The Natural Gas Monthly highlights activities, events, and analyses of interest to public and private sector organizations associated with the natural gas industry. Volume and price data are presented each month for natural gas production, distribution, consumption, and interstate pipeline activities. Producer-related activities and underground storage data are also reported. A glossary of the terms used in this report is provided to assist readers in understanding the data presented in this publication. 6 figs., 30 tabs.

In October of 1992, Los Alamos National Laboratory and Merex Corporation began a pilot basic skills program to enhance workers` skills. The program, known as the NEWS (Now Enhancing Working Skills) Program, was implemented by the Training and Development Group of the Human Resources Division. A group of 106 employees known as Radiological Control Technicians (RCTs) from ESH-1 (Environmental, Safety, and Health) were targeted to take mandated DOE (Department of Energy) training. The main goal of the LANL/Merex partnership was to help RCTs prepare for mandated DOE Rad Con training and job performance by improving their information processing and math skills. A second goal of this project was to use the information from this small group to make some predictions about the Laboratory as a whole. This final report contains the description and an appendix for the ``NEWS`` program. The topics in this report include Merex class descriptions, test score results for the MAT, the WAT, the TABE, and Challenge test, a follow-up survey to Merex IPS and math training, student feedback statistics for skills programs, and lessons learned from the program.

The Savannah River Site contains approximately 1500 monitoring wells from which groundwater samples are collected. Many of these samples are sent off-site for various analyses, including the determination of trace volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This report describes accomplishments that have been made during the past year which will ultimately allow VOC analysis to be performed on-site using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Through the use of the on-site approach, it is expected that there will be a substantial cost savings. This approach will also provide split-sample analysis capability which can serve as a quality control measure for off-site analysis.

The paper describes plans to field test several prototypes of plows that cut cotton stalks after harvesting and plows then back into the soil to prepare the field for the next planting. Modifications to the design have been made to allow the soil to more easily slide off the plow to reduce fuel consumption. A prototype has been shipped to Australia for testing in their fields and further product development. A farm machinery manufacturer has been selected to build two full-scale preproduction prototypes. Field testing will be done at sites in California and Arizona, since both have regulations specifying that cotton stalks must be shredded.

Considerable attention has been directed by the scientific community to assessing the levels and fate of radionuclides in Arctic ecosystems. The following text and tables present available data and discussion of radionuclide fallout in Alaska. A literature search of 23 on-line databases (Table 1) using Alaska, Strontium (Sr), Cesium (Cs), Plutonium (Pu) and Radionuclide as constraint terms responded with 177 possible citations. After eliminating duplicate citations, 31 articles were available: 17 were relevant to the subject matter; the remainder addressed geologic issues. All of the cited literature addressed {sup 137}Cs, {sup 90}Sr and {sup 239,240}Pu as a result of radionuclide fallout from nuclear testing or accidental release.

The top search in the lepton plus jets channel with the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) is presented. The analysis uses a 67 pb{sup {minus}1} data sample of p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.8 TeV. Soft lepton tagging (SLT) and secondary vertex tagging (SVX) of b jets are used to reduce backgrounds. A significant excess of events over expected backgrounds is seen, and together with the excess of observed events in the dilepton (DIL) channel, firmly establish the existence of the top quark. Combining all channels, the t{bar t} production cross section is measured to be {sigma} {sub t{bar t}} = 7.6{sub -2.0}{sup +2.4} pb. The Branching of top to Wb is measured to be Br(t {yields} Wb) = 0.87{sub -0.30}{sup +0.13}(stat) {sub -0.11}{sup +0.13}(syst).

Disclosed is a joining technique that requires no external heat source and generates very little heat. It involves the reaction of thin multilayered films deposited on faying (closely fit or joining) surfaces to create a stable compound that functions as an intermediate or braze material in order to create a high strength bond. While high temperatures are reached in the reaction of the multilayer film, very little heat is generated because the films are very thin. It is essentially a room temperature joining process. It can be used for joining silicon wafers and integrated circuits.

The DSI3D-RCS code is designed to numerically evaluate radar cross sections on complex objects by solving Maxwell`s curl equations in the time-domain and in three space dimensions. The code has been designed to run on the new parallel processing computers as well as on conventional serial computers. The DSI3D-RCS code is unique for the following reasons: Allows the use of unstructured non-orthogonal grids, allows a variety of cell or element types, reduces to be the Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method when orthogonal grids are used, preserves charge or divergence locally (and globally), is conditionally stable, is selectively non-dissipative, and is accurate for non-orthogonal grids. This method is derived using a Discrete Surface Integration (DSI) technique. As formulated, the DSI technique can be used with essentially arbitrary unstructured grids composed of convex polyhedral cells. This implementation of the DSI algorithm allows the use of unstructured grids that are composed of combinations of non-orthogonal the use of unstructured grids that are composed of combinations of non-orthogonal hexahedrons, tetrahedrons, triangular prisms and pyramids. This algorithm reduces to the conventional FDTD method when applied on a structured orthogonal hexahedral grid.

