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Enhancing the throughput of the laboratory will minimize the immediate impacts seen with a reduction in force and will help the laboratory and greater industrial complex achieve its mission
An SF 6 tracer release was performed in the LSL-II ventilation stack over the weekend of March 5, 2016. The primary purpose of this study was to experimentally determine the gaseous concentration of material from a fume hood to the fan outlet, as well as at typical worker locations, to gain an understanding of potential worker exposures impacts. Five different fan operating configurations were utilized to ensure that the full spectrum of historical operating configurations was addressed. Some summary points from this study include: •Relatively high concentrations were observed within the stack area. –Between 50 and 100% of the exhaust concentration may be observed within the stack. •Background concentrations were observed outside the stack area. –Workers outside the stack itself, but on the roof, are unlikely to be impacted by the exhaust. •Elevated concentrations on the order of 25% of the exhaust concentrations were observed within the Penthouse. •Transport time from a laboratory fume hood to the exhaust fan is within one to two minutes. •Penthouse concentrations climb from background levels to steady state over 15+ minutes. •Wind speed and wind direction did not play a significant role in the test outcomes. –A slight bias in the concentration distribution may be discernable based on wind speed and direction. •When both fans are operating, material from fume hoods on the east side preferentially flow through the east fan, while material from fume hoods on the west side preferentially flow through the west fan. This effectively doubles the concentration at that fan. This mixing study will inform other study components to develop a more complete picture of the worker potential exposure from LSL-II Rooftop activities. Estimating the mean concentration in the stack from chemical inventories and fume hood emissions for both current and historical laboratory activities is a separate effort. These estimates of mean ventilation concentrations will utilize this mixing study to estimate the potential exposure to workers working in and around the LSL-II stack.
The Ohio State University (OSU) was awarded a contract on October 1, 2014, from the Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE-NETL) to develop the Utica Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory (USEEL) in the Utica-Point Pleasant shale play of the Appalachian Basin. It was designed to be an environmental and technology development lab that would enable the academic, industry, government, and non-governmental organization (NGO) research communities to better understand unconventional oil and gas (UOG) engineering practices and technology to increase production and safety, and decrease environmental effects. Political and economic consequences necessitated changes in project site location and design, from the Ohio State Eastern Agricultural Research Station (EARS) and the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) in east-central Ohio to a site located at an Energy Corporation of America (ECA) Marcellus drill pad in Greene County, Pennsylvania. Although the overall project progressed little beyond planning and administration before termination on September 18, 2017, significant research and MS or PhD investigations were completed or continue today. An experimental study design for site specific and regional baseline assessments was developed utilizing ecoregions, United States Geological Survey (USGS) Hydraulic Unit Code watersheds, and GIS technology and databases. This can be utilized to build a defensible and scalable management and research framework for UOG investigations that can be extrapolated for predictive and comparative analyses. The most commonly mentioned perceived risks of shale energy development identified in a socioeconomic analysis included impacts to the environment and water resources, traffic and road deterioration, and crime. Economic benefits, such as the windfall wealth to residents, job opportunities, and the demand for hotels and restaurants emerged, as the main positive impact to the community. Preliminary results of an analysis of the location and mechanisms for extremely high pore pressures of the deep Utica-Point Pleasant formations of southwestern Pennsylvania and their possible relationship to high initial production rates indicate that the overpressure is caused by a combination disequilibrium compaction and fluid expansion. Drilling fluids research designed a proof-of-concept device to evaluate desalination and solvent separation in hydraulic fracturing flowback water that could facilitate water recycling and potentially mitigate deep-well injection. A groundwater study was devised to characterize the subsurface aquifers in terms of the geological framework and groundwater chemistry, including the chemistry of dissolved gases and salts. Brines and gases associated with hydrocarbon migration in groundwater (including noble gases and hydrocarbons) were to be specifically fingerprinted for use as tracers of fluid migration. Trace element analysis of fish otoliths, using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), is being utilized to assess surface water quality. This methodology will be used to reconstruct the exposure histories of fish from watersheds and discriminate between the signatures associated with hydraulic fracturing and coal mining activities.
