Site Environmental Report for 2018

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL, Berkeley Lab) is a multi-program scientific facility operated by the University of California (UC) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Berkeley Lab’s research is focused on the physical, biological, environmental, and computational sciences, with the objective of delivering scientific knowledge and discoveries pertinent to DOE’s mission. This annual report describes environmental protection activities and potential impacts resulting from LBNL operations conducted in 2018. The format and content of this report satisfy the requirements of both DOE Order 231.1B, Administrative Change 1 (Environment, Safety, and Health Reporting) and the operating contract between UC and DOE (DOE Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231, also known as Contract 31). LBNL activities are planned and conducted with full regard to protecting employees, the public, and the environment, as well as complying with all applicable environmental, safety, and health laws and regulations. As presented in Chapter 2, Berkeley Lab implements an Environmental Management System (EMS) to oversee environmental compliance activities and continually improve overall environmental performance while maintaining operational capability and sustaining its overall mission. The effectiveness of the EMS and environmental programs is reviewed annually as part of the performance evaluation process of Contract 31. For fiscal year (FY) 2018, which began October 1, 2017, and ended September 30, 2018, the EMS was given a performance rating of B plus for its management of environmental activities (on a scale from A plus as the highest grade, to F as the lowest). The measurement and rating system was developed jointly by Berkeley Lab, UC, and DOE. The FY 2018 rating was based on how Berkeley Lab met the objective in DOE’s FY 2018 Performance Evaluation and Measurement Plan (Appendix B in Contract 31, Section J) of providing an efficient and effective EMS. Six significant accomplishments, which ranged from effective teaming on projects and with regulatory agencies to improved program assessment approaches, were factors in the rating. The EMS was also graded through the federal Office of Management and Budget’s annual EMS performance metrics, in which a reporting scorecard rates elements of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 standard and the degree of integration between the EMS and Berkeley Lab’s sustainable practices. Overall scores fall into one of three categories: green (highest), yellow (middle), or red (lowest). For FY 2018, Berkeley Lab received a score of green. A week-long formal conformity audit of the EMS was conducted at the end of July by a qualified external party, as is required every three years. The audit team found that Berkeley Lab’s EMS continues to conform to the ISO standard with no major nonconformance. An overview of environmental protection and restoration programs is provided in Chapter 3, including information about compliance activities, operating permits, and regulatory agency inspections and audits that occurred during 2018. Twenty-one minor violations and two Class II violations were issued during agency inspections of programs governing aboveground and underground storage tanks, hazardous waste treatment units, hazardous waste storage areas, hazardous materials management, and wastewater, stormwater, and air emission sources. This report also includes information on environmental monitoring performed in 2018 (Chapter 4). The results of these monitoring activities confirmed that groundwater cleanup actions have been effective in reducing concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the groundwater, although concentrations appear to be reaching asymptotic levels in some areas. Site groundwater plumes are stable or are attenuating, and VOCs are not migrating off site. All emissions and discharges from LBNL operations were within environmental compliance release limits except oxides of nitrogen and carbon monoxide from boilers (under 5 million BTUs) from Buildings 2, 66, and 88. The radiological dose assessments (Chapter 5) performed in 2018 concluded that the maximum potential dose to a hypothetical resident from Berkeley Lab’s airborne radionuclide releases was approximately 0.04% of the DOE and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency annual limit of 10 millirem per year (mrem/yr); the potential dose from all radiation sources at Berkeley Lab was approximately 0.15% of the average natural background radiation dose of 310 mrem/yr in the United States, and about 0.5% of the DOE annual limit of 100 mrem/yr from all sources

Selectivity study on thermochemical conversion of fruit residues (Plums) to platform chemicals (HMF)

5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is one of the versatile platform compounds derived from the dehydration of carbohydrates originating from biomass. However, the non-selective production of HMF from carbohydrates and its subsequent separation from the solvents remains challenging. Hence, the present thesis takes a systematic approach to understanding the conversion of Plum biomass to HMF and leverages this knowledge to propose strategies for improving conversion selectivity and HMF yield. The focus lies on optimizing the effect of conversion variables and developing an analytical strategy to characterize the feedstock (Plum) and product fraction. A rapid and robust selective ion monitoring (SIM) based LC-ESI-MS/MS method using analytical quality by design (AQbD) principles was developed for the simultaneous analysis of sugars and HMF. The developed method has been successfully applied to quantify sugar and HMF in Plum biomass before and after thermochemical conversion. The technique demonstrated high sensitivity, selectivity, throughput, and accuracy, with recovery ( 91% to 103%), limits of detection (0.11 to 1.72 μg/mL ), and coefficients of variation (1.2 to 2.0%). Calibration curves for all analytes were linear with R2 values greater than 0.991. Plum biomass has a high moisture content (78 ± 4%), and 84% of its dry weight is covered by sugar. Glucose and fructose were found to be the dominant monosaccharide, 47% and 19% based on the dry weight basis, respectively. A simple, fast, and efficient process for HMF production from Plum's samples was developed, where sulfamic acid and MIBK were used as a catalyst and solvents under conventional heating. The critical reaction parameters, including substrate load, temperature, and aqueous phase percentage were optimized using definitive screen design (DSD) followed by central composite design (CCD). A higher HMF yield (32%), selectivity (~51%), and sugar conversion (~93%) were achieved at optimal reaction conditions (temperature (210 0C), aqueous phase (30 %V), time (120 min), sulfamic acid load (0.01 g), and substrate load (0.1 g)). The relative error between the experimental and predicted response for HMF selectivity and product (HMF) yield was found to be in the acceptable range (< 2%). In conclusion, the low-cost catalyst and solvent system, the practical and environmentally friendly reaction conditions, and the simple procedure provided in this study confirmed that the proposed strategy and feedstock are very efficient for HMF production. However, further study on the isolation and purification of the produced HMF from the reaction solutions is essential in the future.Master's Thesis in Quality in the Analytical LaboratoryQAL399BJMAMN-QAL

