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At least 919 records · Page 51

2016 Los Alamos National Laboratory Hazardous Waste Minimization Report

Waste minimization and pollution prevention are goals within the operating procedures of Los Alamos National Security, LLC (LANS). The US Department of Energy (DOE), inclusive of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Office of Environmental Management, and LANS are required to submit an annual hazardous waste minimization report to the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) in accordance with the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL or the Laboratory) Hazardous Waste Facility Permit. The report was prepared pursuant to the requirements of Section 2.9 of the LANL Hazardous Waste Facility Permit. This report describes the hazardous waste minimization program, which is a component of the overall Pollution Prevention (P2) Program, administered by the Environmental Stewardship Group (EPC-ES). This report also supports the waste minimization and P2 goals of the Associate Directorate of Environmental Management (ADEM) organizations that are responsible for implementing remediation activities and describes its programs to incorporate waste reduction practices into remediation activities and procedures. This report includes data for all waste shipped offsite from LANL during fiscal year (FY) 2016 (October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2016). LANS was active during FY2016 in waste minimization and P2 efforts. Multiple projects were funded that specifically related to reduction of hazardous waste. In FY2016, there was no hazardous, mixed-transuranic (MTRU), or mixed low-level (MLLW) remediation waste shipped offsite from the Laboratory. More non-remediation hazardous waste and MLLW was shipped offsite from the Laboratory in FY2016 compared to FY2015. Non-remediation MTRU waste was not shipped offsite during FY2016. These accomplishments and analysis of the waste streams are discussed in much more detail within this report.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DEFE0023863 Final Report, Technology for GHG Emission Reduction and Cost-Competitive Mil-Spec Jet Fuel Production using CTL

Ceramatec Inc, in collaboration with IntraMicron (IM), the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) and Sustainable Energy Solutions, LLC (SES), have completed a three-year research project integrating their respective proprietary technologies in key areas to demonstrate production of a jet fuel from coal and biomass sources. The project goals and objectives were to demonstrate technology capable of producing a “commercially-viable quantity” of jet fuel and make significant progress toward compliance with Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007 §526) lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions requirements. The Ceramatec led team completed the demonstration of nominal 2 bbl/day Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis pilot plant design, capable of producing a nominal 1 bbl/day in the Jet-A/JP-8 fraction. This production rate would have a capacity of 1,000 gallons of jet fuel per month and provide the design basis of a 100 bbl/day module producing over 2,000 gallons of jet fuel per day. Co-gasification of coal-biomass blends enables a reduction of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from equivalent conventional petroleum derived fuel basis. Due to limits of biomass availability within an economic transportation range, implementation of a significant biomass feed fraction will require smaller plants than current world scale CTL and GTL FT plants. Hence a down-scaleable design is essential. The pilot plant design leverages Intramicron’s MicroFiber Entrapped Catalyst (MFEC) support which increases the catalyst bed thermal conductivity two orders of magnitude, allowing thermal management of the FT reaction exotherm in much larger reactor tubes. In this project, single tube reactors having 4.5 inch outer diameter and multi-tube reactors having 4 inch outer diameters were operated, with productivities as high as 1.5 gallons per day per linear foot of reactor tube. A significant reduction in tube count results from the use of large diameter reactor tubes, with an associated reduction in reactor cost. The pilot plant was designed with provisions for product collection capable of operating with conventional wax producing FT catalysts but was operated with a Chevron hybrid wax-free FT catalyst. Process simplification enabled by elimination of the wax hydrocracking process unit provides economic advantages in scaling to biomass capable plant sizes. Intramicron also provided a sulfur capture system based on their Oxidative Sulfur Removal (OSR) catalyst process. The integrated sulfur removal and FT systems were operated with syngas produced by the Transport Reactor Development Unit (TRDU) gasifier at the University of North Dakota EERC. SES performed modeling of their cryogenic carbon capture process on the energy, cost and CO2 emissions impact of the Coal-biomass synthetic fuel process.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

