DOE's HAZMAT Spill Center at the Nevada Test Site: Activities and Capabilities

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) owns and operates the Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) Spill Center (HSC) as a research and demonstration facility available on a user-fee basis to private and public sector test and training sponsors concerned with safety aspects of hazardous materials. Though initially designed to accommodate large liquefied natural gas releasers, the HSC has accommodated hazardous materials training and safety-related testing of most chemicals in commercial use. The HSC is located at DOE's Nevada Test Site (NTS) near Mercury, Nevada. The HSC provides a unique opportunity for industry and other users to conduct hazardous materials testing and training. This is the only facility of its kind for either large- or small-scale testing of hazardous and toxic fluids under controlled conditions. It is ideally suited for test sponsors to develop verified data on release prevention, mitigation, cleanup, and environmental effects of toxic and hazardous materials. The facility site also supports structured training for hazardous spills, nkigation, and cleanup. Since 1986, the HSC has been utilized for releases to evaluate the patterns of dispersion mitigation techniques, and combustion characteristics of select materials. Use of the facility can also aid users in developing emergency planning under U.S. Public Law 99-499; the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA); and other federal, state, and international laws and regulations. The HSC Program is managed by the DOE, OffIce of Emergency Management, Nonproliferation and National Security, with the support and assistance of other divisions of DOE and the U. S. government

New nuclear data for production of 73As, 88Y and 153Sm: important radionuclides for environmental and medical applications

The radionuclides 73As, 88Y and 153Sm are of considerable significance in environmental and biological research as well as in internal radiotherapy. Cross section measurements related to the n.c.a. production of these radionuclides were carried out for the nuclear reactions natGe(p,xn)73As, natRb(α,xn)88Y and 150Nd(α,n)153Sm, using protons and alpha particles of energies up to 100 MeV and 26.5 MeV, respectively. The excitation function of the 150Nd(α,n)153Sm reaction has been measured for the first time. The existing nuclear database for the other two nuclides could be expanded and strengthened. In the case of 153Sm additionally the 153Eu(n,p)153Sm reaction cross section was measured averaged over a 14 MeV d(Be) neutron spectrum. The calculation of thick target yields was done and the production possibilities of the three radionuclides were evaluated

The potential of novel African isolates of Phthorimaea operculella granulovirus for the control of Tuta absoluta.

Phthorimaea operculella granulovirus (PhopGV) is infectious for larvae of different Gelechiidae insect species, including Tuta absoluta and Phthorimaea operculella. As these are major economic pests in North and sub‐Saharan Africa as well as in the Mediterranean area, the development of locally suitable biocontrol agents is essential. We have studied five isolates of PhopGV from Tunisia (Tns16, Tu1.11 and Tu2.11), Kenya (Ken13) and Yemen (Ym14) for their biological activity and the sequence polymorphism of their granulin and ecdysteroid UDP‐glucosyltransferase (egt) genes and allocated the isolates to two different egt types. Infection experiments with neonate larvae of T. absoluta and P. operculella demonstrated their pathogenicity to both host species. The isolate PhopGV Tu1.11 was the most virulent one for T. absoluta but had a relatively low infectivity to two P. operculella populations originating from Italy and Tunisia