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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Requesting an Exemption from Standard Compliance: EPAct State and Alternative Fuel Provider Fleet Program Guidance Document

The U.S. Department of Energy established the Alternative Fuel Transportation Program (Program) and associated regulatory requirements pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 1992. The Program, otherwise known as the State and Alternative Fuel Provider Fleet Program, requires covered state government and alternative fuel provider fleets operating under Standard Compliance to acquire alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) as a specific percentage of their annual non-excluded light-duty vehicle acquisitions. The opportunity for covered fleets operating under Standard Compliance to request exemptions from their AFV-acquisition requirements serves as administrative relief in the unlikely event a fleet is unable to satisfy its requirements through the normally available compliance alternatives. These alternatives include the acquisition of light-duty AFVs, the acquisition of other, creditable vehicles (e.g., gasoline-fueled hybrid electric vehicles), making certain investments, the purchase of biodiesel for use in medium- or heavy-duty vehicles to the maximum extent allowed, and purchasing or trading for banked AFV credits. This document addresses requests for exemptions from the AFV-acquisition requirements to help covered fleets better understand: How to file a request for an exemption, information and documentation DOE needs to process an exemption request, and important policies relevant for filing exemption requests.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,ENERGY PLANNING, POLIC↗
DOE OSTI2020

Conscientious vaccination exemptions in kindergarten to eighth-grade children across Texas schools from 2012 to 2018: A regression analysis

Background: As conscientious vaccination exemption (CVE) percentages rise across the United States, so does the risk and occurrence of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles. In the state of Texas, the median CVE percentage across school systems more than doubled between 2012 and 2018. During this period, the proportion of schools surpassing a CVE percentage of 3% rose from 2% to 6% for public schools, 20% to 26% for private schools, and 17% to 22% for charter schools. The aim of this study was to investigate this phenomenon at a fine scale. Methods and findings: Here, we use beta regression models to study the socioeconomic and geographic drivers of CVE trends in Texas. Using annual counts of CVEs at the school system level from the 2012–2013 to the 2017–2018 school year, we identified county-level predictors of median CVE percentage among public, private, and charter schools, the proportion of schools below a high-risk threshold for vaccination coverage, and five-year trends in CVEs. Since the 2012–2013 school year, CVE percentages have increased in 41 out of 46 counties in the top 10 metropolitan areas of Texas. We find that 77.6% of the variation in CVE percentages across metropolitan counties is explained by median income, the proportion of the population that holds a bachelor's degree, the proportion of the population that self-reports as ethnically white, the proportion of the population that is English speaking, and the proportion of the population that is under the age of five years old. Across the 10 top metropolitan areas in Texas, counties vary considerably in the proportion of school systems reporting CVE percentages above 3%. Sixty-six percent of that variation is explained by the proportion of the population that holds a bachelor’s degree and the proportion of the population affiliated with a religious congregation. Three of the largest metropolitan areas—Austin, Dallas–Fort Worth, and Houston—are potential vaccination exemption "hotspots," with over 13% of local school systems above this risk threshold. The major limitations of this study are inconsistent school-system-level CVE reporting during the study period and a lack of geographic and socioeconomic data for individual private schools. Conclusions: In this study, we have identified high-risk communities that are typically obscured in county-level risk assessments and found that public schools, like private schools, are exhibiting predictable increases in vaccination exemption percentages. As public health agencies confront the reemerging threat of measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases, findings such as ours can guide targeted interventions and surveillance within schools, cities, counties, and sociodemographic subgroups.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Requesting an Exemption from Standard Compliance

This document provides guidance for state and alternative fuel provider fleets covered by the Energy Policy Act to understand how to file a request for exemption from Standard Compliance requirements.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Exemption of lattice collapse in Ni–MnO 2 birnessite regulated by the structural water mobility

Lattice collapse and associated mechanical fracture frequently occur in Li-intercalated metal oxide cathodes at the deep charge state upon Li-ion removal, governed by chemical compositions and the resulting electron density of the oxygen atoms. However, similar lattice collapse for metal oxide electrodes in aqueous storage and its mitigation have not been well studied. In this work, we reported the lattice collapse of MnO 2 layered birnessite during the aqueous de-sodiation process at high voltage due to the structural water motion, as evidenced by in situ XRD. Unlike non-aqueous Li-intercalated electrodes, Ni-dopants mitigated the lattice collapse of birnessite at deep charge states. Moreover, density functional theory (DFT) calculations showed that Ni doping induces charge depletion of lattice oxygen due to its higher electronegativity than Mn. This charge reduction, in turn, yields a significant decrease in electrostatic repulsion between the oxygens belonging to lattice and structural water. Classical molecular dynamics simulations based on atomic charges obtained from DFT elucidate that Ni-doping facilitates immobilization of structural water in (Ni)MnO 2 and prevents lattice collapse upon Na-ion removal. (Ni)MnO 2 exempted from lattice collapse shows an improved storage capacity relative to MnO 2 while maintaining similar cycling stability.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Request for Medical Exemption from Covid-19 Vaccination

