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At least 991 records · Page 55
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants - Radionuclide Emissions Calendar Year 2012

The U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office (NNSA/NFO) operates the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) and North Las Vegas Facility (NLVF). From 1951 through 1992, the NNSS was the continental testing location for U.S. nuclear weapons. The release of radionuclides from NNSS activities has been monitored since the initiation of atmospheric testing. Limitation to underground detonations after 1962 greatly reduced radiation exposure to the public surrounding the NNSS. After nuclear testing ended in 1992, NNSS radiation monitoring focused on detecting airborne radionuclides from historically contaminated soils. These radionuclides are derived from re-suspension of soil (primarily by wind) and emission of tritium-contaminated soil moisture through evapotranspiration. Low amounts of legacy-related tritium are also emitted to air at the NLVF, an NNSS support complex in North Las Vegas.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2015

2012 Update to the Site Discharge Pollution Prevention Plan (Rev. 1): Los Alamos/Pueblo Watershed (Vol. 1)

One historical industrial activity area is associated with R001, R-SMA-0.5: Site C-00-020. Area of Concern (AOC) C-00-020 is a suspected mortar impact area located along the north valley wall of Rendija Canyon on General Services Administration (GSA) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) land. The 30-acre site also includes a tributary of Rendija Canyon. Most of the site lies within the Santa Fe National Forest, except for a small area on the southeastern edge that is private property. AOC C-00-020 was suspected to be a former mortar-impact area because of a “U.S. Property—No Trespassing” sign and a nearly illegible bilingual sign posted in the area. The signs no longer remain. Extensive archival searches have revealed no documentation regarding the use of this site as a munitions impact area. In addition, no field evidence of operations (e.g., munitions debris [MD], munitions and explosives of concern [MEC], unexploded ordnance [UXO], or impact scars) has ever been found at AOC C-00-020. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) facility investigation (RFI) activities conducted in 1993 included conducting an ordnance sweep followed by a geophysical sweep. No ordnance, MD, MEC, or UXO was located. In addition, no ordnance was found during the 2007 investigation or during the 2009 ordnance survey. The site is located within an area burned by the 2000 Cerro Grande fire. The stream channel that runs through the center of the site has been widened by flooding. Currently, there are burned and live trees on the steep slopes next to the stream. Ordnance surveys at the site resulted in no findings except for scrap metal such as bailing wire. The complete absence of ordnance and explosives waste (OEW) confirmed that the site was never used as an ordnance-impact area. In accordance with the approved investigation work plan, no further investigation was conducted at AOC C-00-020. The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) concurred with the conclusion that no additional ordnance surveys need to be conducted at this site and issued a corrective action complete without controls for AOC C-00-020 on May 16, 2012. No industrial materials were historically managed at this Site; therefore, no potential contaminants are associated with the Site.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Nominations for the 2017 NNSA Pollution Prevention Awards

In the field of nuclear forensics, one of the biggest challenges is to dissolve postdetonation debris for analysis. Debris generated after a nuclear detonation is a glassy material that is difficult to dissolve with chemicals. Traditionally, concentrated nitric acid, hydrofluoric acid, or sulfuric acid are employed during the dissolution. These acids, due to their corrosive nature, are not suitable for in-field/on-site sample preparations. Uranium oxides are commonly present in nuclear fuel processing plants and nuclear research facilities. In uranium oxides, the level of uranium isotope enrichment is a sensitive indicator for nuclear nonproliferation and is monitored closely by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ensure there is no misuse of nuclear material or technology for nuclear weapons. During an IAEA on-site inspection at a facility, environmental surface swipe samples are collected and transported to the IAEA headquarters or network of analytical laboratories for further processing. Uranium oxide particles collected on the swipe medium are typically dissolved with inorganic acids and are then analyzed for uranium isotopic compositions. To improve the responsiveness of on-site inspections, in-field detection techniques have been recently explored. However, in-field analysis is bottlenecked by time-consuming and hazardous dissolution procedures, as corrosive inorganic acids must be used. Corrosive chemicals are difficult to use in the field due to personnel safety considerations, and the transportation of such chemicals is highly regulated. It was therefore necessary to develop fast uranium oxide dissolution methods using less hazardous chemicals in support of the rapid infield detection of anomalies in declared nuclear processes.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

MSGP Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan for: TA-60-02 Salvage/Warehouse, Triad National Security, LLC (Triad), Los Alamos National Laboratory, January 2019, Revision 0

This SWPPP applies to discharges of stormwater from the operational areas of the TA-60-02 Salvage/Warehouse at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Los Alamos National Laboratory (also referred to as LANL or the “Laboratory”) is owned by the Department of Energy (DOE), and is operated by Triad. Throughout this document, the term “facility” refers to the TA-60-02 Salvage/Warehouse. The current MSGP expires at midnight on June 4, 2020.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2019

Remediation of recalcitrant and emerging organic pollutants using bacteria and their extracted enzymes (CRADA FP00007386)

Researchers at the LBNL Advanced Biofuels Process Development Unit (ABPDU) engaged in a collaborative research agreement with Allied Microbiota, to demonstrate improved cultivation of thermophilic organisms known to secrete thermally stable enzymes suitable for bioremediation applications. During the course of the project, ABPDU researchers demonstrated a fed batch bioreactor cultivation method that improved process intensity and process consistency, helping to reduce the production cost of these promising enzymes.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Agricultural impacts on nitrogen cycling: climate and air pollution

