[en] An economic analysis is presented of a proposed synergy between two nuclear utilities, Utility L that owns light water reactors (LWR) and Utility H that owns heavy water moderated reactors (HWR). Americium is partitioned from LWR spent fuel produced by Utility L and then transmuted in HWRs operated by Utility H. Additionally, reprocessed uranium (RU) from spent LWR fuel is used as fuel for the HWRs to transmute the americium. The analysis is based on the estimated value of RU to Utility L if it is re-enriched using centrifuges and used as LWR fuel, and the estimated cost to Utility L of partitioning americium from spent LWR fuel. In order for this scenario to be economically acceptable to Utility L, the averted disposal cost due to partitioning americium from LWR spent fuel most likely must exceed $200/kg heavy metals in spent nuclear fuel. A sensitivity analysis shows that the cost of partitioning americium from spent LWR fuel has the greatest effect on this value, followed by the cost of natural uranium. During steady state operations, a single HWR should be able to transmute all of the Am-241 from approximately five LWRs using RU from just those reactors as fuel. (author)

[en] The authors show how the standard domain wall action can be simply modified to allow arbitrarily exact chiral symmetry at finite fifth dimensional extent. They note that the method can be used for both quenched and dynamical calculations. They test the method using smooth and thermalized gauge field configurations. They also make comparisons of the performance (cost) of the domain wall operator for spectroscopy compared to other methods such as the overlap-Dirac operator and find both methods are comparable in cost

[en] An economic analysis is presented for a proposed synergistic system between two nuclear utilities, one operating light water reactors (LWR) and another running a fleet of heavy water moderated reactors (HWR). Americium is partitioned from LWR spent nuclear fuel (SNF) to be transmuted in HWRs, with a consequent averted disposal cost to the LWR operator. In return, reprocessed uranium (RU) is supplied to the HWRs in sufficient quantities to support their operation both as power generators and americium burners. Two simplifying assumptions have been made. First, that the economic value of RU is a linear function of the cost of fresh natural uranium (NU), and second, that plutonium recycling for a third utility running a mixed oxide (MOX) fuelled reactor fleet is already taking place, so that the extra cost of americium recycling is manageable. We conclude that, in order for this scenario to be economically attractive to the LWR operator, the averted disposal cost due to partitioning americium from LWR spent fuel must exceed $214/kg, comparable to estimates of the permanent disposal cost of the high level waste (HLW) from reprocessing spent LWR fuel. (author)

[en] The rate of surface fogging on KDP crystals has been associated with several parameters in the diamond turning and subsequent cleaning process. Fogging can also occur during use because of environmental degradation. We have determined that reaction of the KDP surfaces with additives in the diamond turning oil has been a major factor in fogging and have found a replacement oil that eliminates this effect. We have also developed an antireflective silicone-sol coating that also reduces surface environmental deterioration during use by a factor of four

[en] A critique of the Canadian government's unaccountability in terms of nuclear decisions was presented. The federal government has spent more than $13 billion building dozens of nuclear facilities, and spreading Canadian nuclear technology to India, Pakistan, Taiwan, Korea, Argentina and Romania. The author argued that this was done without any public consultation or public debate. In addition, the federal government announced in 1996 that it will play a role in nuclear disarmament and would accept tonnes of leftover plutonium from dismantled nuclear warheads to be used as fuel in CANDU reactors. Samples of weapons plutonium fuels from Russia and the United States are currently being tested in a reactor at Chalk River, Ontario. In addition, China received a $1.5 billion loan from the Treasury of Canada to help finance a CANDU reactor. It was the largest loan in Canadian history, yet had no procedure to obtain taxpayer's permission. Turkey was promised an equal amount if it would build a CANDU reactor. Despite this activity, the nuclear industry is in a dying state. No reactors have been ordered in North America for the past 25 years and there are no future prospects. Nuclear expansion has also ground to a halt in western Europe, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and France. The author discussed the association of nuclear energy with nuclear weapons and dispelled the myth that the nuclear energy programs have nothing to do with nuclear weapons. He also dispelled the myth that plutonium extracted from dismantled warheads can be destroyed by burning it as fuel in civilian reactors. The author emphasized that nuclear warheads are rendered useless when their plutonium cores are removed, but there is no method for destroying the plutonium, which constitutes a serious danger. The third myth which he dispelled was that nuclear power can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Studies show that each dollar invested in energy efficiency saves 5 to 7 times as much carbon dioxide as a dollar spent on nuclear power. The fourth and final myth that the author dispelled was that nuclear power is safe and clean, arguing that irradiated nuclear fuel remains toxic for millions of years. A 10-year environmental review has found safety and environmental concerns regarding a geologic repository project which is estimated to cost approximately $17 billion. 2 figs

[en] Automated software have been developed to process slitless spectra. The software, described in a previous paper, automatically separates stars from extended objects and quasars from stars. This paper describes the quasar search techniques and discusses the results. The performance of the software is compared and calibrated with a plate taken in a region of SA 57 that has been extensively surveyed by others using a variety of techniques: the proposed automated software performs very well. It is found that an eye search of the same plate is less complete than the automated search: surveys that rely on eye searches suffer from incompleteness at least from a magnitude brighter than the plate limit. It is shown how the complete automated analysis of a plate and computer simulations are used to calibrate and understand the characteristics of the present data. 20 references

[en] The authors describe an HMC algorithm for dynamical overlap fermions which makes use of their good chiral properties. They test the algorithm in the Schwinger model. Topological sectors are readily changed even in the massless case

[en] UV light has often been used to induce the formation of covalent bonds between DNA (or RNA) and tightly-bound protein molecules. However, the internal photoreactions of nucleic acids and proteins limit the yield and complicate the analysis of intermolecular crosslinks. In an ongoing search for improved reaction specificity or new photoreactions in these systems, we have employed UV photons from a Nd:YAG-pumped dye laser and mid-IR photons from the Vanderbilt FEL. Having crosslinked several protein-nucleic acid systems with nanosecond UV laser pulses, we are currently studying the effect of various IR wavelengths on a model system (gene 32 protein and poly[dT]). We have found that irradiation with sufficiently intense FEL macropulses creates an altered form of gene 32 protein which was not observed with UV-only irradiation. The electrophoretic nobility of the product is consistent with the formation of a specific protein-protein crosslink. No evidence of the non-specific protein damage typically induced by UV light is found. The yield of the new photoproduct is apparently enhanced by exposure to FEL macropulses which are synchronized with UV laser pulses. With ideal exposure parameters, the two-color reaction effectively competes with UV-only reactions. Experiments designed to determine the reaction mechanism and to demonstrate FEL-induced reactions in other protein-nucleic acid systems are currently underway

[en] Cross sections for the photofission ²³²Th(γ,f) and photoproduction ²³²Th(γ,n) reactions have been measured with a photon energy resolution of 130, 200, 390 keV for data points taken in intervals of 100, 200, and 400 keV

[en] Deep photoelectric sequences have been obtained to the 21st B and V magnitudes in 17 regions at galactic latitudes ranging from -45 deg to +86 86 deg. The observations were carried out using the prime-focus of the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope at Kitt Peak. The plates are used to study the large scale distribution of quasars; the redshifts and clustering properties of faint galaxies; and the characteristics of faint stars in the Galaxy. Finding charts and tables listing the B and V magnitudes of the objects (typically 30-40 per field) are given. The precisions of the observations are discussed. It is expected that the accuracies of the calibrating sequences are of the order of 0.05 mag. 9 references