A Comparison of the Depositional Environment of the San Andres Formation in the Palo Duro Basin to Recent Evaporitic Environments

The safe storage of high-level radioactive waste in a geologic repository requires a detailed knowledge of the properties of the host rock and surrounding beds, and the continuity of these properties. One of the serious problems faced in the characterization of the deep formations under consideration is that sufficiently detailed descriptions cannot be obtained from the small number of widely spaced test holes available. The examination of modern analogs to the formation under consideration can provide important insights into geochemical characteristics and their degree of continuity. The first step in identifying a natural analog is to adequately describe the formation of interest and to determine its environment of deposition. The formation under consideration in the Palo Duro Basin, the San Andres Formation, has been described elsewhere (Presley, 1979a & b; 1980a & b, 1981; Presley and Ramondetta, 1981; Ramondetta, 1981; Handford, 1981a & b; Handford and Wiggins, 1981; Bassett and Palmer, 1981; Bassett and Roedder, 1981; Budnik and Smith, 1982; Roedder, 1982). In the Palo Duro Basin, the San Andres Formation is an evaporite sequence containing halite, anhydrite, carbonates, and mudstones. The lithology of the San Andres and the stratigraphic sequence prior to San Andres deposition indicate that the formation was deposited at the end of a long-term shift from fan-delta, marine shelf, and deep-basin environments during the Pennsylvanian to shallow marine, brine pan, and evaporite conditions during Late Permian time. A modern analog environment should be located in a relatively shallow basin that has already been filled by marine sedimentation and is now a broad shelf undergoing long-term oceanic regression and slow subsidence.Bureau of Economic Geolog

Normalcy, Intersectionality and Ableism : teaching about and around ‘inclusion’ to future educators

Accessible summary • In this chapter, we talk about teaching university students about inclusion in schools and universities. • We began by focusing our teaching on disabled children and other ‘groups’ such as children of colour. • However, this did not work very well. Our students wrote essays that focused on the differences between disabled and non-disabled people. • We changed our teaching to focus on the problems caused by an unfair society. This has worked better. • We also include disabled people’s personal stories in our teaching

Inclusive Practice for Health Professionals

Inclusive Practice for Health Professionals equips students with knowledge of the social, political and cultural factors that influence health care in Australia, to prepare them to be well informed, considerate health professionals. It embraces the multidisciplinary nature of work in the health professions, and applies the term inclusive practice to focus attention on its relevance to all healthcare professionals and improving health outcomes. The book considers the interface between health care delivery, health care professionals and population groups, and examines the key concepts, influences and strategies of inclusive practice to help students develop best practice skills for working in complex and diverse healthcare settings

Decarbonising UK transport : Implications for electricity generation, land use and policy.

This research was undertaken as part of the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) research programme under the ADdressing Valuation of Energy and Nature Together (ADVENT) project, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NE/M019691/1) United Kingdom. Funding was also received from the School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom. The authors would also like to thank Dr Christian Brand, University of Oxford, for giving them access to the Transport Energy and Air Pollution Model UK (TEAM – UK).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Value of Information Analysis Project Gnome Site, New Mexico

The Project Gnome site in southeastern New Mexico was the location of an underground nuclear detonation in 1961 and a hydrologic tracer test using radionuclides in 1963. The tracer test is recognized as having greater radionuclide migration potential than the nuclear test because the tracer test radionuclides (tritium, 90Sr, 131I, and 137Cs) are in direct contact with the Culebra Dolomite aquifer, whereas the nuclear test is within a bedded salt formation. The tracer test is the topic here. Recognizing previous analyses of the fate of the Gnome tracer test contaminants (Pohll and Pohlmann, 1996; Pohlmann and Andricevic, 1994), and the existence of a large body of relevant investigations and analyses associated with the nearby Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site (summarized in US DOE, 2009), the Gnome Site Characterization Work Plan (U.S. DOE, 2002) called for a Data Decision Analysis to determine whether or not additional characterization data are needed prior to evaluating existing subsurface intrusion restrictions and determining long-term monitoring for the tracer test. Specifically, the Work Plan called for the analysis to weigh the potential reduction in uncertainty from additional data collection against the cost of such field efforts

