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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

Gamma discrimination in pillar structured thermal neutron detectors

Solid-state thermal neutron detectors are desired to replace {sup 3}He tube based technology for the detection of special nuclear materials. {sup 3}He tubes have some issues with stability, sensitivity to microphonics and very recently, a shortage of {sup 3}He. There are numerous solid-state approaches being investigated that utilize various architectures and material combinations. By using the combination of high-aspect-ratio silicon PIN pillars, which are 2 {micro}m wide with a 2 {micro}m separation, arranged in a square matrix, and surrounded by {sup 10}B, the neutron converter material, a high efficiency thermal neutron detector is possible. Besides intrinsic neutron detection efficiency, neutron to gamma discrimination is an important figure of merit for unambiguous signal identification. In this work, theoretical calculations and experimental measurements are conducted to determine the effect of structure design of pillar structured thermal neutron detectors including: intrinsic layer thickness, pillar height, substrate doping and incident gamma energy on neutron to gamma discrimination.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2011

The Great 2008 Chinese ice storm, its socioeconomic-ecological impact, and sustainability lessons learned

. Extreme events often expose vulnerabilities of socioeconomic infrastructures and point to directions of much-needed policy change. Integrated impact assessment of such events can lead to finding of sustainability principles. Southern and central China has for decades been undergoing a breakneck pace of socioeconomic development. In early 2008, a massive ice storm struck this region, immobilizing millions of people. The storm was a consequence of sustained convergence between tropical maritime and continental polar air masses, caused by an anomalously stable atmospheric general circulation pattern in both low and high latitudes. Successive waves of freezing rain occurred during a month period, coating southern and central China with a layer of ice 50 to 160mm in thickness. We conducted an integrated impact assessment of this event to determine whether and how the context of socioeconomic and human-disturbed natural systems may affect the transition of natural events into human disasters. We found: 1) without contingency plans, advanced technologies dependent on interrelated energy supplies can create worse problems during extreme events, 2) the weakest link in disaster response lies between science and decision making, 3) biodiversity is a form of long-term insurance for sustainable forestry against extreme events, 4) sustainable extraction of non-timber goods and services is essential to risk planning for extreme events in forest resources use, 5) extreme events can cause food shortage directly by destroying crops and indirectly by disrupting food distribution channels, 6) concentrated economic development increases societal vulnerability to extreme events, and 7) formalized institutional mechanisms are needed to ensure that unexpected opportunities to learn lessons from weather disasters are not lost in distracting circumstances.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

statemodify: a Python framework to facilitate accessible exploratory modeling for discovering drought vulnerabilities

The Colorado River Basin (CRB) is experiencing an unprecedented water shortage crisis brought upon by a combination of factors arising from interactions across the region’s coupled human and natural systems. Allocation of water to the seven states that rely on the Colorado River was settled in the Colorado River Compact of 1922 during a period now known to be characterized by atypically high flows (Christensen et al., 2004). Since then, aridification due to anthropogenic-driven warming has steadily reduced the overall water supply available in the basin, with a 10% decrease in the river’s flow occurring over just the past two decades (Bass et al., 2023). The river is further strained by increasing demands associated with a growing population and diverse multi-sectoral demands. Navigating these challenges also requires accounting for the complex prior appropriation water rights system governing water allocation across the region’s diverse users.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2010

COOLING WATER ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES AT U.S. NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

This report has been prepared for the Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE), for the purpose of providing a status report on the challenges and opportunities facing the U.S. commercial nuclear energy industry in the area of plant cooling water supply. The report was prompted in part by recent Second Circuit and Supreme Court decisions regarding cooling water system designs at existing thermo-electric power generating facilities in the U.S. (primarily fossil and nuclear plants). At issue in the courts have been Environmental Protection Agency regulations that define what constitutes “Best Technology Available” for intake structures that withdraw cooling water that is used to transfer and reject heat from the plant’s steam turbine via cooling water systems, while minimizing environmental impacts on aquatic life in nearby water bodies used to supply that cooling water. The report was also prompted by a growing recognition that cooling water availability and societal use conflicts are emerging as strategic energy and environmental issues, and that research and development (R&D) solutions to emerging water shortage issues are needed. In particular, cooling water availability is an important consideration in siting decisions for new nuclear power plants, and is an under-acknowledged issue in evaluating the pros and cons of retrofitting cooling towers at existing nuclear plants. Because of the significant ongoing research on water issues already being performed by industry, the national laboratories and other entities, this report relies heavily on ongoing work. In particular, this report has relied on collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), including its recent work in the area of EPA regulations governing intake structures in thermoelectric cooling water systems.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Durable, Low-cost, Improved Fuel Cell Membranes