Quality by Design Procedure for Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing: An Integrated Flowsheet Model Approach

Pharmaceutical manufacturing is crucial to global healthcare and requires a higher, more consistent level of quality than any other industry. Yet, the traditional pharmaceutical batch manufacturing has remained largely unchanged in the last fifty years due to high R&D costs, shorter patent durations, and regulatory uncertainty. This has led regulatory bodies to promote modernization of manufacturing process to continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing (CPM) by introducing new methodologies including quality by design, design space, and process analytical technology (PAT). This represents a shift away from the traditional pharmaceutical manufacturing way of thinking towards a risk based approach that promotes increased product and process knowledge through a data-rich environment. While both literature and regulatory bodies acknowledge the need for modernization, manufacturers have been slow to modernize due to uncertainty and lack of confidence in the applications of these methodologies. This paper aims to describe the current applications of QbD principles in literature and the current regulatory environment to identify gaps in literature through leveraging regulatory guidelines and CPM literature. To aid in closing the gap between QbD theory and QbD application, a QbD algorithm for CPM using an integrated flowsheet models is also developed and analyzed. This will help to increase manufacturing confidence in CPM by providing answers to questions about the CPM business case, applications of QbD tools, process validation and sensitivity, and process and equipment characteristics. An integrated flowsheet model will aid in the decision-making process and process optimization, breaking away from ex silico methods extensively covered in literature

Town of Newry Maine Ordinances

Ordinances cover: Building Codes; Cemetery; Floodplain; Shoreland Zoning; Sign; Unified Development Revie

Town of Salisbury annual report 1988 includes revised zoning ordinance.

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire

Town of Dixmont Maine Ordinances

Ordinances Cover: Building; Dog; Floodplain Management; Marijuana; Mobile Home Park; Nudity; Outdoor Festival; Road Posting; Shoreland Zoning; Site Plan; Subdivision; Wind Energ

Voyager spacecraft system. Preliminary design, volume A /book 4B of 4/ - Implementation plan

Voyager spacecraft construction scheduling and implementation planning - management, logistics, and auditing revie

Two Essays on Antecedents and Effects of Board Female Representation Non-Conformity

Despite mounting societal demands for board gender diversity, some firms deviate below traditional norms, i.e., under-conform to expectations, while others adhere to them. To explain this variation within a national context, we build on insights from the emerging corporate governance deviance theory and gender role congruity theory. Using panel data on a globally-representative set of firms, Essay 1 shows that firms with higher entrepreneurial orientation are more likely to go below the national norms for board gender diversity. Our results also reveal that having more slack resources weakens the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and under-conformity. This study contributes to the comparative gender diversity literature and augments our knowledge of the institutional logics perspective for a global investigation of gender diversity on the board. Given the current popularity of board gender composition arguments, particularly in comparative corporate governance literature, and growing attention to the organizational agency, the intersection of these two provides a ground that is of interest for scholars of both institutional theory and corporate governance field. Also, previous studies acknowledge the importance of isomorphic institutional norms to explain performance implications of the gender profiles of board of directors, leaving the variation within the same national or industry context unexplored. Building on insights from resource dependence theory, Essay 2 examines whether and how deviating above the industry norms (i.e., over-conformity) for female representation on boardrooms has different performance consequences for firms, depending on the stakeholder group influenced. Specifically, we find that accounting performance is reinforced as perceived by the managers and employees within the firm; market performance is unaffected as perceived by shareholders, and innovation performance is decreased as perceived by innovation resource providers. Hence, the performance effect of over-conformity depends on the stakeholder group considered. Overall, we contribute to resource dependence theory by emphasizing the role of various stakeholders in valuation of women’s presence. Moreover, this study extends our understanding of the boundary conditions for value creation by female directors by focusing on corporate governance deviance literature