Civilian Nuclear Waste Disposal

RL33461 Management of civilian radioactive waste has posed difficult issues for Congress since the beginning of the nuclear power industry in the 1950s. Federal policy is based on the premise that nuclear waste can be disposed of safely, but proposed storage and disposal facilities have frequently been challenged on safety, health, and environmental grounds. Although civilian radioactive waste encompasses a wide range of materials, most of the current debate focuses on highly radioactive spent fuel from nuclear power plants. The United States currently has no permanent disposal facility for spent nuclear fuel or other highly radioactive waste. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA) calls for disposal of spent nuclear fuel in a deep geologic repository. NWPA requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to develop such a repository, which would be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Amendments to NWPA in 1987 restricted DOE’s repository site studies to Yucca Mountain in Nevada. DOE submitted a license application for the proposed Yucca Mountain repository to NRC on June 3, 2008. The State of Nevada strongly opposes the Yucca Mountain project, citing excessive water infiltration, earthquakes, volcanoes, human intrusion, and other technical issue

Civilian Nuclear Waste Disposal

RL33461 Management of civilian radioactive waste has posed difficult issues for Congress since the beginning of the nuclear power industry in the 1950s. Federal policy is based on the premise that nuclear waste can be disposed of safely, but proposed storage and disposal facilities have frequently been challenged on safety, health, and environmental grounds. Although civilian radioactive waste encompasses a wide range of materials, most of the current debate focuses on highly radioactive spent fuel from nuclear power plants. The United States currently has no permanent disposal facility for spent nuclear fuel or other highly radioactive waste. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA) calls for disposal of spent nuclear fuel in a deep geologic repository. NWPA requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to develop such a repository, which would be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Amendments to NWPA in 1987 restricted DOE’s repository site studies to Yucca Mountain in Nevada. DOE submitted a license application for the proposed Yucca Mountain repository to NRC on June 3, 2008. The State of Nevada strongly opposes the Yucca Mountain project, citing excessive water infiltration, earthquakes, volcanoes, human intrusion, and other technical issue

Designing contemporary learning environments for excellence in public relations

Universities are striving to enhance the quality of the educational experience in the professions in response to external and internal pressures. The professional field of public relations (PR) is not immune to these forces. Previously, enhancements were often pursued through particular initiatives relating to curriculum, pedagogical or assessment redesign at the unit level. While such initiatives are valuable we argue for a strategic, integrated, programmatic approach. This requires the design of learning environments, with integrated virtual and physical dimensions, based on a relevant and meaningful curriculum, and student-centred approaches to learning. These learning environments enable quality learning in fields like public relations with diverse student cohorts studying on- and off-campus. The challenges involved in designing what we term &lsquo;contemporary learning environments&rsquo; are illuminated through a case study of Deakin University&rsquo;s Public Relations Program. Over the last three years redesigning PR online has led to changed curriculum, and pedagogical and assessment practices. We conclude by suggesting that a commitment to continuous quality improvement will be required to ensure the program&rsquo;s learning environment remains relevant to the needs of students studying in the field.<br /

THE INCIDENCE OF PARKINSON’S DISEASE IN A BEDFORD COMMUNITY “ADULT WORKING AGE” MENTAL HEALTH TEAM AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE USE OF ATYPICAL ANTIPSYCHOTICS AN AUDIT AND DESCRIPTION OF CURRENT PRACTICE

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative condition of aging, however it is only seen infrequently in an Adult ‘Working Age’ Community Mental Health Team. When it presents, it presents in a number of different situations, but, since antipsychotics may often cause extrapyramidal side effects, there is often the concern that iatrogenic parkinsonism may occur. Here we describe a number of different patients presenting in a CMHT who have been assessed and investigated for Parkinson’s disease. In many of these medication for Parkinson’s disease was started. Often the patients need to stay on an atypical antipsychotic because of the mental health symptoms which they present. We assess present practice in the team, and make recommendations

Writing Lawa: Stimulating indigenous ownership of vernacular literacy through action research