Centralized Authorization in Non-Uniform Federation: Communities of Interest [Slides]

Scientific process is based on free exchange of ideas. Scientific collaborations require us to be more open than ever, while emphasis on cyber security puts pressure to become more closed off. The role of IT is to enable exchange of ideas and data balanced with security concerns. Exchange of information happens and is necessary in many other areas of Laboratory operations.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Big Hole Drilling Support for Nuclear Testing, 1985-1992: An Architectural Survey of the Area 1 Subdock, Nevada National Security Site, Nye County, Nevada

The U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office (NNSA/NFO) planned to demolish two buildings at the Area 1 Subdock at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) in Nye County, Nevada, to meet environmental management mission requirements. A review was conducted under Title 54 United States Code (USC) § 306101 (commonly known as Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act) and its implementing regulations, 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 800. As a result, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was developed to mitigate the effects of the building demolitions. Stipulation III.B of the MOA requires an architectural survey of the Area 1 Subdock. Prior to this survey, the Subdock had not been systematically recorded. Therefore, an area of approximately 33 hectares (81 acres) was surveyed for historic properties by Desert Research Institute personnel. This effort resulted in the identification, recording, and evaluation of the potential Area 1 Subdock Historic District (SHPO Resource No. D377), including the identification of its contributing components. This district is recommended as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) under Criteria A and C. It contains 14 primary resources which include individual buildings, structures, storage yards, and infrastructure. Of these resources, all except one are recommended as elements that contribute to the district during its period of significance corresponding to nuclear testing from 1985 through 1992. Four of the resources (B18847, B18848, S2772, S2773) are recommended as individually eligible for the NRHP.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Artificial Intelligence in Nuclear Safeguards; Evaluating Safeguards and Security Risks and Benefits for Advanced and Small Modular Reactor Deployments

Rapidly growing interest in advanced and small modular reactor (A/SMR) technologies presents challenges as well as opportunities for implementing international safeguards and security. A/SMR deployments are expected to be more numerous, more geographically dispersed, and more varied in their designs, placing new demands on the data systems and analytical tools used to support oversight (Alberti et al., 2023; Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission et al., 2024). Because of this variability, the importance and reliance on data systems for A/SMR deployments is expected to be higher than for previous reactor generations. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) offer potential capabilities to address the high variability inherent in A/SMR technology. The beneficiaries of AI-assisted tools include facility operators, government regulators, IAEA inspectors, and A/SMR vendors. This report analyzes how AI/ML-assisted technologies can strengthen the implementation of IAEA safeguards and security measures. It also identifies AI-assisted tools to strengthen operator, facility, and regulator knowledge management practices and examines the potential risks AI/ML-based tools may introduce to IAEA safeguards and security efforts. It concludes with a set of hypothetical, standards-style requirements for AI/ML systems used in safeguards contexts, grounded in an inspector-centric view of system verification. Despite the potential benefits of AI/ML systems, understanding potential intentional and unintentional failure modes is critical for ensuring adequate protection of nuclear materials and facilities. Unique features of A/SMRs including sealed cores, remote and novel paradigms of operation, off-site reactor fabrication, novel fuel forms, and varied refueling requirements, introduce challenges for traditional safeguards technological approaches (Pensado et al., 2024; Federation of American Scientists, 2025). AI/ML systems deployed to address these challenges may introduce new risks requiring systematic evaluation rooted in both AI-specific risk frameworks, such as the NIST AI Risk Management Framework (NIST AI RMF), and established cyber risk management standards such as NIST SP 800-30 (National Institute of Standards and Technology [NIST], 2023; NIST, 2012).

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Dynamically timed electric motor

The invention disclosed in this document is a brushless DC motor including a housing having an end cap secured thereto. The housing encloses a rotor, a stator and a rotationally displaceable commutation board having 5 sensors secured thereon and spaced around the periphery of the rotor. An external rotational force is applied to the commutation board for displacement of the sensors to various positions whereby varying feedback signals are generated by the positioning of the sensors relative to the rotating rotor. The commutation board is secured in a fixed position in response to feedback signals indicative of optimum sensor position being determined. The rotation of the commutation board and the securing of the sensors in the desired fixed position is accomplished without requiring the removal of the 5 end cap and with the DC motor operating.

