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This document discusses laboratory testing performed by Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) for Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC) of special grout formulations that incorporate specific sequestering agents to help improve the ability of the cement to resist contaminant leaching. To enhance the sequestering of contaminants we chose five additives to introduce (singly) to the control cement. The additives were Florida pebble phosphate, clinoptilolite (a natural zeolite), ferrous sulfide (a reductant), a mixed bed organic ion exchange resin and a proprietary anion-adsorbing mixed metal oxide. These additives were added one per test to the standard formulation and used to encapsulate a diluted high-salt alkaline liquid waste that is produced after various processes to remove uranium and plutonium from spent nuclear fuel. This report documents the testing of these additives.

The irritation of transdermal devices delivering levonorgestrel and the permeation enhancer ethyl acetate with or without ethanol was evaluated in rabbits. Erythema and oedema were assessed 24, 48 and 72 hr and 7 days after application of the 24-hr delivery system. The devices were found to be mild to moderately irritating, with erythema the primary manifestation. No differences were observed between devices using pure ethyl acetate or ethyl acetate-ethanol (7:3, v/v) as enhancers. Devices using pure ethanol as an enhancer gave levels of irritation similar to those using ethyl acetate-ethanol (7:3) or pure ethyl acetate. Control devices containing only water (no drug) were also found to be mildly irritating to rabbits following a 24-hr exposure period. A histological evaluation of the application sites of two of the formulations confirmed the visual observations of mild subacute irritation. The changes produced by transdermal levonorgestrel were reversible. The problems of skin irritation of transdermal devices is discussed with particular reference to the use of ethyl acetate and ethanol as skin penetration enhancers.

Type I and type II keratins are major constituents of intermediate filaments that play a fundamental role in the cytoskeletal network. By using both somatic cell hybrids and conventional and interspecific linkage crosses, several genes encoding type I keratins, including the epidermal keratin K10, were shown to be closely linked to the homeobox-2 complex and the rex locus on mouse chromosome 11. The absence of crossovers between type I keratin-encoding genes and rex (N = 239), a locus affecting hair development, raises the possibility that mutations at rex and neighboring loci affecting skin and hair development involve type I keratin genes.

Shallow land burial has been a common practice for disposing radioactive waste materials since the beginning of plutonium production operations. Accurate monitoring of radionuclide transport and factors causing transport within the burial sites is essential to minimizing risks associated with disposal. However, monitoring has not always been adequate. Consequently, the Department of Energy (DOE) has begun a program aimed at better assuring and evaluating containment of radioactive wastes at shallow land burial sites. This program includes a technological base for monitoring transport. As part of the DOE program, Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) is developing geohydrologic monitoring systems to evaluate burial sites located in arid regions. For this project, a field test facility was designed and constructed to assess monitoring systems for near-surface disposal of radioactive waste and to provide information for evaluating site containment performance. The facility is an integrated network of monitoring devices and data collection instruments. This facility is used to measure water and radionuclide migration under field conditions typical of arid regions. Monitoring systems were developed to allow for measurement of both mass and energy balance. Work on the facility is ongoing. Continuing work includes emplacement of prototype monitoring instruments, data collection, and data synthesis. At leastmore » 2 years of field data are needed to fully evaluate monitoring information.« less

This study evaluates leachate-soil interactions that will take place at the Morton Ranch for certain disposal alternatives. Laboratory tests were conducted to evaluate the following: 1) physical and chemical characteristics of geologic materials from the Morton Ranch. 2) physical and chemical characteristics of acid leach tailings and tallings solution, 3) leaching tests with selected tailings materials and leach solutions to evaluate the leachability of contaminants with time under specific disposal alternatives, 4) adsorption studies measuring the sorption characteristics of heavy metals and radionuclides on the geologic materials at Morton Ranch, 5) clay liner stability tests to evaluate effects of acid leachate on clay mineralogy and clay permeability.