Various strategies were developed for the purpose of mitigating respirable dust experienced at facilities in the southwest corner of the 200 West Area. These strategies focused on treatment of that portion of the dust source located within the 200 West Expansion Area. Strategies included direct shielding of the facilities via establishment of a poplar windbreak and installation of an artificial windscreen; soil stabilization via seeding of herbaceous plants, soil fixatives, straw crimping, straw blankets, gravel mulches, drift fences, baled straw, and living fences; and various irrigation systems that would function both to water seeded herbs and to suppress dust.

A major tax cut, H.R. 1836, was enacted in June 2001, but contained sunsetted provisions. The House will consider, the week of April 15, making those tax provisions permanent. This report summarizes the provisions of the bill, analyzes effects, and considers the development of the legislation.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) tax filing season performance is a key indicator of how well IRS serves taxpayers. This year's filing season was expected to be risky because of tax system changes, including the telephone excise tax refund (TETR) which can be requested by all individuals and entities that paid the excise tax. GAO was asked to describe IRS's service to taxpayers so far this filing season (including the impact of this year's tax systems changes). GAO was also asked to provide updates of previous assessments of the performance of paid tax preparers, IRS's efforts to modernize its information systems, and what IRS is doing to better measure taxpayer compliance. GAO compared IRS's filing season performance to prior years' and goals and based analyses of paid preparers, information systems, and compliance research efforts on recent reports."

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to a project of a development corporation in connection with a military base or facility.

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is a highly sensitive analytical methodology used to quantify the content of radioisotopes, such as {sup 14}C, in a sample. The primary goals of this work were to demonstrate the utility of AMS in determining cellular [{sup 14}C]doxorubicin (DOX) concentrations and to develop a sensitive assay that is superior to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for the quantification of DOX at the tumor level. In order to validate the superior sensitivity of AMS versus HPLC with fluorescence detection, we performed three studies comparing the cellular accumulation of DOX: one in vitro cell line study, and two in vivo xenograft mouse studies. Using AMS, we quantified cellular DOX content up to 4 hours following in vitro exposure at concentrations ranging from 0.2 pg/ml (345 fM) to 2 {micro}g/ml (3.45 {micro}M) [{sup 14}C]DOX. The results of this study show that, compared to standard fluorescence-based HPLC, the AMS method was over five orders of magnitude more sensitive. Two in vivo studies compared the sensitivity of AMS to HPLC using a nude mouse xenograft model in which breast cancer cells were implanted subcutaneously. After sufficiently large tumors formed, DOX was administered intravenously at two dose levels. Additionally, we tested the …

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This report briefly discusses the Arab League's boycott of Israeli companies and Israeli-made goods since Israel's founding in 1948, as well as U.S. efforts to end the boycott and prevent U.S. firms in participating in the boycott.

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) and environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) are under development for hot-gas path components to allow higher gas-firing temperatures in advanced (high-efficiency, low-emission) gas turbines. Increasing dependence on the reliability of TBC and EBC components has driven the need for nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods to assess the condition, or ''health status,'' of these coatings. NDE methods based on elastic optical scatter and thermal imaging have been applied to TBC-coated test specimens that were thermally cycled and to EBC-coated SiC/SiC components that were run in 4.5 MW(e) field-test turbines. One primary interest is to develop NDE methods that can predict a prespall condition. Resulting data suggest a correlation between laser scatter data and thermal cycles for TBC-coated specimens, and thermal imaging results have demonstrated prespall detection for an EBC-coated SiC/SiC combustor liner.

We present measurements of time-dependent CP asymmetries of neutral B decays to several charm and charmonium final states. Data have been collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II storage ring at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. In the absence of penguin contribution, the Standard Model predicts the time-dependent CP asymmetry parameters S and C are to be {eta}{sub CP} sin(2{beta}) and 0, respectively.

Baryon stopping and particle production in Pb+Pb collisions at 158 GeV/nucleon are studied as a function of the collision centrality using new proton, antiproton, charged kaon and charged pion production data measured with the NA49 experiment at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS). Stopping, which is measured by the shift in rapidity of net protons or baryons from the initial beam rapidity, increases in more central collisions. This is expected from a geometrical picture of the collisions. The stopping data are quantitatively compared to models incorporating various mechanisms for stopping. In general, microscopic transport calculations which incorporate current theoretical models of baryon stopping or use phenomenological extrapolations from simpler systems overestimate the dependence of stopping on centrality. Approximately, the yield of produced pions scales with the number of nucleons participating in the collision. A small increase in yield beyond this scaling, accompanied by a small suppression in the yield of the fastest pions, reflects the variation in stopping with centrality. Consistent with the observations from central collisions of light and heavy nuclei at the SPS, the transverse momentum distributions of all particles are observed to become harder with increasing centrality. This effect is most pronounced for the heaviest particles. This …

Samples of materials which will be used in the LHC machine for shielding and construction components were irradiated in the stray radiation field of the CERN-EU high-energy reference field facility. After irradiation, the specific activities induced in the various samples were analyzed with a high-precision gamma spectrometer at various cooling times, allowing identification of isotopes with a wide range of half-lives. Furthermore, the irradiation experiment was simulated in detail with the FLUKA Monte Carlo code. A comparison of measured and calculated specific activities shows good agreement, supporting the use of FLUKA for estimating the level of induced activity in the LHC.