Ratios of key soil nitrogen fluxes from two terrestrial ecosystem models (TEMs) are compared to observational values in the literature. The fluxes included nitrification, denitrification, mineralization, immobilization and plant uptake, with the latter two fluxes partitioned into NH 4 + and NO 3 -. The two TEMs, ELMv1-ECA and CLM5.0, originated from a common model but have diverged in their handling of plant/microbe competition for soil mineral N. Both models predict unrealistically low assimilation (i.e, immobilization) of NO 3 - by soil bacteria compared to literature values and unrealistic dominance of plant uptake by a single form of mineral nitrogen (NO 3 - for ELM, NH 4 + for CLM5.0). Global ratios of net mineralization (i.e., gross mineralization – gross immobilization) appear unrealistically high in both models compared to literature values while rates of nitrification/gross mineralization appear unrealistically high (ELM) and low (CLM5.0). The ratio of denitrification/nitrification is likely high in both models (3:1 ELM; 2:1 CLM5.0), but few experimental data exist to evaluate these ratios, in part because nitrification and denitrification are quantified with different techniques and generally are not measured simultaneously. The same is true of plant N uptake and microbial N assimilation. Single grid point experiments with CLM5.0 at the Hubbard Brook long-term ecological research site in New Hampshire indicate that the parameterization of nitrification is a potentially important focus area that can bring soil nitrogen flux ratios into better agreement with observations. The current flux ratios raise questions about the credibility of present and future simulations of mineral N limitation on the carbon cycle.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Nevada National Security Site E-Tunnel Wastewater Disposal System Quarterly Monitoring Report, Water Pollution Control Permit NEV 96021 (First Quarter Calendar Year 2020)

This report includes the results of monthly inspections and monitoring for January, February, and March 2020. Monthly inspections and monitoring were conducted on January 15, February 12, and March 17, 2020. Inspections include a visual assessment of the berms, ponding, water levels relative to the overflow pipes, tunneling or burrowing into the berms, soil conditions on and around the berms, erosion or sloughing of the slopes of the berms, seeps at the toe of the berms, deep-rooting botanicals on the berms, and fencing. Monthly monitoring includes measurements of the instantaneous flow rate, hydrogen ion activity (pH), and specific conductance of the E-Tunnel Wastewater Disposal System discharge.

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DOE OSTI2021

Agricultural Impacts on Nitrogen Cycling: Climate and Air Pollution (Final Technical Report)

We have successfully added a parameterization of ammonia emissions from synthetic fertilizer and manure from agriculture to Earth System Models. We have evaluated how emissions change in the future and the processes driving these changes. We have examined the impact of agricultural ammonia emissions on present-day air quality and have evaluated the impact of resolving the emissions with high temporal resolution. We have also examined the impact of how Earth System Models treat the cycling of emissions in soils. Our code, the Flows of Agricultural Nitrogen – version 2 – model (FANv2) has been run in both the CLM framework and the ELM framework. To my knowledge the code has not yet been fully implemented into ELM. Volatilization of ammonia (NH3) from fertilizers and livestock wastes forms a significant pathway of nitrogen losses in agricultural ecosystems and constitutes the largest source of atmospheric emissions of NH3. We have provided a major update to the process model FAN (Flow of Agricultural Nitrogen), which evaluates NH3 emissions interactively within an Earth system model; in this work, the Community Earth System Model (CESM) is used. The updated version (FANv2) includes a more detailed treatment of both physical and agricultural processes, which allows the model to differentiate between the volatilization losses from animal housings, manure storage, grazed pastures, and the application of manure and different types of mineral fertilizers. The modeled ammonia emissions are first evaluated at a local scale against experimental data for various types of fertilizers and manure, and they are subsequently run globally to evaluate NH3 emissions for 2010–2015 based on gridded datasets of fertilizer use and livestock populations. Comparison of regional emissions shows that FANv2 agrees with previous inventories for North America and Europe and is within the range of previous inventories for China. However, due to higher NH3 emissions in Africa, India, and Latin America, the global emissions simulated by FANv2(48 Tg N) are 30 %–40 % higher than in the existing inventories.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants – Radionuclide Emissions (CY 2019)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office (NNSA/NFO) operates the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) and the North Las Vegas Facility (NLVF). From 1951 through 1992, the NNSS was the continental testing location for U.S. nuclear weapons. The release of radionuclides from NNSS activities has been monitored since the initiation of atmospheric testing. After 1962, testing was limited to underground detonations, which greatly reduced radiation exposure to the public. Since the end of nuclear testing in 1992, radiation monitoring has focused on detecting airborne radionuclides from historically contaminated soils because this source dominates the potential offsite dose. These radionuclides are derived from re-suspension of soil (primarily by wind) and emission of tritium-contaminated soil moisture through evapotranspiration. Low amounts of legacy-related tritium are also emitted to air at the NLVF, an NNSS support complex in North Las Vegas.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Management, Efficiency and Treatment of Silica, Chlorides, and other Pollutants (METSiCloPs) of Cooling Tower Water [Slides]

Site-wide water balance suggests that CTs across eight LANL facilities use about 58% of the total potable water bought from LAC (271 MGY). It is vital to make a conscious and calculated effort to reduce the dependence on external water supplies, and potable water.We need to strive to increase CoCs at CTs and improve water efficiency to reduce water consumption.

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