The development of low cost, durable membranes and membranes electrode assemblies (MEAs) that operate under reduced relative humidity (RH) conditions remain a critical challenge for the successful introduction of fuel cells into mass markets. It was the goal of the team lead by Arkema, Inc. to address these shortages. Thus, this project addresses the following technical barriers from the fuel cells section of the Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Infrastructure Technologies Program Multi-Year Research, Development and Demonstration Plan: (A) Durability (B) Cost Arkema’s approach consisted of using blends of polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF) and proprietary sulfonated polyelectrolytes. In the traditional approach to polyelectrolytes for proton exchange membranes (PEM), all the required properties are “packaged” in one macromolecule. The properties of interest include proton conductivity, mechanical properties, durability, and water/gas transport. This is the case, for example, for perfluorosulfonic acid-containing (PFSA) membranes. However, the cost of these materials is high, largely due to the complexity and the number of steps involved in their synthesis. In addition, they suffer other shortcomings such as mediocre mechanical properties and insufficient durability for some applications. The strength and originality of Arkema’s approach lies in the decoupling of ion conductivity from the other requirements. Kynar® PVDF provides an exceptional combination of properties that make it ideally suited for a membrane matrix (Kynar® is a registered trademark of Arkema Inc.). It exhibits outstanding chemical resistance in highly oxidative and acidic environments. In work with a prior grant, a membrane known as M41 was developed by Arkema. M41 had many of the properties needed for a high performance PEM, but had a significant deficiency in conductivity at low RH. In the first phase of this work, the processing parameters of M41 were explored as a means to increase its proton conductivity. Optimizing the processing of M41 was found to increase its proton conductivity by almost an order of magnitude at 50% RH. Characterization of the membrane morphology with Karren More at Oak Ridge National Laboratory showed that the membrane morphology was complex. This technology platform was dubbed M43 and was used as a baseline in the majority of the work on the project. Although its performance was superior to M41, M43 still showed proton conductivity an order of magnitude lower than that of a PFSA membrane at 50% RH. The MEA performance of M43 could be increased by reducing the thickness from 1 to 0.6 mils. However, the performance of the thinner M43 still did not match that of a PFSA membrane.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2012

Two-Stage, Integrated, Geothermal-CO2 Storage Reservoirs: An Approach for Sustainable Energy Production, CO 2 -Sequestration Security, and Reduced Environmental Risk

We introduce a hybrid two-stage energy-recovery approach to sequester CO 2 and produce geothermal energy at low environmental risk and low cost by integrating geothermal production with CO 2 capture and sequestration (CCS) in saline, sedimentary formations. Our approach combines the benefits of the approach proposed by Buscheck et al. (2011b), which uses brine as the working fluid, with those of the approach first suggested by Brown (2000) and analyzed by Pruess (2006), using CO 2 as the working fluid, and then extended to saline-formation CCS by Randolph and Saar (2011a). During stage one of our hybrid approach, formation brine, which is extracted to provide pressure relief for CO 2 injection, is the working fluid for energy recovery. Produced brine is applied to a consumptive beneficial use: feedstock for fresh water production through desalination, saline cooling water, or make-up water to be injected into a neighboring reservoir operation, such as in Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), where there is often a shortage of a working fluid. For stage one, it is important to find economically feasible disposition options to reduce the volume of brine requiring reinjection in the integrated geothermal-CCS reservoir (Buscheck et al. 2012a). During stage two, which begins as CO 2 reaches the production wells; coproduced brine and CO 2 are the working fluids. We present preliminary reservoir engineering analyses of this approach, using a simple conceptual model of a homogeneous, permeable CO 2 storage formation/geothermal reservoir, bounded by relatively impermeable sealing units. We assess both the CO 2 sequestration capacity and geothermal energy production potential as a function of well spacing between CO 2 injectors and brine/CO 2 producers for various well patterns and for a range of subsurface conditions.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2012