A new method to estimate remanent dose rates, to be used with the Monte Carlo code FLUKA, was benchmarked against measurements from an experiment that was performed at the CERN-EU high-energy reference field facility. An extensive collection of samples of different materials were placed downstream of and laterally to a copper target, intercepting a positively charged mixed hadron beam with a momentum of 120 GeV/c. Emphasis was put on the reduction of uncertainties such as careful monitoring of the irradiation parameters, the use of different instruments to measure dose rates, detailed elemental analyses of the irradiated materials and detailed simulations of the irradiation experiment. Measured and calculated dose rates are in good agreement.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 2002, the United States experienced one of the worst wildland fire seasons in the past 50 years--almost 7 million acres burned. These fires included the largest and costliest fire in Oregon in the past century--the Biscuit Fire. Following a lightning storm, five fires were discovered in the Siskiyou National Forest over a 3- day period beginning July 13. These fires eventually burned together to form the Biscuit Fire, which burned nearly 500,000 acres in southern Oregon and Northern California and cost over $150 million to extinguish. GAO evaluated (1) whether policies and procedures were in place for acquiring needed firefighting resources during the initial days of the Biscuit Fire, and the extent to which these policies and procedures were followed when the fire was first identified; (2) what resource management issues, if any, affected the ability of personnel to fight the fire; and (3) what differences, if any, existed in key certification standards for personnel among federal and state agencies and whether these differences affected efforts to respond to the fire. In commenting on a draft of this report, the Forest Service stated that the …

Nine new CERCLA groundwater monitoring wells were installed in the 300-FF-5 Operable Unit in calendar year 2006 to fulfill commitments for the EM-20 funded polyphosphate treatability test. Nine new performance monitoring wells were drilled into the uppermost unconfined aquifer, to the Hanford formation - Ringold Formation contact boundary, and completed within the permeable Hanford fm. unit 1 gravel-dominated sequence. The overall objective of the polyphosphate treatability test is to evaluate the efficacy of using polyphosphate injections to treat 300 Area uranium contaminated groundwater in situ. The objective of this work was to install the performance monitoring network surrounding the existing treatability injection well C5000 (399-1-23) in support of the implementation of a field scale demonstration of the polyphosphate technology.

A briefing report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the personnel management policies and practices of the District of Columbia Courts, focusing on whether: (1) D.C. Courts' applicable policies for six basic personnel activities or functions--performance evaluation, competitive and noncompetitive promotions, corrective actions, training, classification, and equal employment opportunity (EEO) policies--were consistent with commonly accepted personnel management principles; and (2) D.C. Courts generally adhered to its policies when implementing the six personnel activities or functions."

In situ remediation is an emerging technology that will play an important role in DOE's environmental restoration program, and is an area where enhancement in fundamental understanding will lead to significantly improved cleanup tools. In situ remediation technologies have inherent advantages because they do not require the costly removal, transport, and disposal of contamination. In addition, these technologies minimize worker exposure because contaminated materials are not brought to the surface. Finally, these technologies will minimize the generation of secondary waste streams with their associated treatment and disposal. A particularly promising in situ remediation technology is bioremediation. For inorganic contaminants such as radionuclides and metals, in situ bioremediation can be used to alter the mobility or reduce the toxicity of radionuclides and metals by changing the valence state of the radionuclides and metals, degrading or producing complexing ligands, or facilitating partitioning on to or off of solid phases. The purpose of the research presented here was to explore microbially facilitated partitioning of metal and radionuclides by their co-precipitation with calcium carbonate. Although this approach is a very attractive cleanup alternative, its practical implementation requires improved scientific understanding of the geochemical and biological mechanisms involved, particularly with respect to rates and mechanisms …

