A comparative assessment has been performed of the potential long- and short-term health and safety impacts of different disposal options for defense high-level wastes. Conservative models and assumptions were used. The assessment suggests that considerations of health and safety will not be significant in choosing among disposal options, primarily because of the need to meet stringent standards in all cases. Rather, the ease and cost of assuring compliance of a particular disposal option with health and safety standards may be a more important factor. 11 references.

The Exploratory Shaft (ES) at Yucca Mountain is planned to be constructed during 1985 and 1986 as part of the detailed site characterization for one of three sites which may be selected as candidates for location of a high-level radioactive waste repository. Conventional mining methods will be used for the shaft sinking phase of the ES project. The ES will be comprised of surface support facilities, a 1480-ft-deep circular shaft lined with concrete to a finished inside diameter of 12 ft, lateral excavations and test installations extending up to 200 ft from the shaft, and long lateral borings extending up to 2300 ft from the shaft. The estimated time for sinking the shaft to a total depth of about 1480 ft and completing the lateral excavations and borings is about two years. The major underground development planned for the primary test level at a depth of 1200 ft consists of the equivalent of 1150 ft of 15- by 15-ft drift. The total volume of rock to be removed from the shaft proper and the lateral excavations totals about 1/2 million cubic feet. Construction equipment for the shaft and underground excavation phases consists of conventional mine hoisting equipment, shot hole and …

Deformation studies were performed on tuffaceous rocks from Yucca Mountain, Nevada Test Site to determine the strengths and coefficients of friction under confining pressures from 10 to 50 MPa at room temperature. Frictional strengths of 30{sup 0} sawcut samples increased with pressure and reached values of around 150 MPa at the higher confining pressures. However, the failure strengths of the intact samples were quite unpredictable. The coefficients of friction ranged between 0.7 and 0.9 for all specimens. These data can be used in conjunction with in situ stress measurements at Yucca Mountain, to evaluate the potential for earthquake activity in the region. 1 ref., 7 figs.

A test method has been developed to measure the release of radionuclides from the waste package under simulated NNWSI repository conditions, and to provide information concerning materials interactions that may occur in the repository. Data from 13 weeks of unsaturated testing are discussed and compared to that from a 13-week analog test. The data indicate that the waste form test is capable of producing consistent, reproducible results that will be useful in evaluating the role of the waste in the long-term performance of the repository. 6 references, 3 figures.

The current renewed interest in the dense linear z-pinch is due in large part to a recent Los Alamos Study which concluded that a z- pinch based reactor could produce 4.4 KJ of fusion energy per pulse for the modest input of 140 kJ per pulse, if a straight pinch could be maintained for 2 {mu}sec. Early attempts to achieve suitable high density z-pinches were of the implosion type which produced hollow pressure profiles that quickly resulted in disruptive m = 0 instabilities. These instabilities are not found in the gas embedded pinch in which an initially small diameter plasma is kept in radial equilibrium by following a prescribed current waveform. Unfortunately, these pinches are prone to a rapid accretion of the surrounding gas during the early stages of formation. Our approach is to form the pinch inside small diameter quartz capillaries filled with neutral hydrogen. This fixes the line density. By driving currents through the pinch at a rate that exceeds that necessary for radial equilibrium, we expect the pinch to contract away from the walls and be subject to compressional, as well as ohmic heating. This contraction will, of course, produce a plasma between the pinch and the …

Recently, there is increased concern that radiocolloids may act as a rapid transport mechanism for the release of radionuclides from high-level waste repositories. The role of colloids is, however, controversial because the necessary data and assessment methodology have been limited. Evidence is accumulating to indicate that colloids are an important consideration in the geological disposal of nuclear waste. To quantitatively assess the role of colloids, the TRACR3D transport code has been enhanced by the addition of the population balance equations. This new version of the code can simulate the migration of colloids through combinations of porous/fractured, unsaturated, geologic media. The code was tested against the experimental laboratory column data of Avogadro et al. in order to compare the code results to both experimental data and an analytical solution. Next, a low-level radioactive waste site was investigated to explore whether colloid migration could account for the unusually rapid and long transport of plutonium and americium observed at a low-level waste site. Both plutonium and americium migrated 30 meters through unsaturated volcanic tuff. The nature and modeling of radiocolloids are discussed along with site simulation results from the TRACR3D code. 20 references.

Article chronicles the Battle of Devil's Backbone on Devil's Backbone Mountain, a skirmish that occurred between Confederate and Federal troops during the Civil War. Tom Franzman discusses the ramifications of the Northern victory and how it contributed to the deterioration of Confederate control in the area.

