of the gaskets and octahedron, appears now to be unrelated to creep of these components. The calibrations have not been exhaustive and there is considerable scatter in some of the size measurements, so the above conclusions are not unequivocal. The calibrations do not exclude the possibility of deformation …

This paper will describe the preparation and progress of the effort at Argonne National Laboratory-West to produce ceramic waste forms loaded with {sup 238}Pu. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent of damage, if any, that alpha decay events will play over time to the ceramic waste form under development at Argonne. The ceramic waste form is glass-bonded sodalite. The sodalite is utilized to encapsulate the fission products and transuranics which are present in a chloride salt matrix which results from a spent fuel conditioning process. {sup 238}Pu possesses approximately 250 times the specific activity of {sup 239}Pu and thus allows for a much shorter time frame to address the issue. In preparation for production of {sup 238}Pu loaded waste forms {sup 239}Pu loaded samples were produced. Data is presented for samples produced with typical reactor grade plutonium. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron micrographs and durability test results will be presented. The ramifications for the production of the {sup 238}Pu loaded samples will be discussed.

The Department of Energy has selected immobilization for disposal in a repository as one approach for disposing of excess plutonium (1). Materials for immobilizing weapons-grade plutonium for repository disposal must meet the ''spent fuel standard'' by providing a radiation field similar to spent fuel (2). Such a radiation field can be provided by incorporating fission products from high-level waste into the waste form. Experiments were performed to evaluate the feasibility of incorporating high-level waste (HLW) stored at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) into plutonium dispositioning materials to meet the spent fuel standard. A variety of materials and preparation techniques were evaluated based on prior experience developing waste forms for immobilizing HLW. These included crystalline ceramic compositions prepared by conventional sintering and hot isostatic pressing (HIP), and glass formulations prepared by conventional melting. Because plutonium solubility in silicate melts is limited, glass formulations were intentionally devitrified to partition plutonium into crystalline host phases, thereby allowing increased overall plutonium loading. Samarium, added as a representative rare earth neutron absorber, also tended to partition into the plutonium host phases. Because the crystalline plutonium host phases are chemically more inert, the plutonium is more effectively isolated from the environment, and its attractiveness for …

This service is run by Group T-2 (Nuclear Theory and Applications) of the Theoretical Division of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which is operated by the University of California for the US Department of Energy. The author works on nuclear modeling, nuclear data, cross sections, nuclear masses, ENDF, NJOY data processing, nuclear astrophysics, radioactivity, radiation shielding, data for medical radiotherapy, data for high-energy accelerator applications, data and codes for fission and fusion systems, and more. For an introduction to the field of nuclear data and his site, take his Guided Tour. Much of this information can also be accessed using anonymous ftp t2.lanl.gov.

Automatic control of fine coal cleaning circuits has traditionally been limited by the lack of sensors for on-line ash analysis. Although several nuclear-based analyzers are available, none have seen widespread acceptance. This is largely due to the fact that nuclear sensors are expensive and tend to be influenced by changes in seam type and pyrite content. Recently, researchers at VPI&SU have developed an optical sensor for phosphate analysis. The sensor uses image processing technology to analyze video images of phosphate ore. It is currently being used by Texasgulf for off-line analysis of dry flotation concentrates. The primary advantages of optical sensors over nuclear sensors are that they are significantly cheaper, are not subject to measurement variations due to changes in high atomic number minerals, are inherently safer and require no special radiation permitting. Purpose of this work is to apply the knowledge gained in the development of an optical phosphate analyzer to the development of an on-line ash analyzer for fine coal slurries. During the past quarter, tests were performed on two prototype sample presentation systems for the optical analyzer. Preliminary results indicate that the flow of slurry past the camera lens is too consistent to provide reliable results. A …

The objective of proposed research is development of catalysts with enhanced slurry phase activity and better selectivity to fuel range products, through a more detailed understanding and systematic studies of the effects of pretreatment procedures and promoters/binders (silica) on catalyst performance.