{sup 3}H (Tritium) is required for maintenance of nuclear weapons in the stockpile. The National Defense need for {sup 3}H was historically met by the Savannah River Facility. This facility is no longer safe for operation. {sup 3}H decays with a mean lifetime {tau} = 17.8 y, and therefore new methods of {sup 3}H production are required to meet US military requirements. Irradiation of {sup 7}Li by low-energy photons produces tritium ({sup 3}H) via the photodisintegration process. Waste heat from the {sup 7}Li target can be extracted and used for the direct generation of electricity. Other advantages include: negligible residual radioactivity, simple target technology, small low-energy electron accelerators for bremsstrahlung production (the photon source), developed liquid metal technology, modularity, simple extraction of {sup 3}H from a recirculating {sup 7}Li target, abundant supply of {sup 7}Li, and straightforward target-accelerator-bremsstrahlung converter interface. A schematic plant characterized by very low risk is described, and a figure-of-merit is obtained.

Sodium chromate has been an effective corrosion inhibitor for the cooling coil systems in Savannah River Site (SRS) waste tanks for over 40 years. Due to their age and operating history, cooling coils occasionally fail allowing chromate water to leak into the environment. When the leaks spill 10 lbs. or more of sodium chromate over a 24-hr period, the leak incidents are classified as Unusual Occurrences (UO) per CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act). The cost of reporting and cleaning up chromate spills prompted High Level Waste Engineering (HLWE) to initiate a study to investigate alternative tank cooling water inhibitor systems and the associated cost of replacement. Several inhibitor systems were investigated as potential alternatives to sodium chromate. All would have a lesser regulatory impact, if a spill occurred. However, the conversion cost is estimated to be $8.5 million over a period of 8 to 12 months to convert all 5 cooling systems. Although each of the alternative inhibitors examined is effective in preventing corrosion, there is no inhibitor identified that is as effective as chromate. Assuming 3 major leaks a year (the average over the past several years), the cost of maintaining the existing inhibitor was estimated …

A theoretical and computational study of turbulence, using the dynamical systems approach, is reported. Topics explored included the Navier-Stokes equations and turbulence, approximation of attractors, and climatology problems.

The efforts during this period of the program focused on image-based multi-spectral calibration and continuous investigation of multi-spectral prescreening algorithms.

The Underground Injection Practices Research Foundation (UIPRF) administered a grant project funded by the US Department of Energy relating to Class 2 injection well operations in various primacy and direct implementation states throughout the country. This effort provided substantial benefits to state regulatory agencies and oil and gas producing companies. It enhanced the protection of the environment through the protection of ground water resources and improved oil and gas production operations within affected states. This project involved the following accomplishment: (1) Completed the design and installation of the only comprehensive, fully relational PC-Based Oil and Gas regulatory data management system (the Risk Based Data Management System) in the country. Additionally, training and data conversion was conduced and the RBDMS User`s Guide and the RBDMS Administrator`s Guide were completed. (2) State wide Area-Of-Review (AOR) workshop were held in California and Oklahoma and a national three-day workshop was held in Kansas City, Missouri where 24 state oil and gas agencies were represented.

This is the February report by the Energy Information Administration. The contents of the report include an article on the effect of the proximity of wind resources to transmission lines, an energy overview, energy consumption, petroleum, natural gas, oil and gas resource development, coal, electricity, nuclear energy, and international energy. 57 tabs.

Test report for the gas/liquid sampler designed and developed for sampling closed canisters in the KW Basin.

This document reports the core sampling and analysis event for tank 241-U-105

This report documents the U.S. Department of Transportation Specification 7A Type A (DOT-7A) compliance testing to be followed for qualification of the Lockheed Idaho Technologies Company, ARROW-PAK, for use as a Type A Packaging. The packaging configuration being tested is intended for transportation of radioactive solids, Form No. 1, Form No. 2, and Form No. 3.

This is the Test Plan for acquiring TSAP bit temperature performance data. Hanford Site waste tanks are currently being sampled by several methods. One of these, Rotary Mode Core Sampling (RMCS), uses a cutting bit/sample tube arrangement to obtain core samples of tank contents. Recent efforts to improve sample recovery have resulted in a new bit/sample tube design. Prior to field use, bit performance in two key areas needs to be tested. These areas are: penetration into steel plate, and a temperature rise as a function of downforce, rpm, and time. A performance test in the above two areas was conducted in August, 1995. Based on a review of that test activity, selected follow-on testing is planned to confirm data obtained in the temperature area. The results of both test activities will then be released as a single test report.