Energy Efficiency Strategies for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Facilities

Water and wastewater systems are significant energy consumers with an estimated 3%-4% of total U.S. electricity consumption used for the movement and treatment of water and wastewater. Water-energy issues are of growing importance in the context of water shortages, higher energy and material costs, and a changing climate. In this economic environment, it is in the best interest for utilities tofind efficiencies, both in water and energy use. Performing energy audits at water and wastewater treatment facilities is one way community energy managers can identify opportunities to save money, energy, and water. In this paper the importance of energy use in wastewater facilities is illustrated by a case study of a process energy audit performed for Crested Butte, Colorado's wastewater treatment plant. The energy audit identified opportunities for significant energy savings by looking at power intensive unit processes such as influent pumping, aeration, ultraviolet disinfection, and solids handling. This case study presents best practices that can be readily adopted by facility managers in their pursuit of energy and financial savings in water and wastewater treatment. This paper is intended to improve community energy managers' understanding of the role that the water and wastewater sector plays in a community's total energy consumption. The energy efficiency strategies described provide information on energy savings opportunities, which can be used as a basis for discussing energy management goals with water and wastewater treatment facility managers.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2012

Long-Term Instrumentation, Information, and Control Systems (II&C) Modernization Future Vision and Strategy (Revision 1)

Life extension beyond 60 years for the U.S operating nuclear fleet requires that instrumentation and control (I&C) systems be upgraded to address aging and reliability concerns. It is impractical for the legacy systems based on 1970's vintage technology operate over this extended time period. Indeed, utilities have successfully engaged in such replacements when dictated by these operational concerns. However, the replacements have been approached in a like-for-like manner, meaning that they do not take advantage of the inherent capabilities of digital technology to improve business functions. And so, the improvement in I&C system performance has not translated to bottom-line performance improvement for the fleet. Therefore, wide-scale modernization of the legacy I&C systems could prove to be cost-prohibitive unless the technology is implemented in a manner to enable significant business innovation as a means of off-setting the cost of upgrades. A Future Vision of a transformed nuclear plant operating model based on an integrated digital environment has been developed as part of the Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control (II&C) research pathway, under the Light Water Reactor (LWR) Sustainability Program. This is a research and development program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), performed in close collaboration with the nuclear utility industry, to provide the technical foundations for licensing and managing the long-term, safe and economical operation of current nuclear power plants. DOE's program focus is on longer-term and higher-risk/reward research that contributes to the national policy objectives of energy security and environmental security. The Advanced II&C research pathway is being conducted by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The Future Vision is based on a digital architecture that encompasses all aspects of plant operations and support, integrating plant systems, plant work processes, and plant workers in a seamless digital environment to enhance nuclear safety, increase productivity, and improve overall plant performance. The long-term goal is to transform the operating model of the nuclear power plants (NPP)s from one that is highly reliant on a large staff performing mostly manual activities to an operating model based on highly integrated technology with a smaller staff. This digital transformation is critical to addressing an array of issues facing the plants, including aging of legacy analog systems, potential shortage of technical workers, ever-increasing expectations for nuclear safety improvement, and relentless pressure to reduce cost. The Future Vision is based on research is being conducted in the following major areas of plant function: (1) Highly integrated control rooms; (2) Highly automated plant; (3) Integrated operations; (4) Human performance improvement for field workers; and (5) Outage safety and efficiency. Pilot projects will be conducted in each of these areas as the means for industry to collectively integrate these new technologies into nuclear plant work activities. The pilot projects introduce new digital technologies into the nuclear plant operating environment at host operating plants to demonstrate and validate them for production usage. In turn, the pilot project technologies serve as the stepping stones to the eventual seamless digital environment as described in the Future Vision.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2012