Article describes the life of missionary Cyrus Byington and his family in their work among the Choctaws. Rather than attempting to teach and preach in English, Byington learned the Choctaw language to the point where he could translate the bible and give sermons in the native language of the community, and weathered the changing times of the mid to late nineteenth century.

For the Record section including the minutes of the quarterly board meeting of the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Historical Society that was held on July 25, 1984. It also includes lists of new annual and life members from April 28 to July 25, 1984, and a list of donors who gave gifts to the OHS in the second quarter of 1984.

Article explores the political environment and history of Oklahoma Territory, focusing on the political parties that existed during the era and the bases of partisan choice. Worth Robert Miller provides insight about the impact of the People's, or Populist, Party on territorial politics.

Article describes the proceedings of the 1924 Democratic National Convention, focusing on the Oklahoma Delegation and the longest process on record towards choosing a presidential candidate for the election. Among the political factors causing division was the conflict between anti-Klan and Ku Klux Klan supporters.

Article describes the founding of the town of Tonkawa near the Tonkawa reservation and its agricultural and industrial growth. William P. Corbett touches on some of the key figures who helped make the town what it was, including the city founders, farmers, businessmen, and bankers.

The contract work was initiated by J. Epstein. The emphasis of the proposal was on (a) the continuation of DWIA calculations of the (..gamma..,..pi../sup + -/) reaction in the ..delta..(1232) region with the extension to the (..gamma..,..pi../sup 0/) reaction and (b) the application of the DWIA approach to the (..gamma..,K) reaction. The (..gamma..,..pi../sup 0/) work was intended to be in close collaboration with the experimental studies underway at Bates Linear Accelerator and the (..gamma..,K/sup + -/) calculations are relevant to proposed high duty factor electron accelerators in the 1 to 4 GeV region. DWIA calculations were carried out for coherent (..gamma..,..pi../sup 0/) reactions in /sup 12/C. Although the DWIA approach seems less fundamental than the current ..delta..-hole model calculations, we had hopes that it could be more readily applicable to incoherent reactions leaving the target nucleus in the excited state. Epstein hoped to improve the reliability of the DWIA calculations for coherent (..gamma..,..pi../sup 0/) production by better treatment of the ..delta.. propagating in the nuclear medium. In parallel with the (..gamma..,..pi../sup 0/) work, Epstein carried on an active collaboration with William Donnelly on the (..gamma..,K/sup + -/) problem. They had succeeded in a relatively complete description of the reaction for …

A new class of targets for laser fusion experiments was fabricated using plasma-deposition and etching technology. Plasma polymer coatings seeded with silicon or sulfur were deposited as 300..mu..m diameter microspots inside holes of equal diameter in a pure hydrocarbon polymer film. The target was designed to study large-scale plasma instabilities and measure the temperature and density histories of laser induced plasmas. The microspot target required three new development: freestanding stress-free CH films, technology to define and form holes in CH films, and development of seeded films deposited as 300..mu..m diameter discs, nested tightly in the precision holes. Hydrocarbon films were deposited by plasma polymerization or by solution casting (polystyrene in dichloromethane) onto potassium-chloide-coated glass slides. Holes were defined either by masking with a 300..mu..m diameter disc or by reactive ion etching through a washer mask. Sulfur or silicon seeded CH polymer microspots were deposited through a mask using plasma polymerization. Seeded polymer films were prepared with compositions as high as 12 atomic percent, with most diagnostic targets made with 2 a/o. Silicon seeded polymers, when deposited at 750 mtorr (100 Pa) pressure, wer transparent and colorless.

Reports presenting information on technology advancements in the nuclear industry and nuclear power plant functions have been abstracted and are available on the energy data base.

With the start of a research and development effort directed towards the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC), it is essential that US industry become involved as soon as possible. For that reason, I describe what a conventional accelerator complex is like and therefore what the first stages of the SSC would entail.

None

Single-crystal forms of MgAl/sub 2/O/sub 4/, Y/sub 3//Al/sub 5/O/sub 12/, and Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ were irradiated in the EBR-II fast fission reactor to a fluence of 0.3 x 10/sup 26/ n/m/sup 2/ at 1015/sup 0/K, and to /sup -/1 to 2 x 10/sup 26/ n/m/sup 2/ at 925 and 1100/sup 0/K. Fracture toughness was subsequently measured at room temperature by an indentation technique, and radiation-induced defect aggregates were characterized by transmission electron microscopy. A slight increase in toughness of MgAl/sub 2/O/sub 4/ was observed, and attributed to interaction of cracks with strain fields around dislocation loops. No significant change was noted for Y/sub 3/Al/sub 5/O/sub 12/, despite the presence of a high concentration of unresolved defect clusters. Fracture toughness of Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ was markedly increased, with the enhancement apparently attributable in large part to impedance of crack propagation by interaction with the irradiation-induced void lattice.