Casper, Ann M.↗

Dynamically Timed Electric Motor

A brushless DC motor including a housing having an end cap secured thereto. The housing encloses a rotor. a stator and a rotationally displaceable commutation board having sensors secured thereon and spaced around the periphery of the rotor. An external rotational force is applied to the commutation board for displacement of the sensors to various positions whereby varying feedback signals are generated by the positioning of the sensors relative to the rotating rotor. The commutation board is secured in a fixed position in response to feedback signals indicative of optimum sensor position being determined. The rotation of the commutation board and the securing of the sensors in the desired fixed position is accomplished without requiring the removal of the end cap and with the DC motor operating.

Casper, Ann M.↗

Particle Velocity Measuring System

Method and apparatus are provided for determining the velocity of individual food particles within a liquid/solid food mixture that is cooked by an aseptic cooking method whereby the food mixture is heated as it flows through a flowline. At least one upstream and at least one downstream microwave transducer are provided to determine the minimum possible travel time of the fastest food particle through the flowline. In one embodiment, the upstream detector is not required. In another embodiment, a plurality of small dipole antenna markers are secured to a plurality of food particles to provide a plurality of signals as the markers pass the upstream and downstream transducers. The dipole antenna markers may also include a non-linear element to reradiate a harmonic frequency of a transmitter frequency. Upstream and downstream transducers include dipole antennas that are matched to the impedance of the food slurry and a signal transmission cable by various impedance matching means including unbalanced feed to the antennas.

Arndt, G. Dickey↗

ISS Space-Based Science Operations Grid for the Ground Systems Architecture Workshop (GSAW)

Contents include the following:What is grid? Benefits of a grid to space-based science operations. Our approach. Score of prototype grid. The security question. Short term objectives. Long term objectives. Space-based services required for operations. The prototype. Score of prototype grid. Prototype service layout. Space-based science grid service components.

Welch, Clara↗

Rapid Application of Space Effects for the Small Satellites Systems and Services Symposium

NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) has engaged Military Branches, the Department of Defense, and other Government Agencies in successful partnerships to design, develop, deliver and support various space effects capabilities and space vehicles on timeline of need. Contracts with Industry are in place to execute operational and enabler missions using physical and informational infrastructures including Responsive Manufacturing capabilities and Digital Assurance. The intent is to establish a secure, web-enabled "store front" for ordering and delivering any capabilities required as defined by the users and directed by NASA ARC and Partner Organizations. The capabilities are envisioned to cover a broad range and include 6U CubeSats, 50-100 kg Space Vehicles, Modular Space Vehicle architecture variations, as well as rapid payload integration on various Bus options. The paper will discuss the efforts underway to demonstrate autonomous manufacturing of low-volume, high-value assets, to validate the ability of autonomous digital techniques to provide Mission Assurance, and to demonstrate cost savings through the identification, characterization, and utilization of Responsive Space components. The culmination of this effort will be the integration of several 6U satellites and their launch in 2016.

Small Satellite Systems↗

UTM UAS Service Supplier Specification

Within the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) system, the UAS Service Supplier (USS) is a key component. The USS serves several functions. At a high level, those include the following: Bridging communication between UAS Operators and Flight Information Management System (FIMS) Supporting planning of UAS operations Assisting strategic deconfliction of the UTM airspace Providing information support to UAS Operators during operations Helping UAS Operators meet their formal requirements This document provides the minimum set of requirements for a USS. In order to be recognized as a USS within UTM, successful demonstration of satisfying the requirements described herein will be a prerequisite. To ensure various desired qualities (security, fairness, availability, efficiency, maintainability, etc.), this specification relies on references to existing public specifications whenever possible.