FY12 Quarter 3 Computing Utilization Report – LANL

DSW continues to dominate the capacity workload, with a focus in Q3 on common model baselining runs in preparation for the Annual Assessment Review (AAR) of the weapon systems. There remains unmet demand for higher fidelity simulations, and for increased throughput of simulations. Common model baselining activities would benefit from doubling the resolution of the models and running twice as many simulations. Capacity systems were also utilized during the quarter to prepare for upcoming Level 2 milestones. Other notable DSW activities include validation of new physics models and safety studies. The safety team used the capacity resources extensively for projects involving 3D computer simulations for the Furrow series of experiments at DARHT (a Level 2 milestone), fragment impact, surety theme, PANTEX assessments, and the 120-day study. With the more than tripling of classified capacity computing resources with the addition of the Luna system and the safety team's imminent access to the Cielo system, demand has been met for current needs. The safety team has performed successful scaling studies on Luna up to 16K PE size-jobs with linear scaling, running the large 3D simulations required for the analysis of Furrow. They will be investigating scaling studies on the Cielo system with the Lustre file system in Q4. Overall average capacity utilization was impacted by negative effects of the LANL Voluntary Separation Program (VSP) at the beginning of Q3, in which programmatic staffing was reduced by 6%, with further losses due to management backfills and attrition, resulting in about 10% fewer users. All classified systems were impacted in April by a planned 2 day red network outage. ASC capacity workload continues to focus on code development, regression testing, and verification and validation (V&V) studies. Significant capacity cycles were used in preparation for a JOWOG in May and several upcoming L2 milestones due in Q4. A network transition has been underway on the unclassified networks to increase access of all ASC users to the unclassified systems through the Yellow Turquoise Integration (YeTI) project. This will help to alleviate the longstanding shortage of resources for ASC unclassified code development and regression testing, and also make a broader palette of machines available to unclassified ASC users, including PSAAP Alliance users. The Moonlight system will be the first capacity resource to be made available through the YETI project, and will make available a significant increase in cycles, as well as GPGPU accelerator technology. The Turing and Lobo machines will be decommissioned in the next quarter. ASC projects running on Cielo as part of the CCC-3 include turbulence, hydrodynamics, burn, asteroids, polycrystals, capability and runtime performance improvements, and materials including carbon and silicone.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2010

Wind for Schools Project Curriculum Brief (Fact Sheet)

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) 20% Wind Energy by 2030 report recommends expanding education to ensure a trained workforce to meet the projected growth of the wind industry and deployment. Although a few U.S. higher education institutions offer wind technology education programs, most are found in community and technical colleges, resulting in a shortage of programs preparing highly skilled graduates for wind industry careers. Further, the United States lags behind Europe (which has more graduate programs in wind technology design and manufacturing) and is in danger of relinquishing the economic benefits of domestic production of wind turbines and related components and services to European countries. DOE's Wind Powering America initiative launched the Wind for Schools project to develop a wind energy knowledge base among future leaders of our communities, states, and nation while raising awareness about wind energy's benefits. This fact sheet provides an overview of wind energy curricula as it relates to the Wind for Schools project.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2010

Water vulnerabilities for existing coal-fired power plants.