Transport of gas-phase radionuclides in a fractured, low-permeability reservoir

The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (predecessor to the U.S. Department of Energy, DOE) oversaw a joint program between industry and government in the 1960s and 1970s to develop technology to enhance production from low-permeability gas reservoirs using nuclear stimulation rather than conventional means (e.g., hydraulic and/or acid fracturing). Project Rio Blanco, located in the Piceance Basin, Colorado, was the third experiment under the program. Three 30-kiloton nuclear explosives were placed in a 2,134-m-deep well at 1,780, 1,899, and 2,039 m below the land surface and detonated in May 1973. Although the reservoir was extensively fractured, complications such as radionuclide contamination of the gas prevented production and subsequent development of the technology. Two-dimensional numerical simulations were conducted to identify the main transport processes that have occurred and are currently occurring in relation to the detonations, and to estimate the extent of contamination in the reservoir. Minor modifications were made to TOUGH2, the multiphase, multicomponent reservoir simulator developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories. The simulator allows the explicit incorporation of fractures, as well as heat transport, phase change, and first-order radionuclide decay. For a fractured, two-phase (liquid and gas) reservoir, the largest velocities are of gases through the fractures. In the gas phase, tritium and one isotope of krypton are the principal radionuclides of concern. However, in addition to existing as a fast pathway, fractures also permit matrix diffusion as a retardation mechanism. Another retardation mechanism is radionuclide decay. Simulations show that incorporation of fractures can significantly alter transport rates, and that radionuclides in the gas phase can preferentially migrate upward due to the downward gravity drainage of liquid water in the pores

An Expert Elicitation Process in Support of Groundwater Model Evaluation for Frenchman Flat, Nevada National Security Site

The U.S. Department of Energy is implementing corrective actions at facilities where nuclear-related operations were conducted in Nevada. Among the most significant sites being addressed are the locations of underground nuclear tests on the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). The process for implementing corrective actions for the Underground Test Area (UGTA) locations is defined in Appendix VI of a Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (1996, as amended). In broad terms, Appendix VI describes a Corrective Action Investigation followed by a Corrective Action Decision, and implementation of a Corrective Action Plan prior to closure. The Frenchman Flat Corrective Action Unit (CAU) is farthest along in the UGTA corrective action process. It includes ten underground tests within the Frenchman Flat topographic basin, in the southeastern portion of the NNSS. Data have been collected from drilling exploration, hydrologic testing, and field and laboratory studies. Modeling has been completed at a variety of scales and focusing on a variety of flow and transport aspects ranging from regional boundary conditions to process dynamics within a single nuclear cavity. The culmination of the investigations is a transport model for the Frenchman Flat CAU (Stoller Navarro Joint Venture, 2009) that has undergone rigorous peer review and been accepted by the State of Nevada, setting the stage for the Corrective Action Decision and progression from the investigation phase to the corrective action phase of the project

Value of Information Analysis Project Gnome Site, New Mexico

The Project Gnome site in southeastern New Mexico was the location of an underground nuclear detonation in 1961 and a hydrologic tracer test using radionuclides in 1963. The tracer test is recognized as having greater radionuclide migration potential than the nuclear test because the tracer test radionuclides (tritium, 90Sr, 131I, and 137Cs) are in direct contact with the Culebra Dolomite aquifer, whereas the nuclear test is within a bedded salt formation. The tracer test is the topic here. Recognizing previous analyses of the fate of the Gnome tracer test contaminants (Pohll and Pohlmann, 1996; Pohlmann and Andricevic, 1994), and the existence of a large body of relevant investigations and analyses associated with the nearby Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site (summarized in US DOE, 2009), the Gnome Site Characterization Work Plan (U.S. DOE, 2002) called for a Data Decision Analysis to determine whether or not additional characterization data are needed prior to evaluating existing subsurface intrusion restrictions and determining long-term monitoring for the tracer test. Specifically, the Work Plan called for the analysis to weigh the potential reduction in uncertainty from additional data collection against the cost of such field efforts

Evaluation of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for life and a cognitive behavioural therapy stress-management workshop to improve healthcare staff stress: study protocol two randomized controlled trials

Background: Healthcare workers experience higher levels of work-related stress and higher rates of sickness absence than workers in other sectors. Psychological approaches have potential in providing healthcare workers with the knowledge and skills to recognise stress and to manage stress effectively. The strongest evidence for effectiveness in reducing stress in the workplace is for stress-management courses based on cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) principles and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs). However, research examining effects of these interventions on sickness absence (an objective indicator of stress) and compassion for others (an indicator of patient care) is limited, as is research on brief CBT stress-management courses (which may be more widely accessible) and on MBIs adapted for workplace settings. Methods/Design: This protocol is for two randomised controlled trials with participant preference between the two trials and 1:1 allocation to intervention or waitlist within the preferred choice. The first trial is examining a one-day CBT stress-management workshop and the second trial an 8-session Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Life (MBCT-L) course, with both trials comparing intervention to waitlist. The primary outcome for both trials is stress at post-intervention with secondary outcomes being sickness absence, compassion for others, depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, wellbeing, work-related burnout, self-compassion, presenteeism, and mindfulness (MBCT-L only). Both trials aim to recruit 234 staff working in the National Health Service in the UK. Discussion: This trial will examine whether a one-day CBT stress-management workshop and an 8-session MBCT-L course are effective at reducing healthcare staff stress and other mental health outcomes compared to waitlist, and, whether these interventions are effective at reducing sickness absence and presenteeism and at enhancing wellbeing, self-compassion, mindfulness and compassion for others. Findings will help inform approaches offered to reduce healthcare staff stress and other key variables. A note of caution is that individual-level approaches should only be part of the solution to reducing healthcare staff stress within a broader focus on organisational-level interventions and support