UTM↗

UAS Service Supplier Specification

Within the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) system, the UAS Service Supplier (USS) is a key component. The USS serves several functions. At a high level, those include the following: Bridging communication between UAS Operators and Flight Information Management System (FIMS) Supporting planning of UAS operations Assisting strategic deconfliction of the UTM airspace Providing information support to UAS Operators during operations Helping UAS Operators meet their formal requirements This document provides the minimum set of requirements for a USS. In order to be recognized as a USS within UTM, successful demonstration of satisfying the requirements described herein will be a prerequisite. To ensure various desired qualities (security, fairness, availability, efficiency, maintainability, etc.), this specification relies on references to existing public specifications whenever possible.

Rios, Joseph L.↗

Obfuscated authentication systems, devices, and methods

Embodiments of the present invention are directed toward authentication systems, devices, and methods. Obfuscated executable instructions may encode an authentication procedure and protect an authentication key. The obfuscated executable instructions may require communication with a remote certifying authority for operation. In this manner, security may be controlled by the certifying authority without regard to the security of the electronic device running the obfuscated executable instructions.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Automated Work Package: Initial Wireless Communication Platform Design, Development, and Evaluation

The Department of Energy’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program is developing the scientific basis to ensure long-term reliability, productivity, safety, and security of the nuclear power industry in the United States. The Instrumentation, Information, and Control (II&C) pathway of the program aims to increase the role of advanced II&C technologies to achieve this objective. One of the pathway efforts at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is to improve the work packages execution process by replacing the expensive, inefficient, bulky, complex, and error-prone paper-based work orders with automated work packages (AWPs). An AWP is an automated and dynamic presentation of the work package designed to guide the user through the work process. It is loaded on a mobile device, such as a tablet, and is capable of communicating with plant equipment and systems to acquire plant and procedure states. The AWP replaces those functions where a computer is more efficient and reliable than a human. To enable the automatic acquisition of plant data, it is necessary to design and develop a prototype platform for data exchange between the field instruments and the AWP mobile devices. The development of the platform aims to reveal issues and solutions generalizable to large-scale implementation of a similar system. Topics such as bandwidth, robustness, response time, interference, and security are usually associated with wireless communication. These concerns, along with other requirements, are listed in an earlier INL report. Specifically, the targeted issues and performance aspects in this work are relevant to the communication infrastructure from the perspective of promptness, robustness, expandability, and interoperability with different technologies.

Automated Work Packages↗

Spectroscopic and physicochemical measurements for on-line monitoring of used nuclear fuel separation processes

Separation processes for used nuclear fuel are often complicated and challenging due to the high constraints in purity of the products and safeguards of the process streams. In order to achieve a safe, secure and efficient separation process, the liquid streams in the separation process require close monitoring. Due to the high radiation environment, sampling of the materials is difficult. Availability of a detection technique that is remote, non-destructive and can avoid time-delay caused by retrieving samples would be beneficial and could minimize the exposure to personnel and provide material accountancy to avoid diversion (non-proliferation). For example, Ultra Violet (UV), Visible (Vis), Near-Infrared (NIR) and Raman spectroscopy that detect and quantify elements present in used nuclear fuel, e.g. lanthanides, actinides and molecules such as nitrate, can be used. In this work, we have carried out NIR and Raman spectroscopy to study aqueous solutions composed of different concentrations of nitric acid, sodium nitrate, and neodymium at varied temperatures. A chemometric model for online monitoring based on the PLS-Toolbox (MATLAB) software has been developed and validated to provide chemical composition of process streams based on spectroscopic data. In conclusion, both of our NIR and Raman spectra were useful for H{sup +} and NO{sub 3} prediction, and only NIR was helpful for the Nd{sup 3+} prediction.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

3-60B Type-B shipping cask enhanced operational features to facilitate leakage rate testing - 15585