If you have a specific medical condition that precludes the COVID-19 vaccination requirement and you seek a medical exemption from Los Alamos National Laboratory’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement, please consult with your physician and provide the following information.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Request for Exemption and Permit Modification for S-6008: Sewer Diversion Complex

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) operates its Sewer Diversion Complex (SDC) under two relevant permits: discharges to air are controlled by Condition 5533 of LLNL’s BAAQMD permit for Source 6008, and discharges to the municipal sewer system are controlled by LLNL’s Wastewater Discharge Permit (Permit #1250). LLNL intends to modify the SDC by changing the currently permitted tanks to new models. Generally, this change will increase the volume of the tanks, update the abatement carbon system to suit the larger volume, and switch to a set of taller but thinner tanks.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2026

Reassessing Double-Ended Guillotine Break Requirements: Evidence-Based Analysis of Regulatory Assumptions After Five Decades of Nuclear Operation

After five decades of nuclear power operation encompassing more than 20,000 reactor-years across 35 countries and 647 reactors, zero double-ended guillotine breaks (DEGBs) have been documented in commercial reactor coolant systems—despite DEGB being the fundamental design-basis assumption driving Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) sizing, structural protection requirements, and containment design specifications. This report examines the basis for DEGB requirements in nuclear power plant design. The DEGB postulate assumes the instantaneous, complete circumferential severance of the largest diameter pipes in reactor coolant systems, driving major design requirements under 10 Code of Federal Regulations 50.46, General Design Criterion 4 and containment design specifications. The United States (4,880 reactor-years) and France (2,505 reactor-years) contribute the largest operational datasets. Probabilistic assessments estimate direct DEGB occurrence probabilities with extremely low event frequencies, far below the 10-5/reactor-year thresholds typically used to define non-credible events in nuclear-safety analyses; i.e., events with probability this low fall into beyond-design-basis events. Current material-science knowledge demonstrates that the ductile steel materials used in nuclear piping systems exhibit stable crack-growth behavior fundamentally incompatible with instantaneous severance. International regulatory experience, particularly Germany’s comprehensive break-preclusion implementation, and successful leak-before-break (LBB) applications in almost all of U.S. pressurized water reactor units validate that alternatives can maintain safety performance while reducing economic burden. Current DEGB protection systems impose estimated lifetime costs of hundreds of millions of dollars per unit, over the life of a plant across the nuclear industry (including ongoing costs), representing substantial resource allocation toward scenarios with extremely low probability. Although this report acknowledges uncertainties regarding long-term aging effects, potential synergistic degradation mechanisms, and site-specific seismic considerations that warrant continued evaluation as regulatory policy evolves, there remains no documented evidence that a DEGB has occurred as a consequence of the conditions or mechanisms described in this report. This report acknowledges the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) recent efforts—outlined in the draft Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) NRC-DSS-ISG-2025-XX (“Treatment of Certain Loss-of-Coolant Accident Locations as Beyond-Design-Basis Accidents Draft Interim Staff Guidance”)—to reduce overly conservative requirements for large-break loss of coolant accidents through technical justifications and exemptions. However, extensive operating experience and validated methodologies—such as LBB and in-service inspection programs—demonstrate that the probability of a DEGB in reactor coolant-loop piping is extremely low, even under seismic conditions. The authors and reviewers of this report recommend that DEGB be removed as a design-basis event through formal rulemaking, rather than case-by-case exemptions, to better reflect credible failure modes, align with current data, and align with modern, risk-informed safety analysis.