The Los Alamos Classification Office (within the SAFE-IP group) prepared this handbook as a resource for the Laboratory’s derivative classifiers (DCs). It contains information about United States Government (USG) classification policy, principles, and authorities as they relate to the LANL Classification Program in general, and to the LANL DC program specifically. At a working level, DCs review Laboratory documents and material that are subject to classification review requirements, while the Classification Office provides the training and resources for DCs to perform that vital function.
Each year, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is required to provide a program description and overview of its Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program (LDRD) to the Department of Energy in accordance with DOE Order 413.2B, and this report fulfills that requirement. DOE Order 413.2C was issued in October, 2016.
Each year, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is required to provide a program description and overview of its Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program (LDRD) to the Department of Energy in accordance with DOE Order 413.2C, and this report fulfills that requirement.
This report summarizes recent welding activities on irradiated alloys in the advanced welding facility at the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the development of post-weld characterization capabilities and procedures that will be critical for assessing the ability of the advanced welding processes housed within the facility to make successful repairs on irradiated alloys. This facility and its capabilities were developed jointly by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program and the Electric Power Research Institute, Long Term Operations Program (and the Welding and Repair Technology Center), with additional support from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The significant, on-going effort to weld irradiated alloys with high Helium concentrations and comprehensively analyze the results will eventually yield validated repair techniques and guidelines for use by the nuclear industry in extending the operational lifetimes of nuclear power plants.
The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL or the Laboratory) generates radioactive waste as a result of various activities. Operational or institutional waste is generated from a wide variety of research and development activities including nuclear weapons development, energy production, and medical research. Environmental restoration (ER), and decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) waste is generated as contaminated sites and facilities at LANL undergo cleanup or remediation. The majority of this waste is low-level radioactive waste (LLW) and is disposed of at the Technical Area 54 (TA -54), Area G disposal facility.
Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico, is a government-owned/contractor-operated facility. Sandia Corporation (Sandia), a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, manages and operates the Laboratories for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The DOE/NNSA Sandia Field Office administers the contract and oversees contractor operations at the site. This Annual Site Environmental Report (ASER) summarizes data and the compliance status of Sandia's sustainability, environmental protection, and monitoring programs during calendar year 2015. Major environmental programs include air quality, water quality, groundwater protection, terrestrial surveillance, waste management, pollution prevention, environmental restoration, oil and chemical spill prevention, and implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act.
Over the last decade, blockchain technology has experienced unprecedented growth from its humble beginnings as the decentralized currency Bitcoin in 2009 to a $500 billion industry today with applications including decentralized cloud computing, peer-to-peer lending, governance, social media, cybersecurity and the development of decentralized, trustless smart contracts and applications. Although it has not yet reached maturity, the blockchain technology industry (sometimes hailed as the “Web 3.0”) is experiencing exponential growth and adoption: new projects and partnerships are announced almost daily, and top research institutions are beginning to develop novel initiatives in this space. In this white paper, I will outline a vision for the future of blockchain technology at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Specifically, I will (1) introduce the fundamental concepts of blockchain technology and provide a survey of the current state-of-the-art, (2) identify the wide-ranging applications that blockchain technology can have across groups, divisions, and directorates at ORNL, (3) summarize the newly initiated programs in blockchain technology at ORNL’s core partnership universities that may lead to future collaboration opportunities, (4) suggest critical ways that blockchain technology can advance ORNL’s strategic objectives for excellence in science and technology, laboratory operations, and community engagement, and (5) outline the most likely funding strategies to support new blockchain initiatives and partnerships at the Lab. Finally, I will propose a vision for the future of a Blockchain Institute at ORNL.
INL Archives and Special Collections Assessment of Large-Scale Artifacts Associated with Idaho National Laboratory’s Nuclear Reactor Testing Historic Context PREPARED BY: Christina Olson Idaho National Laboratory Cultural Resource Management Office FOR: Idaho State Archives Idaho State Historical Museum
The Contraves Tower (Building 22-00) was built in 1960 as part of the initial expansion after the initial building at Tonopah Test Range (TTR). Located just west of the main road well to the south of the main Control Point (Area 3) at TTR, the tower was designed to hold a Contraves phototheodolite used in tracking and recording test units dropped from aircraft at the range. The tower was in steady use for the first decade of its existence, after which it was largely replaced by mobile Contraves units that could be placed at the stations as needed for particular tests. The Contraves Tower (Building 22-00) is a contributing element to the Sandia National Laboratories Tonopah Test Range Historic District. Building 22-00 supported TTR's role as an outdoor laboratory and was built in 1960 as part of the range's initial expansion to support increasing test demands. The building provided and represents a key tracking and data capture facility at TTR during its period of significance. The period of significance for the historic district is 1956-1989; 22-00 is a contributing element for 1960-1970.