H Area Operations is planning to process plutonium-contaminated uranium metal scrap in its efforts to de-inventory excess nuclear materials. The Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) performed flowsheet development to support the decision to process the scrap in H-Canyon using 2M nitric acid (HNO3) / 0.025M potassium fluoride (KF) and 2 g/L boron. The scrap will be charged to the H-Canyon dissolver via a stainless steel charging bundle with a carbon steel end cap that must dissolve in an appropriate time frame. Experimental work was performed with a range of potential materials to be used to fabricate the bundle end cap. Testing was conducted with samples of metal plate, wire, cans, rods, and rivets to assess their dissolution characteristics in 2M HNO3/ 0.025M KF and 2 g/L boron. Experiments also measured the amount of hydrogen gas generated during carbon steel dissolution using the above dissolver solution. Each material type and its associated dissolution characteristic relate to specific bundle end cap designs being considered. Supplemental studies were conducted to evaluate the behavior and effect of magnesium oxide (MgO) sand on dissolution of uranium metal in 2M HNO3/ 0.025M KF and 2 g/L boron. The potential exists for a small quantity of MgO …

The purpose of this system description document (SDD) is to establish requirements that drive the design of the Cask/MSC/WP preparation system and their bases to allow the design effort to proceed to license application. This SDD is a living document that will be revised at strategic points as the design matures over time. This SDD identifies the requirements and describes the system design, as they exist at this time, with emphasis on those attributes of the design provided to meet the requirements. This SDD has been developed to be an engineering tool for design control. Accordingly, the primary audience and users are design engineers. This type of SDD both leads and trails the design process. It leads the design process with regard to the flow down of upper tier requirements onto the system. Knowledge of these requirements is essential in performing the design process. This SDD trails the design with regard to the description of the system. The description provided in the SDD is a reflection of the results of the design process to date. This SDD addresses the ''Project Requirements Document'' (PRD) (Canori and Leitner 2003 [DIRS 166275]) requirements. Additional PRD requirements may be cited, as applicable, to drive …

The fabrication and electrochemical performance of co-fired,LSM-SYSZ [i.e., La0.65Sr0.30MnO3 (LSM) - (Sc2O3)0.1(Y2O3)0.01(ZrO2)0.89] supported thin-film cells were examined using humidified hydrogen as a fuel. Co-firing of bi-layers and tri-layers was successful at 1250 C by optimizing the amount of carbon pore formers. A power density of a factor of 2.5 higher than that recently reported for the same type of cell at 800 C [3] was obtained for a cell with cobalt infiltration into the supporting cathode: the peak power densities were 455, 389, 285, 202, 141mW/cm2 at 800, 750, 700, 650, 600 C, respectively, and in most cases power densities at 0.7V exceeded more than 90 percent of the peak output. Increasing the cathode porosity from 43 to 53 percent improved peak power densities by as much as 1.3, shifting the diffusion limitation to high current densities. Cobalt infiltration into the support improved those by as much as a factor of 2 due to a significant reduction in non-ohmic resistance. These results demonstrate that cobalt catalyst-infiltrated LSM can be effective and low-cost supporting electrodes for reduced temperature, thin film SOFCs.

This report provides an overview of U.S. policy concerns and relations with countries in central Asia. The report discusses issues such as Fostering Pro-Western Orientations, Obstacles to Peace and Independence, Democratization and Human Rights, Security and Arms Control, Trade and Investment, and provides an Aid Overview.

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the fiscal year (FY) 2001 budget for the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, focusing on determining the status of the Board's: (1) organization; (2) operations; and (3) efforts to update and develop plans, policies, and procedures for accomplishing the Board's mission."

Since January 2000, the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, the Chicago Department of Environment, and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection (now part of the Office of Energy Assurance) have been collaborating on the development and implementation of guidelines that municipal governments can use in preparing for electric power disruptions. On March 5, 2002 Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), the electric company serving the Chicago metropolitan area, held a drill to test its emergency preparedness procedures. ComEd invited three communities in the metropolitan area--Buffalo Grove, Oak Brook, Riverside--to participate in the drill as part of their own emergency planning efforts to respond to electric power disruptions. Although ComEd had held joint exercises with the City of Chicago, this was the first time that a cooperative exercise with the suburban communities was conducted. The Infrastructure Assurance Center of Argonne National Laboratory, under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Assurance helped facilitate the drill in the communities. A series of meetings involving ComEd, community controllers (who helped organize the drill but did not participate directly), and Argonne personnel was held to lay out the ground rules for the drill and determine how it would operate. Attachment 1 …

This report addresses the compensation issues related to Chinese Embassy bombing in Belgrade.

Isotopic label tracing is a powerful experimental technique that can be combined with metabolic models to quantify metabolic fluxes in an organism under a particular set of growth conditions. In this work we constructed a genome-scale metabolic model of Methylobacterium extorquens, a facultative methylotroph with potential application in the production of useful chemicals from methanol. A series of labeling experiments were performed using 13C-methanol, and the resulting distribution of labeled carbon in the proteinogenic amino acids was determined by mass spectrometry. Algorithms were developed to analyze this data in context of the metabolic model, yielding flux distributions for wild-type and several engineered strains of M. extorquens. These fluxes were compared to those predicted by model simulation alone, and also integrated with microarray data to give an improved understanding of the metabolic physiology of this organism.