22 - GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Integrated Security-Safety Consequence Study of a Heat Pipe Reactor

This report presents a preliminary demonstration of integrated security/safety consequence modeling to support potential physical security exemption justifications under the new Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations Part 53 licensing pathway, which allows exemptions if sabotage-induced radiological consequences do not exceed 25 rem at the site boundary two hours after release without mitigative actions. A hypothetical heat pipe microreactor subjected to direct sabotage by a 150 lbs. TNT-equivalent high-explosive device was analyzed using a simplified radionuclide release estimate based on DOE-HDBK-3010-94, implemented in the MELCOR severe accident analysis code to model release transport and attenuation through reactor/building compartments, with MELCOR outputs coupled to MACCS to compute offsite doses and the distance-to-threshold metric D 25rem . Six scenarios were evaluated to examine sensitivities to release pathway/building configuration and radionuclide form (vapor versus aerosols with different size distributions). Results show a positive correlation between leak path factor and D 25rem and indicate that reactor building compartmentalization can substantially reduce consequences (a single-story configuration reduced D 25rem by roughly an order of magnitude relative to a cavity-only configuration), while vapor versus aerosol assumptions had limited impact for the modeled two-story case on the spatial grid used.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
NASA NTRS1978

Critical inclinations in satellite theory

The main problem of satellite theory is described in polar coordinates by a Hamiltonian function. It is proposed to find a solution of the Hamiltonian function with the following properties: (1) the reference orbit is Keplerian; (2) no restriction is imposed on the eccentricity; in particular, it is exempt of singularities - real or apparent - for small eccentricities; and (3) no restriction is imposed on the inclination; in particular, it is exempt of singularities - real or apparent - for small inclinations; also it is valid even in the neighborhood of inclinations at which the perigee is stationary.

Deprit, A.↗
NASA NTRS2002

An Investigation Into Criteria Commonly Used by the FAA to Grant Relief to Part 135 Operators Under FAR Sections: 135.213, 135.219, and/or 135.225

The objective of this study was to determine the criteria commonly used by the FAA to grant waivers, exemptions, or deviations to FAR Part 135, Sections 135.213, 135.219, and 135.225 and the potential impact on Flight Information Services Data Link (FISDL) implementation. These aviation regulations address the requirements for the use of weather reports or forecasts when conducting operations under FAR Part 135. In this study a literature search was conducted to obtain historical records of requests for relief from the 3 FAR sections under consideration. The exemption request records were then analyzed in order to determine the reasons given by the FAA for either granting or denying the request. In addition, FAA personnel and Part 135 operators were interviewed to determine the procedures used for satisfying the requirements of the 3 FAR sections.

Williams, Louis J.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Mobile Timekeeping Application Built on Reverse-Engineered JPL Infrastructure

Every year, non-exempt employees cumulatively waste over one man-year tracking their time and using the timekeeping Web page to save those times. This app eliminates this waste. The innovation is a native iPhone app. Libraries were built around a reverse- engineered JPL API. It represents a punch-in/punch-out paradigm for timekeeping. It is accessible natively via iPhones, and features ease of access. Any non-exempt employee can natively punch in and out, as well as save and view their JPL timecard. This app is built on custom libraries created by reverse-engineering the standard timekeeping application. Communication is through custom libraries that re-route traffic through BrowserRAS (remote access service). This has value at any center where employees track their time.

