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 Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents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 Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents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.

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 Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents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.

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: Whether a city council may adopt an ordinance making the failure to return library items within 40 days after the due date a class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $200.

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: Whether the General Appropriations Act authorizes the Texas Animal Health Commission to purchase pickup trucks and related question (ID# 18585)

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) proposal to restructure its regional operations, focusing on: (1) FTC's rationale for proposing the regional restructuring; (2) the process FTC followed in developing its restructuring proposal; (3) factors FTC used and could have used in deciding how to restructure; (4) other options to the proposed restructuring identified in prior FTC studies or by Boston and Denver regional officials; and (5) the views of selected stakeholders regarding the impact the proposed restructuring could have in the areas covered by the Boston and Denver regional offices."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed how the social security number (SSN) is used, focusing on: (1) federal laws and regulations requiring or restricting SSN use; (2) how extensively the private and public sectors use SSNs for purposes not required by federal law; and (3) what businesses and governments believe the impact would be if federal laws limiting the use of SSNs were passed."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO provided information on the impact of federal requirements on local school districts, focusing on how some states may not be fully implementing the provisions of federal law that allow local school districts to submit consolidated plans for federal funding."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on three selected research and development initiatives using the plasma arc technology to treat waste, focusing on comparing the characteristics of the largest of the Department of Energy (DOE) initiatives and both Navy shore and ship initiatives."

Lodestar has been an active participant in the low power Collective Thomson Scattering (CTS) diagnostic at TFTR in collaboration with MIT. Extensive studies were conducted regarding the use of gyrotron scattering as a low cost diagnostic for both energetic ions and alpha particles on TFTR. The numerical scattering code has been improved and compared with similar code developed at JET. The authors have participated and assisted in the CTS experiments through onsite visits and have successfully performed most of the data analysis tasks remotely. Through their analysis on the initial data base accumulated, they are able to understand qualitatively the general features of the anomalous large scattered signal, have proposed an explanation for its generation mechanism, and have suggested a potential new use of CTS as an edge diagnostic.

Argonne National Laboratory (ANL-E) has recently completed the decontamination and decommissioning (D and D) of the JANUS Reactor Facility located in Building 202. The 200 KW reactor operated from August 1963 to March 1992. The facility was used to study the effects of both high and low doses of fission neutrons in animals. There were two exposure rooms on opposite sides of the reactor and the reactor was therefore named after the two-faced Roman god. The High Dose Room was capable of specimen exposure at a dose rate of 3,600 rads per hour. During calendar year 1996 a detailed characterization of the facility was performed by ANL-E Health Physics personnel. ANL-E Analytical Services performed the required sample analysis. An Auditable Safety Analysis and an Environmental Assessment were completed. D and D plans, procedures and procurement documents were prepared and approved. A D and D subcontractor was selected and a firm, fixed price contract awarded for the field work and final survey effort. The D and D subcontractor was mobilized to ANL-E in January 1997. Electrical isolation of all reactor equipment and control panels was accomplished and the equipment removed. A total of 207,230 pounds (94,082 Kg) of lead shielding was …

This document provides individual summaries of some 200 photovoltaics research projects performed in house and by subcontractors to Department of Energy national laboratories and field offices, including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Golden Field Office, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Albuquerque Field Office, and Boston Support Office. The document is divided into the following sections: research and development, technology development, and systems engineering and applications. Three indexes are included: performing organizations by name, performing organizations by state, and performing organizations by technology area.

Two models are developed for characterizing the hydrothermal decomposition of municipal solid waste (MSW) in a pilot scale facility. The process modeled involves the use of high pressure steam to directly heat surrogate MSW, newspaper, to temperatures and pressures where decomposition reactions breakdown the organic matter to form a coal like solid having properties which make it suitable as a feedstock for a commercial gasifier. One model uses the ASPEN steady-state simulator. This model is only capable of computing a limited number of process variables. To more adequately deal with the transient behavior of the inherently batch process a second transient model is formulated. The model allows important process temperatures, pressures, gas flows and compositions to be calculated as a function of time. The model has been used to scope possible operating scenarios for proposed pilot scale experiments and these results are presented. Based on computed results a recommendation is made that the first pilot experiment use a dampened feed material containing a water-to-dry newspaper ratio of 0.5 to 1. The transient model predicts that this will result in a slurry product in the reactor vessel after cooldown containing 57 wt.% water.