This 2016 Idaho National Laboratory Water Use Report and Comprehensive Well Inventory (Revision 25) provides water use information for production and potable water wells at the Idaho National Laboratory Site for Calendar Year 2016. It also provides detailed information for new, modified, and decommissioned wells. Four new wells were drilled and completed in Calendar Year 2016. Five storm water injection wells were decommissioned in Calendar Year 2016. Detailed construction and decommissioning information and location maps for the wells are provided. This report is being submitted in accordance with the Water Rights Agreement between the State of Idaho and the United States, for the United States Department of Energy (dated 1990), the subsequent Partial Decree for Water Right 34-10901 issued June 20, 2003, and the Final Unified Decree issued August 26, 2014.
Paul P. Whalen is truly an extraordinary weapon scientist, having pioneered an unprecedented breadth of significant weapon physics advancements during his sixty years at the Laboratory, and he is renowned within the nuclear weapons community for his expertise in these areas. As described herein in some detail, the disciplined approach that Paul brought to nuclear weapons research pervades the culture of the Los Alamos nuclear weapons community today. It is a major factor in enabling the Laboratory to be viewed as a trusted source of nuclear weapon knowledge, design and expertise.
Smart Labs are: 1) Laboratories that operate at the highest level of safety and energy performance; 2) Laboratories that use a building-specific data stream to continuously monitor and adjust facility conditions.
The computed tomography (CT) facilities and the Multi-Sensor Core Logger (MSCL) at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Morgantown, West Virginia were used to characterize middle Devonian black shale from the Marcellus Shale Energy and Environmental Laboratory (MSEEL) site in northeastern West Virginia. The samples are representative of the Middle Devonian Marcellus Formation, a clay-rich black shale in the Appalachian Basin. The MSEEL site is a unique field study area for new techniques supporting natural gas production and a high level of monitoring of environmental impacts. The primary impetus of this work is a collaboration between NETL, West Virginia University, Northeast Natural Energy (NNE), and Ohio State University to characterize core from multiple wells to better understand the structure and variation of the Marcellus Shale formations. This report, and the associated scans, provide detailed datasets not typically available from unconventional shales for analysis.
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) is a multiprogram laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation (Sandia), a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000. The DOE/NNSA Sandia Field Office administers the contract and oversees contractor operations at the SNL, Tonopah Test Range (SNL/TTR) in Nevada and the SNL, Kauai Test Facility (SNL/KTF) in Hawaii. Sandia manages and conducts operations at SNL/TTR in support of the DOE/NNSA’s Weapons Ordnance Program and has operated the site since 1957. Navarro Research and Engineering subcontracts with Sandia to administer most of the environmental programs at SNL/TTR. The DOE/NNSA/Nevada Field Office retains responsibility for cleanup and management of SNL/TTR Environmental Restoration sites. Sandia operates SNL/KTF as a rocket preparation launching and tracking facility. This Annual Site Environmental Report summarizes data and the compliance status of Sandia’s sustainability, environmental protection, and monitoring programs at SNL/TTR and SNL/KTF during calendar year 2014. Major environmental programs include air quality, water quality, groundwater protection, terrestrial surveillance, waste management, pollution prevention, environmental restoration cleanup activities, and implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act. Sandia is responsible only for those environmental program activities related to its operations. Environmental monitoring and surveillance programs are required by DOE O 231.1B, Change 1, Environment, Safety, and Health Reporting .
Los Alamos National Laboratory biologists in the Environmental Compliance and Protection Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) initiated a multi-year program in 2013 to monitor avifauna (birds) at two open detonation sites and one open burn site on LANL property. Monitoring results from these efforts were compared among years to monitor trends. The objectives of this study were to determine whether LANL operations impact bird species richness, diversity, abundance, or composition. Additionally, nesting success of secondary-cavity nesting birds was examined using nestboxes. LANL biologists completed the sixth year of this effort in 2018. The overall results from 2018 continue to indicate that operations are not negatively affecting bird populations; however, we are seeing some species turnover through time and that will continue to be monitored.