This report was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) Existing Plants Research Program, which has an energy-water research effort that focuses on water use at power plants. This study complements the Existing Plants Research Program's overall research effort by evaluating water issues that could impact power plants. Water consumption by all users in the United States over the 2005-2030 time period is projected to increase by about 7% (from about 108 billion gallons per day [bgd] to about 115 bgd) (Elcock 2010). By contrast, water consumption by coal-fired power plants over this period is projected to increase by about 21% (from about 2.4 to about 2.9 bgd) (NETL 2009b). The high projected demand for water by power plants, which is expected to increase even further as carbon-capture equipment is installed, combined with decreasing freshwater supplies in many areas, suggests that certain coal-fired plants may be particularly vulnerable to potential water demand-supply conflicts. If not addressed, these conflicts could limit power generation and lead to power disruptions or increased consumer costs. The identification of existing coal-fired plants that are vulnerable to water demand and supply concerns, along with an analysis of information about their cooling systems and related characteristics, provides information to help focus future research and development (R&D) efforts to help ensure that coal-fired generation demands are met in a cost-effective manner that supports sustainable water use. This study identified coal-fired power plants that are considered vulnerable to water demand and supply issues by using a geographical information system (GIS) that facilitated the analysis of plant-specific data for more than 500 plants in the NETL's Coal Power Plant Database (CPPDB) (NETL 2007a) simultaneously with 18 indicators of water demand and supply. Two types of demand indicators were evaluated. The first type consisted of geographical areas where specific conditions can generate demand vulnerabilities. These conditions include high projected future water consumption by thermoelectric power plants, high projected future water consumption by all users, high rates of water withdrawal per square mile (mi{sup 2}), high projected population increases, and areas projected to be in a water crisis or conflict by 2025. The second type of demand indicator was plant specific. These indicators were developed for each plant and include annual water consumption and withdrawal rates and intensities, net annual power generation, and carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) emissions. The supply indictors, which are also area based, include areas with low precipitation, high temperatures, low streamflow, and drought. The indicator data, which were in various formats (e.g., maps, tables, raw numbers) were converted to a GIS format and stored, along with the individual plant data from the CPPDB, in a single GIS database. The GIS database allowed the indicator data and plant data to be analyzed and visualized in any combination. To determine the extent to which a plant would be considered 'vulnerable' to a given demand or supply concern (i.e., that the plant's operations could be affected by water shortages represented by a potential demand or supply indicator), criteria were developed to categorize vulnerability according to one of three types: major, moderate, or not vulnerable. Plants with at least two major demand indicator values and/or at least four moderate demand indicator values were considered vulnerable to demand concerns. By using this approach, 144 plants were identified as being subject to demand concerns only. Plants with at least one major supply indicator value and/or at least two moderate supply indicator values were considered vulnerable to supply concerns. By using this approach, 64 plants were identified as being subject to supply concerns only. In addition, 139 plants were identified as subject to both demand and supply concerns. Therefore, a total of 347 plants were considered subject to demand concerns, supply concerns, or both demand and supply concerns.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2024

Impacts of Water-Related Building Moratoria on California’s Housing Crisis

California is facing a housing affordability crisis, which has been partially blamed on building moratoria enacted to address the state’s severe water shortages. This study uses data on the enactment of moratoria in California from 2010 to 2018 to examine their impact on new housing supply and prices. We find that the short-term impact of the moratoria on housing supply is small, but the effect grows over time and becomes more significant in later years, especially for locally mandated moratoria. We do not, however, find that these supply shocks have had an impact on housing prices.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
NASA NTRS2016

Reserves and Trade Jointly Determine Exposure to Food Supply Shocks

While a growing proportion of global food consumption is obtained through international trade, there is an ongoing debate on whether this increased reliance on trade benefits or hinders food security, and specifically, the ability of global food systems to absorb shocks due to local or regional losses of production. This paper introduces a model that simulates the short-term response to a food supply shock originating in a single country, which is partly absorbed through decreases in domestic reserves and consumption, and partly transmitted through the adjustment of trade flows. By applying the model to publicly-available data for the cereals commodity group over a 17 year period, we find that differential outcomes of supply shocks simulated through this time period are driven not only by the intensification of trade, but as importantly by changes in the distribution of reserves. Our analysis also identifies countries where trade dependency may accentuate the risk of food shortages from foreign production shocks; such risk could be reduced by increasing domestic reserves or importing food from a diversity of suppliers that possess their own reserves. This simulation-based model provides a framework to study the short-term, nonlinear and out-of-equilibrium response of trade networks to supply shocks, and could be applied to specific scenarios of environmental or economic perturbations.

supply↗
NASA NTRS2022

Global Food Insecurity and Famine From Reduced Crop, Marine Fishery and Livestock Production Due to Climate Disruption From Nuclear War Soot Injection

Atmospheric soot loadings from nuclear weapon detonation would cause disruptions to the Earth’s climate, limiting terrestrial and aquatic food production. Here, we use climate, crop and fishery models to estimate the impacts arising from six scenarios of stratospheric soot injection, predicting the total food calories available in each nation post-war after stored food is consumed. In quantifying impacts away from target areas, we demonstrate that soot injections larger than 5 Tg would lead to mass food shortages, and livestock and aquatic food production would be unable to compensate for reduced crop output, in almost all countries. Adaptation measures such as food waste reduction would have limited impact on increasing available calories. We estimate more than 2 billion people could die from nuclear war between India and Pakistan, and more than 5 billion could die from a war between the United States and Russia—underlining the importance of global cooperation in preventing nuclear war.