Three tests (two fixed bed and one stirred tank slurry reactor) were completed during the reporting period. Also, the work on catalyst characterization by different techniques (atomic absorption, BET surface area and pore size distribution and x-ray powder diffraction).The performance of a precipitated iron catalyst with nominal composition lOOFe/0.3Cu/0.8K has been evaluated in two fixed bed reactor tests designated FB-0142 and FB-0352 following pretreatment with syngas (H{sub 2}/CO=0.67) at 280{degree}C, 3Nl/g-cat/h and atomspheric pressure for 8 hours. Flow interruption occurred in the first test (FB-0142) at about 72h on stream, and the second test (FB-0352) was to assess any potential adverse effects of this flow interruption on performance of the catalyst. The catalyst was tested at 250{degree}C, 200 psig, 2Nl/g-cat/h using syngas of the same composition as that employed during the pretreatment. Initial conversions in both tests were high (about 84%) but the catalyst deactivated fairly rapidly. The (H{sub 2} + CO) conversion at the end of the first test (120h on stream) was about 52%, whereas the syngas conversion at the end of the second test (150h) was about 55%, indicating that the brief flow interruption during test FB-0142 had resulted in higher deactivation rate. Hydrocarbon selectivities in both …

The objective of proposed research is development of catalysts with enhanced slurry phase activity and better selectivity to fuel range products, through a more detailed understanding and systematic studies of the effects of pretreatment procedures and promoters/binders (silica) on catalyst performance.

Three tests (two fixed bed and one stirred tank slurry reactor) were completed during the reporting period. Also, the work on catalyst characterization by different techniques (atomic absorption, BET surface area and pore size distribution and x-ray powder diffraction).The performance of a precipitated iron catalyst with nominal composition lOOFe/0.3Cu/0.8K has been evaluated in two fixed bed reactor tests designated FB-0142 and FB-0352 following pretreatment with syngas (H{sub 2}/CO=0.67) at 280{degree}C, 3Nl/g-cat/h and atomspheric pressure for 8 hours. Flow interruption occurred in the first test (FB-0142) at about 72h on stream, and the second test (FB-0352) was to assess any potential adverse effects of this flow interruption on performance of the catalyst. The catalyst was tested at 250{degree}C, 200 psig, 2Nl/g-cat/h using syngas of the same composition as that employed during the pretreatment. Initial conversions in both tests were high (about 84%) but the catalyst deactivated fairly rapidly. The (H{sub 2} + CO) conversion at the end of the first test (120h on stream) was about 52%, whereas the syngas conversion at the end of the second test (150h) was about 55%, indicating that the brief flow interruption during test FB-0142 had resulted in higher deactivation rate. Hydrocarbon selectivities in both …

A single ND:YLF oscillator beam is amplified in four discrete Nd:glass, flashiamp-pumped, zig-zag amplifiers. The resulting four 30J beams are phase- locked using SBS phase conjugation, resulting in near diffraction-limited 120J pulses from a single aperture at up to a 1 OHz pulse repetition frequency.

The Materials Microcharacterization Collaborator (MMC) was created last year as a pilot project within the US Department of Energy's DOE2000 program [1]. The DOE2000 program has, as its main goals, to develop improved capabilities for solving DOE's complex scientific problems, to increase DOE's R and D productivity and efficiency, and to enhance the access of R and D partners to DOE resources. One of the strategies to meet these goals is the establishment of national collaboratories to provide access via the Internet to unique or expensive DOE research facilities and to expertise for remote collaboration, experimentation, production, software development, modeling, and measurement. In addition, collaboratories will benefit researchers by providing tools for video conferencing, shared data-viewing, and collaborative analysis. Cooperative pilots projects, jointly funded by DOE2000 and a scientific program area, are expected to lead to significant scientific achievements by developing new capabilities and increasing the efficiency of doing the work (e.g., by reducing travel, increasing communication, and promoting the sharing of data among formerly disparate research groups). The MMC project unites four DOE BES electron microscopy user centers located at ANL, LBNL, ORNL and the University of Illinois with the DOE EE center located at ORNL. Also included in …

Double pulse transport experiments were conducted on the front end of the ATA accelerator to obtain data on the capability of a velvet cloth cathode to produce two successive pulses. Pulses of approximately 3 kA were extracted from the cathode with interpulse spacings varying from 150 ns to 2.8 {micro}s using an anode-cathode voltage of about 1 MV. Analysis of the current and voltage waveform data from the injector indicate that the effects of cathode plasma on the second pulse of a two-pulse burst is minimal.