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is an authorized US Department of Energy (DOE) research and development facility constructed near the city of Carlsbad in southeastern New Mexico. The facility is intended to demonstrate the safe disposal of transuranic (TRU) radioactive waste resulting from US defense activities. Under the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act of 1992 (LWA), federal lands surrounding the WIPP facility were withdrawn from all public use and the title of those lands was transferred to the Secretary of Energy. The DOE's TRU waste is stored, and in some cases is still being generated, at 10 large-quantity and 13 small-quantity sites across the US. After applicable certification requirements have been met, the TRU waste at these sites will be sent to the WIPP to initiate the disposal phase of the facility, which according to current planning is projected to last for approximately 35 years.

We report on measurements of quantum electrodynamic processes in an intense electromagnetic wave, where nonlinear effects (both multiphoton and vacuum polarization) are prominent. Nonlinear Compton scattering and electron-positron pair production have been observed in collisions of 46.6 GeV and 49.1 GeV electrons of the Final Focus Test Beam at SLAC with terawatt pulses of 1053 nm and 527 nm wavelengths from a Nd:glass laser. Peak laser intensities of approximately 0.5 x 10{sup 18} W/cm{sup 2} have been achieved, corresponding to a value of approximately 0.4 for the parameter {eta} = eE{sub rms}/m{omega}{sub 0}c, and to a value of approximately 0.25 for the parameter {Upsilon}{sub e} = E{sub rms}/E{sub crit} = eE{sub rms}{h_bar}/m{sup 2}c{sup 3}, where E{sub rms} is the rms electric field strength of the laser in the electron rest frame. We present data on the scattered electron spectra arising from nonlinear Compton scattering with up to four photons absorbed from the field. A convolved spectrum of the forward high energy photons is also given. The observed positron production rate depends on the fifth power of the laser intensity, as expected for a process where five photons are absorbed from the field. The positrons are interpreted as arising from the …

AQUATECH Systems a business unit of Allied-Signal Inc., proposes to demonstrate the technical viability and cost effectiveness of the SOXAL process a combined SO{sub x}/NO{sub x} control process on a 2--3 MW equivalent flue gas slip stream from Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation, Dunkirk Steam Station Boiler {number_sign}4, a coal fired boiler. The SOXAL process combines 90+% sulfur dioxide removal from the flue gas using a sodium based scrubbing solution and regeneration of the spent scrubbing liquor using AQUATECH Systems` proprietary bipolar membrane technology. This regeneration step recovers a stream of sulfur dioxide suitable for subsequent processing to salable sulfur or sulfuric acid. Additionally 90+% control of NO{sub x} gases can be achieved in combination with conventional urea/methanol injection of NO{sub 2} gas into the duct. The SOXAL process is applicable to both utility and industrial scale boilers using either high or low sulfur coal. The SOXAL Demonstration Program began September 10, 1991 and is approximately 22 months in duration.

New software has been added to IOC core to maintain time stamps. The new software has the ability to maintain time stamps over all IOCs on a network. The purpose of this paper is to explain how EPICS will synchronize the time stamps. In addition, this paper will explain how to configure and use the new EPICS time stamp support software.

this document provides the fiscal year (FY) 1995 recommended high-level waste melter system development and testing (D and T) requirements. The first phase of melter system testing (FY 1995) will focus on the feasibility of high-temperature operation of recommended high-level waste melter systems. These test requirements will be used to establish the basis for defining detailed testing work scope, cost, and schedules. This document includes a brief summary of the recommended technologies and technical issues associated with each technology. In addition, this document presents the key D and T activities and engineering evaluations to be performed for a particular technology or general melter system support feature. The strategy for testing in Phase 1 (FY 1995) is to pursue testing of the recommended high-temperature technologies, namely the high-temperature, ceramic-lined, joule-heated melter, referred to as the HTCM, and the high-frequency, cold-wall, induction-heated melter, referred to as the cold-crucible melter (CCM). This document provides a detailed description of the FY 1995 D and T needs and requirements relative to each of the high-temperature technologies.