Atmospheric soot↗
DOE OSTI2010

Accelerator Production Options for 99MO

Shortages of {sup 99}Mo, the most commonly used diagnostic medical isotope, have caused great concern and have prompted numerous suggestions for alternate production methods. A wide variety of accelerator-based approaches have been suggested. In this paper we survey and compare the various accelerator-based approaches.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Community Assessment Tool for Public Health Emergencies Including Pandemic Influenza

The Community Assessment Tool (CAT) for Public Health Emergencies Including Pandemic Influenza (hereafter referred to as the CAT) was developed as a result of feedback received from several communities. These communities participated in workshops focused on influenza pandemic planning and response. The 2008 through 2011 workshops were sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Feedback during those workshops indicated the need for a tool that a community can use to assess its readiness for a disaster - readiness from a total healthcare perspective, not just hospitals, but the whole healthcare system. The CAT intends to do just that - help strengthen existing preparedness plans by allowing the healthcare system and other agencies to work together during an influenza pandemic. It helps reveal each core agency partners (sectors) capabilities and resources, and highlights cases of the same vendors being used for resource supplies (e.g., personal protective equipment [PPE] and oxygen) by the partners (e.g., public health departments, clinics, or hospitals). The CAT also addresses gaps in the community's capabilities or potential shortages in resources. This tool has been reviewed by a variety of key subject matter experts from federal, state, and local agencies and organizations. It also has been piloted with various communities that consist of different population sizes, to include large urban to small rural communities.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2010

An input-output procedure for calculating economy-wide economic impacts in supply chains using homeland security consequence analysis tools.

Sandia National Laboratories has developed several models to analyze potential consequences of homeland security incidents. Two of these models (the National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center Agent-Based Laboratory for Economics, N-ABLE{trademark}, and Loki) simulate detailed facility- and product-level consequences of simulated disruptions to supply chains. Disruptions in supply chains are likely to reduce production of some commodities, which may reduce economic activity across many other types of supply chains throughout the national economy. The detailed nature of Sandia's models means that simulations are limited to specific supply chains in which detailed facility-level data has been collected, but policymakers are often concerned with the national-level economic impacts of supply-chain disruptions. A preliminary input-output methodology has been developed to estimate national-level economic impacts based upon the results of supply-chain-level simulations. This methodology overcomes two primary challenges. First, the methodology must be relatively simple to integrate successfully with existing models; it must be easily understood, easily applied to the supply-chain models without user intervention, and run quickly. The second challenge is more fundamental: the methodology must account for both upstream and downstream impacts that result from supply-chain disruptions. Input-output modeling typically estimates only upstream impacts, but shortages resulting from disruptions in many supply chains (for example, energy, communications, and chemicals) are likely to have large downstream impacts. In overcoming these challenges, the input-output methodology makes strong assumptions about technology and substitution. This paper concludes by applying the methodology to chemical supply chains.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Education in Safeguards and Security Technology Meeting Challenges with Technology and Experience

Education and hands-on experience are crucial to ensuring a workforce of safeguards and security professionals who can meet the challenges currently faced in global nuclear safeguards and security. Global demand for nuclear energy and technology, the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), and the cleanup of Cold War facilities have resulted in an increased need for trained safeguards and security personnel. At the same time, the global community is facing a growing shortage of experienced workers with hands-on knowledge of nuclear material processing. Limited access to operating facilities has dramatically reduced the opportunities for next-generation practitioners to obtain hands-on training experience. To address these needs, the Safeguards Technology Integration Center (STIC) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory was created as a Department of Energy User Facility to provide access both to the latest technology and to field-experienced professionals. The STIC provides real-world conditions, process equipment mock-ups, and controlled access to encapsulated radioactive materials (including highly enriched uranium and plutonium) for training and technology evaluation encompassing various techniques and skills, such as Radiation Inspection Systems, Containment and Surveillance Systems, Nondestructive Assay, Security System Performance Testing, and System Design and Analysis. The STIC facilities, laboratories, test beds, and training facilities are described along with the more notable aspects of the training program, which has included more than 1000 participants in the last four years.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