Witoff, Robert J.↗
DOE OSTI2020

MH-1A Sturgis Decommissioning and Dismantlement - 20281

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) with its prime contractor, Aptim Federal Services, LLC (APTIM), recycled 5,260 metric tons (11.6 million pounds) of material from Sturgis Barge (Sturgis) during the Decommissioning and Dismantlement of the MH-1A nuclear power reactor. The overall objective of the project was to reduce residual radioactivity associated with MH-1A to levels that permitted release of Sturgis for dismantlement and termination of the Army Reactor Office permit. By effectively applying waste hierarchy's three Rs - reduce, reuse and recycle - the Sturgis project not only minimized the amount of waste that required disposal at landfills, but also reduced the potential for long-term environmental liability emanating from these landfills. The project team completed the physical decommissioning efforts in June 2018 in Galveston, TX. In September 2018, radiological surveys were completed to demonstrate the vessel could be released for shipbreaking. Sturgis was towed from Galveston, TX to Brownsville, TX in late September 2018. Shipbreaking, dismantlement and recycling efforts began in early October 2018 and were completed on 15 March 2019. As part of the decommissioning effort in Galveston, the team shipped 69 shipments (860 metric tons) of low-level radioactive waste and radioactive components to the Waste Control Specialist (WCS) facility in Andrews TX for disposal. Certain radioactive components had to be transferred to the Department of Energy prior to placing the materials into the Federal Waste Facility located within WCS. However, most of the radioactive waste was characterized, profiled, approved and managed under the WCS permitted radioactive waste exemption process authorized and implemented by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the Radioactive Materials Division. This allows LLRW and LLMW to be shipped as regulated waste and then upon receipt at WCS through satisfying the relevant waste acceptance criteria the waste is exempted and placed into the WCS RCRA permitted cell. An additional 35 shipments (544 metric ton) of contaminated hazardous waste water were transported to U.S. Ecology in Robstown, TX for treatment/disposal. An additional 36 shipments (500 metric tons) of non-hazardous wastewater was sent to Republic Waste Services' facility in Fresno, TX. The disposal of these materials required close coordination with State of Texas regulators. During decommissioning, the project team recycled approximately 270 metric tons (600,000 pounds) of lead and steel. As part of the dismantlement in Brownsville, TX the team recycled approximately 5,000 metric tons (11 million pounds) of ferrous and non-ferrous material, limiting our disposal requirements to about 180 metric tons (400,000 pounds) of material (<4% from entire shipbreaking activity). Although the primary hazard being mitigated by this project was radiological, recycling was always a priority for the project. The team strived to achieve sustainability goals as we implemented this one of a kind project. Scrap metal recycling has a large positive impact on the environment and can also favorably impact project disposal costs. Steel is among the most recycled material in the world. Nearly 40% of the world's steel production is made from scrap. Recycling steel also requires 75% less energy than producing it from raw materials. By using recycled steel rather than virgin materials, 2.33 kg of carbon emissions are eliminated per kg of steel [1]. The project recycled more than 4,500 metric tons (10 million pounds) of steel, which eliminated about 10,400 metric tons (23 million pounds) of CO{sub 2}. By implementing a recycling initiative for the Sturgis project, the team was able to realize cost avoidance for disposal of scrap, cost savings from the metals recycled, plus the project provided benefits to the environment through our recycling efforts. Once the dismantlement was complete, the team prepared a detailed decommissioning closure report, which allowed for the termination of the Army Reactor Decommissioning Permit. While it not only reduced any potential long-term environmental liability, this project to decommission and dismantle a floating nuclear power plant is truly unprecedented - it is a prime example of the USACE mission which is: 'Engineering solutions for the Nation's toughest challenges'. This unique, one of a kind, historical power plant was never designed to be taken apart, and the available information about its construction was lacking in many details. The hazards that required mitigation dictated a painstaking and deliberate process in order to avoid any release to the environment and the community, and to protect the health and safety of the workers involved while keeping the waste hierarchy's three R's - reduce, reuse and recycle at the forefront. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2024

Submitting a Standard Compliance Annual Report: EPAct State and Alternative Fuel Provider Fleet Program User Guide

State government and alternative fuel provider fleets covered under the State and Alternative Fuel Provider Fleet Program (Program) established pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct) may use the Compliance Reporting Tool to track and report on several compliance activities. These activities include, but are not limited to, completing Standard Compliance annual reports, Alternative Compliance notices of intent, and exemption requests. Covered fleets can access the Compliance Tool through the Program's website at https://epact.energy.gov/users/sign_in. Covered fleet points of contact should bookmark the Compliance Reporting Tool for future access. This user guide addresses how to complete and submit Standard Compliance annual reports, including getting started with reporting, submitting annual reports, submitting exemption requests, and viewing annual reports.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Aquifer Injection Modeling (AIM) Toolbox User Guide

The Aquifer Injection Modeling Toolbox (“AIM Toolbox”) software was developed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) to provide a collection of analytical solutions suitable for evaluating the potential extent of the area impacted by subsurface injection operations. Subsurface injection operations are regulated under the EPA’s Underground Injection Control (UIC) program and are typically related to oil/gas development, waste disposal, or subsurface mining or storage. The analytical algorithms provided in the AIM Toolbox each have different approaches/assumptions/focus with respect to the nature and processes in subsurface and the nature of the injection operations. Collectively the set of analysis algorithms provides a broader evaluation of the area that can potentially be impacted by an injection operation. By providing estimates for the injectate plume extent, the software supports technical aspects of planning, evaluation, and overseeing injection activities. That is, the results help assess when further regulatory controls (e.g., monitoring, reporting) may be required and, in the case of disposal into an underground source of drinking water, the extent of the impacted area would require exemption from protection under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The AIM Toolbox software is available as a single-page web application, providing an interface to provide the necessary inputs, and both chart and map panes for visualizing the results. This User Guide describes the AIM Toolbox software, information required, user interactions, and the underlying basis of the calculations.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