The tandem high-density hydrogen negative-ion-source system is optimized to identify the largest possible ion concentrations and extracted ion currents. The optimization includes varying the length of the second chamber, varying neutral gas and electron densities, and varying the ratio of atomic to molecular density. Vibrational excitation occurs via high-energy electron excitation (E-V process) and H/sub 2//sup +/ surface neutralization (s-V process). These processes are considered separately and acting in parallel. The solutions are presented in terms of a dimensional scale factor, R. For a system scale length R = 1 cm, optimum extracted current densities are in the range 50 to 100 mA cm/sup -2/. A single-chamber s-V system with the high-energy electron component suppressed can provide larger ion concentrations than a tandem E-V, s-V system. 14 references, 10 figures.

Large variations in pressure from external gas-fueling sources and from plasma-induced wall reflux along the TMX-U plasma have been observed. These pressure variations can produce locally high neutral density in the plasma, which strongly affects the plasma parameters. These local pressure measurements include data from a newly installed neutral-pressure diagnostic system of fast magnetron gauges. The plasma-induced warm-wall reflux has been observed to be primarily HD and H/sub 2/ as opposed to D/sub 2/. This observation supports the model that all of the neutral D/sub 2/ gas enters the plasma region, strikes the plasma first, and is dissociated. The part of the D/sub 2/ gas, which is not absorbed as ions, strikes a wall, where it is converted to HD. Electron induced wall desorption measured by a mass spectrograph and actual analysis of the Ti indicates predominately H/sub 2/ instead of D/sub 2/ wall loading in TMX-U.

Large variations in pressure from external gas-fueling sources and from plasma-induced wall reflux along the TMX-U plasma have been observed. These pressure variations can produce locally high neutral density in the plasma, which strongly affects the plasma parameters. These local pressure measurements include data from a newly installed neutral-pressure diagnostic system of fast magnetron gauges. The plasma-induced warm-wall reflux has been observed to be primarily HD and H/sub 2/ as opposed to D/sub 2/. This observation supports the model that all of the neutral D/sub 2/ gas enters the plasma region, strikes the plasma first, and is dissociated. The part of the D/sub 2/ gas, which is not absorbed as ions, strikes a wall, where it is converted to HD. Electron induced wall desorption measured by a mass spectroscopy and actual analysis of the Ti indicates predominately H/sub 2/ instead of D/sub 2/ wall loading in TMX-U.

Thermodynamic calculations have been made to compare the thermochemical performance of the fusion reactor breeder blanket materials, Li/sub 2/O, LiAlO/sub 2/, and Li/sub 4/SiO/sub 4/ in the temperature range 900 to 1300K and in the oxygen activity range 10/sup -25/ to 10/sup -5/. In general, LiAlO/sub 2/ offers advantages over Li/sub 2/O, and Li/sub 2/O in turn appears better than Li/sub 4/SiO/sub 4/. The protium purge technique of enhancing tritium release is explored for the LiAlO/sub 2/ system. Oxygen activity is an influential variable in these systems and must be considered in executing and interpreting measurements on rates of tritium release, the chemical form of the released tritium, diffusion of tritiated species and their identities, retention of tritium in the condensed phase, and solubility of hydrogen isotope gases. Surface adsorption is seen as a potentially significant contributor to tritium inventory.

This paper discusses biological effects associated with overexposure to ultrasound, exposure standards proposed for airborne and contact ultrasound, industrial hygiene controls that can be employed to minimize exposure, and the instrumentation that is required for evaluating exposures.

Acoustic compressional and shear-wave velocities have been measured on a suite of ten sandstone samples obtained from wells in the Cerro Prieto geothermal field and on two rock samples from other Mexican geothermal fields. The samples were tested in both their dry and fully brine-saturated states at uniaxial stresses to 15 MPa. Electrical resistivities and associated phase angles have been measured on the same core samples as a function of frequency in the range 10 Hz to 10/sup 5/ Hz under drained conditions at hydrostatic confining stresses to 10 MPa. The electrical properties were measured on samples tested in their fully saturated state, using brines of two different concentrations.