EnergySolutions is fabricating a new 3-60B Type B Shipping Cask that will be ready for use in spring 2015, designed for shipping Type B quantities of activated and/or non-fuel-bearing reactor or accelerator components. EnergySolutions, in consult with Leak Testing Specialists, Inc., has implemented an improved design of the 3-60B cask closures to better facilitate periodic and maintenance leakage rate testing and to allow end users to more easily perform pre-shipment leakage rate testing to confirm proper assembly of the cask closures. A typical Type B cask closure lid design incorporates a double O-ring configuration, where the inner O-ring provides containment and the outer O-ring is used for leakage rate testing of the containment O-ring seal. Leakage rate testing of a double O-ring configuration is typically accomplished by filling the cask cavity with helium, pulling a vacuum on the annular space between the two O-rings and monitoring for helium leakage through the containment O-ring. One issue is the potential for helium saturation of the O-ring elastomeric material, which can result in leakage rate test failures. The cask cavity volume is typically large, and takes a significant amount of time to fill with helium. As a result, the saturation time for certain elastomeric compounds may be exceeded, leading to potential false-negative leakage rate testing results. To avoid this, that the cask cavity typically is loaded with sealed container(s) to reduce the free volume and the fill time. The improved 3-60B cask closure lid incorporates a triple O-ring seal configuration that facilitates maintenance leak rate testing of the closure lid containment O-ring seal and eliminates the issues discussed above. The triple O-ring configuration uses the middle O-ring as the containment seal, with the inner and outer test O-rings creating relatively small annular volumes for testing purposes. These small annular volumes are quick to fill, minimizing the issue of Helium saturation of the O-ring material. This seal configuration also makes it possible to detect and replace a damaged O-ring seal during loading operations, or dress a damaged sealing surface, and perform the required maintenance leakage rate testing of the replacement O-ring at the plant site without the need to unload the cask and send it to a maintenance facility. Also, a second test port has been added to each O-ring annulus to allow leakage rate testing to be accomplished using a formal system calibration that complies with the requirements and recommendations of ASME Section V, Article 10 [4], ANSI N14.5-97 [2], and ANSI N14.5-2014 [3]. This provides a simple, reliable, and accurate means to perform leakage rate testing with a test confidence level that cannot be achieved without the second test port. The improved closure and test port design simplifies and shortens the time required to perform leakage testing, resulting in reduced operating costs, greater schedule security, and dose savings for the cask users. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Secure, Scalable Control and Communications for Distributed PV

An increasing number of jurisdictions are adopting Distributed Energy Resource (DER) interconnection standards which require photovoltaic (PV) inverters, energy storage systems, and other DER to include interoperable grid-support functionality. These functions provide grid operators the nobs to support local and bulk power system operations with DER equipment, but the associated grid operator-to-DER communications networks must be deployed with appropriate cybersecurity features. In some situations, additional security features may prevent control system scalability or increase communication latencies and dropouts. These unintentional consequences of the security features would therefore hinder the ability of the grid operator to implement specific control algorithms. This project evaluated the tradeoffs between power system performance and cybersecurity metrics for several grid services.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

UNIX security in a supercomputing environment

The author critiques some security mechanisms in most versions of the Unix operating system and suggests more effective tools that either have working prototypes or have been implemented, for example in secure Unix systems. Although no computer (not even a secure one) is impenetrable, breaking into systems with these alternate mechanisms will cost more, require more skill, and be more easily detected than penetrations of systems without these mechanisms. The mechanisms described fall into four classes (with considerable overlap). User authentication at the local host affirms the identity of the person using the computer. The principle of least privilege dictates that properly authenticated users should have rights precisely sufficient to perform their tasks, and system administration functions should be compartmentalized; to this end, access control lists or capabilities should either replace or augment the default Unix protection system, and mandatory access controls implementing multilevel security models and integrity mechanisms should be available. Since most users access supercomputing environments using networks, the third class of mechanisms augments authentication (where feasible). As no security is perfect, the fourth class of mechanism logs events that may indicate possible security violations; this will allow the reconstruction of a successful penetration (if discovered), or possibly the detection of an attempted penetration.

Bishop, Matt↗