The Eastern Lawa people of Northern Thailand have not had a practical or standardised method of writing their own language. This research began in response to an informal request that help be given to the teachers at Bo Luang school to write Lawa language using Thai script. The exploratory and informal nature of the project led me to use action research’s cyclical concept of action, followed by feedback, followed by planning for further action. This allowed for adjustments to both research goals and methods in response to the Eastern Lawa community. I was also able to document practical language development issues in the context of an ancient but rapidly changing indigenous Mon-Khmer community in Northern Thailand. I began with the traditional linguistic assumption that building a foundation for vernacular literacy would consist of three consecutive phases. A draft orthography would be prepared with the community. Community acceptance of this would allow a working orthography to be used by the teachers of Bo Luang school. The third phase would then be official regional or national recognition of a formal orthography. I also believed that community ownership was the key to all three phases. In reality I encountered a constant tension between trying to force the pathway of language development that I had envisaged and coming to terms with the linguistic and social situation which I discovered within the Bo Luang Lawa community. My plans for action research came to be grounded in a critical, reflexive ethnography. Community ownership became the major goal and the raison d’etre for my research instead of just an outcome of good language development practice. My initial emphasis on linguistic development has transformed into a desire to base both research goals and orthographic objectives on the history, identity and aspirations of the indigenous people. It is my intention that this thesis will be part of the growing body of work that recognises the limitations of Western empirical research models and the necessity for and practicality of alternative approaches. If you don’t know the words, ask your mother; if you don’t know the path, ask your father. (Traditional Lawa saying

PEP Property Estimation Program and Chemical Property Database

PEP Overview A property Estimation Program (PEP), utilizing MCI-property, TSA-property and property correlations and UNIFAC-derived activity coefficients, has been developed for the Apple Macintosh microcomputer to provide the user with several approaches to estimate S, Kow, Pv, H, Koc, and BCF depending on the information available. Structural information required for the MCi and UNIFAC calculation routines can be entered using either Simplified Molecular Identification and Line Entry System (SMILES) notation or connection tables generated with commercially available two-dimensional drawing programs. The TSA module accepts 3-D atomic coordinates entered manually or directly reads coordinate files generated by molecular modeling software. The program’s built-in intelligence helps the user choose the most appropriate QSPR or QPPR based on the structure of the chemical of interest. In addiction, the statistical information associated with each QSPR or QPPR in PEP can be displayed to help the user determine the model’s validity. For the regression-based property estimation models, assessments of accuracy based on the 95% confidence interval and estimated precision of the experimental values are also provided along with the estimated property value. PEP also provides a batch mode that provides users with a method for the convenient, unattended calculation of MCIs, TSA and UNIFAC activity coefficients and the subsequent estimation of physical properties for large numbers of compounds. A chemical property database, containing experimental values of S, Kow, H, Pv, Koc, and BCF complied from a variety of literature sources and computerized databases was used for developing the MCI-property, TSA-Property and property-property relationships used in PEP. This database, which currently contains over 800 chemicals, is linked directly to PEP. The property estimation modules in PEP are also linked directly to the Level 1 and 2 Fugacity Models. The combination of the various property estimation methods, chemical property database, and simple environmental fate models provides users with a methodology for predicting the environmental distribution of an organic chemical in a multi-phase system requiring only the structure of the chemical of interest as input. PEP was designed to be intuitive and user friendly. The easiest way to become familiar with the PEP is to try clicking on the buttons and pull down menus found on each card. Any comments or suggestions regarding improving the operation of PEP would be greatly appreciated by the authors

Comparison of the Molecular Structures of Monovalent Cation Salets of N,N-Dimethyldithiocarbamate. Novel Synthesis and Crystal Structure of (Phi4)(S2CN(CH3)2)2H2O

Crystals of the tetraphenylphosphonium N,N-dimethyldithiocarbamate dihydrate (C₂₇H₃₀NO₂PS₂; F.W. = 495.6) are monoclinic; P2₁/n; a = 13.349(6), b = 20,968(6), c = 9.800(4) Å, β = 109.01(3)°; Z = 4; V = 2593.4(16) Å^3; Dₓ = 1.269 gcm- 3 . Data were collected at ambient temperature using MoKα radiation (λ = 0.71069 Å).F(000) = 1048, linear absorption coefficient, n = 2.80 cm- 1. The structure was solved by direct methods and subsequently refined by full matrix least squares techniques. Final R value = 0.064 for 1 61 0 reflections and 298 varied parameters. Due to the nature of the cation, interactions between the tetraphenylphosphonium group and the sulfur atoms of the anion are absent, unlike previous dimethyldithiocarbamate structures (Na+, Cs+, TI+). Intermolecular interactions between the waters of hydration and the anion are present