During the past several years, significant research efforts have been made to develop process technology for the selective flotation of fossil resin from western coals. As a result of these efforts, several new flotation technologies have been developed. Operation of a proof-of-concept continuous flotation circuit showed the selective flotation process to be sufficiently profitable to justify the development of a fossil resin industry. However, little attention has been given to the refining of the fossil resin flotation concentrate although solvent refining is a critical step for the fossil resin to become a marketable product. In view of this situation, DOE funded this two-year project to evaluate the following aspects of the fossil resin refining technology: 1) Characterization of the fossil resin flotation concentrate and its refined products; 2) Kinetics of fossil resin extraction; 3) Effects of operating variables on solvent extraction; 4) Extraction solvents; 5) Proof-of-concept continuous refining tests; and 6) Technical and economic analysis. The results from this research effort have led to the following conclusions: Hexane- or heptane-refined fossil resin has a light-yellow color, a melting point of 140 - 142{degrees}C, a density of 1.034 gram/cm, and good solubility in nonpolar solvents. Among the four solvents evaluated (hexane, …

A mixer pump was installed in the 1.07 m (42-in.) riser of the central pump pit of tank 241-AP-102 to mitigate potential fluid separation particle sedimentation by mixing the tank`s contents. The mixer pump performed this function until failure. Its removal is now necessary to meet possible tank content removal commitments or other corrective actions. The proposed removal procedure requires a flexible receiver that will provide a barrier to contamination during removal and transfer of the pump to the mixer pump storage container. This document describes the functional design criteria of the flexible receiver. These criteria include the functional and performance requirements of the flexible receiver as a barrier to contamination during normal conditions and contingencies and the instrumentation requirements.

The presently funded three-year research program, supported by the Division of Materials Sciences of the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, was initiated on August 1, 1993; during the period in which the grant will have been active, $249,561 of support have been provided to date with an additional $79,723 to be spent during the third, final year (ending July 30, 1996). The primary purpose of the program is to develop an understanding of heavy-particle radiation effects -- {alpha}-recoil nuclei, fission fragments, ion-irradiations -- on ceramic materials and the thermal annealing mechanisms by which crystallinity might be restored. During the past two years, we have completed major studies on zircon (ZrSiO{sub 4}), olivine (Mg{sub 2}SiO{sub 4} and ten other compositions), spinel (MgAl{sub 2}O{sub 4} and four other compositions), and silica polymorphs (quartz, coesite and stishovite), as well as berlinite (AlPO{sub 4}) which is isomorphous with quartz. In addition, based on the above research, we propose the use of zircon as a host phase for the immobilization of plutonium resulting from weapons dismantlement.

The Quarterly Coal Report (QCR) provides comprehensive information about US coal production, distribution, exports, imports, receipts, prices, consumption, and stocks to a wide audience, including Congress, Federal and State agencies, the coal industry, and the general public. Coke production, consumption, distribution, imports, and exports data are also provided. The data presented in the QCR are collected and published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to fulfill data collection and dissemination responsibilities as specified in the Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-275), as amended. This report presents detailed quarterly data for July through September 1995 and aggregated quarterly historical data for 1987 through the second quarter of 1995. Appendix A displays, from 1987 on, detailed quarterly historical coal imports data, as specified in Section 202 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Amendments Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-58). Appendix B gives selected quarterly tables converted to metric tons.

At present, mercury emission compliance presents one of the major potential challenges raised by the Clean Air Act Amendments. Simple ways of controlling emissions have not been identified. The variability in the field data suggest that means exist to reduce inherent mercury emissions, if these can be identified and controlled. The key mechanisms appear to involve the oxidation of the mercury to Hg{sup {plus}{plus}}, generally producing the less volatile HgCl{sub 2}. A portion of this may condense on ash particles in time to be collected by cold-side particulate removal equipment. This research focuses on identifying the rate-limiting steps associated with inherent mercury capture. Key areas are enhancement of mercury oxidation and providing a sufficient amount of an appropriate surface (e.g., ash aerosol) under the correct conditions to promote inherent capture. 7 refs., 1 fig.

This paper presents an overview of an approach to address complexity issues and real-life problems in large, urban transportation systems. In this context we discuss the fundamental problem of designing a metropolitan transportation system which is both efficient and controllable.