This report presents the findings of the groundwater quality assessment program for the 216-A-29 Ditch. The information presented in this report Ditch have affected the quality of the groundwater in the unconfined aquifer beneath the facility. The results indicate that the 216-A-29 Ditch is the source of elevated specific conductance in well 299-E25-35 and that the source is nonhazardous. This report describes the current monitoring status of the 216-A-29 Ditch, groundwater chemical data interpretation, and recommends the reinstatement of an indicator-evaluation monitoring program in accordance with 40 CFR 265.93(d)(6).

Factors affecting the rate and extent of benzoate degradation by anaerobic syntrophic consortia were studied. Cocultures of a syntrophic benzoate degrader, strain SB, with a hydrogen/formate-using sulfate reducer degraded benzoate to a threshold that depended on the amount of substrate and acetate present. The benzoate threshold was not a function of the inhibition of benzoate degradation capacity by acetate or the toxicity of the undissociated form of acetate. Rather, a critical or minimal Gibb`s free energy value may exist where thermodynamic constraints preclude further benzoate degradation. A sensitive assay to detect low formate concentrations was developed to measure the formate levels when the benzoate threshold was reached. We showed that increased acetate concentrations, even when hydrogen and formate levels are low, affects the extent of benzoate degradation, implicating the importance of interspecies acetate transfer. In addition to benzoate, various saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, 2-methylbutyrate, and methyl esters of fatty acids supported growth in coculture with a hydrogen-using partner. SB is the only syntrophic bacterium known to use both benzoate and fatty acids. Phylogenetic analysis showed that SB clustered with sulfate reducers in the delta subclass of the Proteobacteria. SB grew well in coculture with Desulfoarculus baarsii, a sulfate reducer …

This document is the tank characterization plan for Tank 241-U-204 located in the 200 Area Tank Farm on the Hanford Reservation in Richland, Washington. This plan describes Data Quality Objectives (DQO) and presents historical information and scheduled sampling events for tank 241-U-204.

The authors discuss the signal-to-noise ratio of an intensity interferometry experiment for a highly asymmetric x-ray source using different aperture shapes in front of the photodetectors. It is argued that, under ideal conditions using noiseless detectors and electronics, the use of slit-shaped apertures, whose widths are smaller but whose lengths are much greater than the transverse coherence widths of the beam in the corresponding directions, provides no signal-to-noise advantage over the use of pinhole apertures equal to or smaller than the coherence area. As with pinholes, the signal-to-noise ratio is determined solely by the count degeneracy parameter and the degree of coherence of the beam. This contrasts with the signal-to-noise ratio enhancement achievable using slit-shaped apertures with an asymmetric source in a Young`s experiment.

Progress on the performance of the coal photochemical extractions this quarter has fallen behind schedule. Work on the project scheduled for other times has been pursued instead. At the beginning of the quarter, the sealing off of an undesirable solvent flow pathway in the Ace Glass photochemical reactor was unsuccessful. Due either to pre-existing strains in the glass or to poor procedure, the reactor was damaged beyond repair and a new system was ordered immediately. Shortly after experiments began with the new system, a port of the new Ace Glass reactor equipped with a screwed-down tightened O-ring seal snapped off, a situation clearly due to a poorly annealed glass join. The reactor is presently still under return for repair. The graduate student on the project has put his energies into other project-related work. One type of work was to prepare the extracts that will be needed in future coal photoextractions. The third type of alternate activity on which the P.I. and graduate student have been working is literature work and discussion of the project. These have focused on the probable mechanisms of (1) the direct coal irradiation photolysis, (2) the extract-sensitized coal photolysis, and (3) solvent-sensitized coal photolysis. Considerations have …

This document defines and describes the user-generated application software written to transmit digital and analog signals from the Liquid Effluent Retention Facility (LERF) to the 242-A Evaporator Distributed Control System (DCS). PLCs and modems were installed in the 242-A Evaporator by Project W-105 (LERF) to transmit 6 analog liquid level signals, 6 range alarms based on the analog signals, and 6 leak detection and pump status signals to the 242-A Distributive Control System (DCS) from LERF. Communications between the two facilities are also monitored and alarm on the DCS. Following the Project W-105 completion, the communications and signal mix were modified by Project C-018H (ETF). The current PLC software (including ladder logic and data tables), PLC hardware settings, and modern option settings to transmit the signals and monitor communications are documented and described in this document.