Gravitation Physics at BGPL

We report progress on a program of gravitational physics experiments using cryogenic torsion pendula undergoing large-amplitude torsion oscillation. This program includes tests of the gravitational inverse square law and of the weak equivalence principle. Here we describe our ongoing search for inverse-square-law violation at a strength down to $10^{-5}$ of standard gravity. The low-vibration environment provided by the Battelle Gravitation Physics Laboratory (BGPL) is uniquely suited to this study.Comment: To be published in The Proceedings of the Francesco Melchiorri Memorial Conference as a special issue of New Astronomy Review

Application of the risk-based strategy to the Hanford tank waste organic-nitrate safety issue

This report describes the results from application of the Risk-Based Decision Management Approach for Justifying Characterization of Hanford Tank Waste to the organic-nitrate safety issue in Hanford single-shell tanks (SSTs). Existing chemical and physical models were used, taking advantage of the most current (mid-1997) sampling and analysis data. The purpose of this study is to make specific recommendations for planning characterization to help ensure the safety of each SST as it relates to the organic-nitrate safety issue. An additional objective is to demonstrate the viability of the Risk-Based Strategy for addressing Hanford tank waste safety issues

Hanford tank clean up: A guide to understanding the technical issues

One of the most difficult technical challenges in cleaning up the US Department of Energy`s (DOE) Hanford Site in southeast Washington State will be to process the radioactive and chemically complex waste found in the Site`s 177 underground storage tanks. Solid, liquid, and sludge-like wastes are contained in 149 single- and 28 double-shelled steel tanks. These wastes contain about one half of the curies of radioactivity and mass of hazardous chemicals found on the Hanford Site. Therefore, Hanford cleanup means tank cleanup. Safely removing the waste from the tanks, separating radioactive elements from inert chemicals, and creating a final waste form for disposal will require the use of our nation`s best available technology coupled with scientific advances, and an extraordinary commitment by all involved. The purpose of this guide is to inform the reader about critical issues facing tank cleanup. It is written as an information resource for the general reader as well as the technically trained person wanting to gain a basic understanding about the waste in Hanford`s tanks -- how the waste was created, what is in the waste, how it is stored, and what are the key technical issues facing tank cleanup. Access to information is key to better understanding the issues and more knowledgeably participating in cleanup decisions. This guide provides such information without promoting a given cleanup approach or technology use

A risk-based focused decision-management approach for justifying characterization of Hanford tank waste. June 1996, Revision 1; April 1997, Revision 2

This report describes a disciplined, risk-based decision-making approach for determining characterization needs and resolving safety issues during the storage and remediation of radioactive waste stored in Hanford tanks. The strategy recommended uses interactive problem evaluation and decision analysis methods commonly used in industry to solve problems under conditions of uncertainty (i.e., lack of perfect knowledge). It acknowledges that problem resolution comes through both the application of high-quality science and human decisions based upon preferences and sometimes hard-to-compare choices. It recognizes that to firmly resolve a safety problem, the controlling waste characteristics and chemical phenomena must be measurable or estimated to an acceptable level of confidence tailored to the decision being made

Comparative review of US Department of Energy CERCLA Federal Facility Agreements

The purpose of this report is to present a comparison of the three FFAs executed by DOE and EPA. The report is intended to serve as a convenient reference guide for those responsible for drafting or reviewing future FFAs being considered by DOE. In addition, this report can provide the framework for the future analysis completed FFAs and aid in the assessment of the relative merits of approaches and provisions used for different sites. 13 tabs

Hanford Site Vadose Zone Studies: An Overview

Large quantities of radioactive and chemical wastes resulting from Pu production for nuclear weapons are located in the vadose zone at the USDOE’s Hanford Site, north of Richland, WA. The vadose zone here is characterized by often highly stratified glacial-fluvial sediments that give rise to complex subsurface-flow paths that contribute to uncertainty of contaminant fate and transport. Research efforts have focused on answering questions of contaminant transport from the viewpoint of geologic, biologic, geochemical, and hydrologic controls. This special section highlights key research topics concerning vadose zone problems at the Hanford Site. Research indicates that some of the contaminant species (137Cs, 60Co, 90Sr) are retained by Hanford sediments as a result of geochemical reactions, rendering them effectively immobile except under extremely saline or acidic conditions, while other species (99Tc, 129I, 3H) are typically mobile and have moved deep into the vadose zone and subsequently into groundwater. In addition, large quantities of organics, including carbon tetrachloride, have moved in complex ways as both vapor and liquid in the subsurface. Observed transport of mobile species is linked to liquid discharges and to elevated recharge rates that occur primarily at waste sites where land surfaces are void of vegetation and where winter rains have subsequently penetrated the subsurface wastes. A series of papers in this issue documents progress to date in understanding transport rates at Hanford, why anisotropy strongly affects the distribution of subsurface contaminants, why organic contaminants are difficult to find in the deep vadose zone, and what the impacts of hypersaline fluids are on waste form degradation and subsequent transport