In order to prevent high-Z plasma from filling in the hohlraum in indirect drive experiments, a low-Z material, or tamper is introduced into the hohlraum. This material, when fully ionized is typically less than one-tenth of the critical density for the laser light used to illuminate the hohlraum. This tamper absorbs little of the laser light, thus allowing most of the laser energy to be absorbed in the high-Z material. However, the pressure associated with this tamper is sufficient to keep the hohlraum wall material from moving a significant distance into the interior of the hohlraum. In this paper the authors discuss measurements of the motion of the interface between the tamper and the high-Z hohlraum material. They also present measurements of the effect the tamper has on the hohlraum temperature.

This report describes an estimate of neutron production at a 9 MeV LINAC, and the potential for photoactivation of materials present at the LINAC facility. It was found that only isotopes of U, W, Ta, and Pb had daughters whose activities might be measurable. The LINAC was found to be capable of producing in the neighborhood of 10{sup 10} neutrons/second from these heavy metals, and that subsequent neutron activation might be more of a concern. Monte Carlo simulation of neutron transport and capture in the concrete and steel found in the LINAC vault indicates that {sup 55}Fe may be produced in measurable quantities.

Extracellular matrix and extracellular matrix-degrading matrix metalloproteinases play a key role in interactions between the epithelium and the mesenchyme during mammary gland development and disease. In patients with breast cancer, the mammary mesenchyme undergoes a stromal reaction, the etiology of which is unknown. We previously showed that targeting of an autoactivating mutant of the matrix metalloproteinase stromelysin-1 to mammary epithelia of transgenic mice resulted in reduced mammary function during pregnancy and development of preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions. Here we examine the cascade of alterations before breast tumor formation in the mammary gland stroma once the expression of the stromelysin-1 transgene commences. Beginning in postpubertal virgin animals, low levels of transgene expression in mammary epithelia led to increased expression of endogenous stromelysin-1 in stromal fibroblasts and up-regulation of other matrix metalloproteinases, without basement membrane disruption. These changes were accompanied by the progressive development of a compensatory reactive stroma, characterized by increased collagen content and vascularization in glands from virgin mice. This remodeling of the gland affected epithelial-mesenchymal communication as indicated by inappropriate expression of tenascin-C starting by day 6 of pregnancy. This, together with increased transgene expression, led to basement membrane disruption starting by day 15 of pregnancy. We propose that …

This report discusses the federal sugar program, which authorized by the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 seeks to ensure the viability of the U.S. sugar producing sector primarily by supporting the incomes of sugar beet and sugarcane producers and of those firms that process each crop into sugar.

Bethelehem Steel Corporation (BSC) is planning to conduct a demonstration project involving an integrated system that can be retrofitted into coke oven gas handling systems to address a variety of environmental and operational factors in a more cost-effective manner. Successful application of this technology to existing US coke plants could: (1) reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide, cyanide, and volatile organic compounds (including benzene) (2) reduce the cost and handling of processing feed chemicals, (3) disposal costs of nuisance by-products and (4) increase reliability and reduce operation/maintenance requirements for coke oven gas desulfurization systems. The proposed system will remove sulfur from the coke oven gas in the form of hydrogen sulfide using the ammonia indigenous to the gas as the primary reactive chemical. Ammonia and hydrogen cyanide are also removed in this process. The hydrogen sulfide removed from the coke oven gas in routed to a modified Claus plant for conversion to a saleable sulfur by-product. Ammonia and hydrogen cyanide will be catalytically converted to hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide. The tail gas from the sulfur recovery unit is recycled to the coke oven gas stream, upstream of the new gas cleaning system. The proposed demonstration project will be …

This document, the Standards/Requirements Identification Document (S/RID) for the Fluor Daniel Hanford Contract, represents the necessary and sufficient requirements to provide an adequate level of protection of the worker, public health and safety, and the environment.